Thoughts on the Philosophy of Action. Pirandello, Gramsci and Lukács

Abstract

The essay offers some reflections on the crisis of the concept of action starting from the thought of Luigi Pirandello, György Lukács and Antonio Gramsci. Returning to analytically reflect on the way in which the theme of action emerges from the reflection of these three authors allows us to understand a decisive turning point in the evolution of twentieth-century dramatic and theatrical forms. In particular, the essay focuses on three fundamental moments: the Pirandellian notion of "being in the act", the Lukácsian notion of "anti-dramatic action" and the relationship between "action" and "character" in Gramsci's thought. The essay ends with a consideration of the way in which this junction represents the break between dramatic and contemporary post-dramatic prehistories, which in various ways relate to the field of performance, the mediality of the theatrical image and its documentality.