Galimberti: mandiamo i giovani dal filosofo non dallo psicologo

If it’s not already a social alarm, it’s close; today’s kids, many of them, are in crisis. We discover them fragile, often crushed by the social pressures of a world that wants them to perform: beautiful, intelligent, strong, and courageous. And when they can’t meet expectations, they feel uncomfortable. They appear strong, but suddenly they gasp for air and to breathe again they need to find themselves. Umberto Galimberti is very popular among young people. He likes to define himself simply as a “popularizer,” even though he is a philosopher, an essayist, and also a psychoanalyst. He is 82 years old and puts his wisdom, together with his life experience, at the disposal of young people. It is they, in fact, who define him as “the man capable of helping and advising them.” And so, while many young people try to interpret the scenarios of life, applying to it the reading of novels like Crime and Punishment, others, including fans of Fyodor Dostoevsky, follow Galimberti on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Galimberti likes young people who devour life, who throw themselves into things. He urges them to look for a book starting from the author, pushes them to even work as waiters to feel like an active part of the world.

What is the future for young people? 

“The future is a dirty word. The family is a disaster, school is even worse. So what do we expect from the future? In the sense that, we have taken the future away from young people.”

 Would you advise young people to go to therapy?

“No. They should do philosophical counseling. Put their ideas in order. In America, people don’t go to psychoanalysts anymore. They all go to philosophers.”

Among the most important philosophers in Italy, who is there besides Galimberti? 

“I am just a popularizer. In Italy, all the philosophers are dead.”

 So who would you read among the Italians? 

“Emanuele Severino is dead, Del Vecchio is dead, Gregory is dead, Bodei is dead. Philosophy goes in waves. If they rise again, good. And if it’s dead, it’s the fault of the universities, where professors talk among themselves instead of talking to people.”

 How do you do philosophical counseling? 

“Well, just find out what it is. I brought philosophical counseling to Italy. When you have a pain in your body you go to the doctor, when you have pain from passions, you go to the psychoanalyst. And when your head doesn’t work, where do you go? To the philosopher.”

 Philosophical counseling? Which books would you recommend on philosophical counseling? 

“Feltrinelli has a couple… about. The best of all is by a Florentine and his name is Neri Pollastri.”

 Let’s try to reflect on the daily life of young people. In your opinion, do the pieces of advice they give each other work?

“No.”

 Do the pieces of advice between parents and kids work? 

“No, because parents don’t talk to their kids.”

 And who should kids talk to? 

“By now they are reduced to talking only to themselves. The only thing I feel like saying is: Kids, don’t wait for the future, take it. Throw yourself into even being a waiter, if possible, start from there.”