Brecht’s Life of Galileo: Staging a theory of the encounter of practices

Brecht’s Life of Galileo provides elements for elaborating what I call “a theory of the encounter of practices”. The concept of the encounter pushes back against teleological theories that predestine modern science to operate as an instrument of domination. I argue that Life of Galileo stages the m...

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Main Author: Alejo Stark
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Museo Galileo 2024-04-01
Series:Galilæana
Subjects:
Online Access:https://gal-studies.museogalileo.it/index.php/galilaeana/article/view/40
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author Alejo Stark
author_facet Alejo Stark
author_sort Alejo Stark
collection DOAJ
description Brecht’s Life of Galileo provides elements for elaborating what I call “a theory of the encounter of practices”. The concept of the encounter pushes back against teleological theories that predestine modern science to operate as an instrument of domination. I argue that Life of Galileo stages the missed encounters in modernity between science, politics, and art at the same time as it foregrounds the emancipatory power of science. I trace the encounter of practices from the play’s opening scenes – highlighting what I call Galileo’s “double life”. Then, I turn to the most important scene of the play, Scene 10, in which political and artistic practices repurpose Galileo’s novel inventions for their emancipatory desires. In the virtual potentialities of this encounter, that is, despite the missed encounter between Galileo and “the people”, Brecht’s Life of Galileo continues to be fruitful for theorizing the emancipatory power of science.
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spelling doaj-art-dfcf10d0f7b640028cda5b3505c6944e2025-08-20T03:46:58ZengMuseo GalileoGalilæana1825-39032024-04-0121110.57617/gal-40Brecht’s Life of Galileo: Staging a theory of the encounter of practicesAlejo Stark0University of Michigan Brecht’s Life of Galileo provides elements for elaborating what I call “a theory of the encounter of practices”. The concept of the encounter pushes back against teleological theories that predestine modern science to operate as an instrument of domination. I argue that Life of Galileo stages the missed encounters in modernity between science, politics, and art at the same time as it foregrounds the emancipatory power of science. I trace the encounter of practices from the play’s opening scenes – highlighting what I call Galileo’s “double life”. Then, I turn to the most important scene of the play, Scene 10, in which political and artistic practices repurpose Galileo’s novel inventions for their emancipatory desires. In the virtual potentialities of this encounter, that is, despite the missed encounter between Galileo and “the people”, Brecht’s Life of Galileo continues to be fruitful for theorizing the emancipatory power of science. https://gal-studies.museogalileo.it/index.php/galilaeana/article/view/40Bertolt BrechtGalileo GalileiLife of Galileomodern sciencetheory of the encounter of practices
spellingShingle Alejo Stark
Brecht’s Life of Galileo: Staging a theory of the encounter of practices
Galilæana
Bertolt Brecht
Galileo Galilei
Life of Galileo
modern science
theory of the encounter of practices
title Brecht’s Life of Galileo: Staging a theory of the encounter of practices
title_full Brecht’s Life of Galileo: Staging a theory of the encounter of practices
title_fullStr Brecht’s Life of Galileo: Staging a theory of the encounter of practices
title_full_unstemmed Brecht’s Life of Galileo: Staging a theory of the encounter of practices
title_short Brecht’s Life of Galileo: Staging a theory of the encounter of practices
title_sort brecht s life of galileo staging a theory of the encounter of practices
topic Bertolt Brecht
Galileo Galilei
Life of Galileo
modern science
theory of the encounter of practices
url https://gal-studies.museogalileo.it/index.php/galilaeana/article/view/40
work_keys_str_mv AT alejostark brechtslifeofgalileostagingatheoryoftheencounterofpractices