Abstract

The essay is aimed at illustrating the hidden philosophical anthropology proposed by German legal and political philosopher Carl Schmitt. Schmitt’s anthropology has always been understood just as the basis of a political philosophy dominated by the friend-enemy opposition. However, such an interpretation usually undermines other aspects, which still represents a neglected path of research. A closer interpretation of Schmitt’s intellectual and conceptual relations with German Philosophische Anthropologie (Helmuth Plessner and Arnold Gehlen) could highlight these aspects. The paper is structured as follows: in the first part, I summarize the canonical approach to Schmitt’s political anthropology; in the second part, I explain why the doctrine of the four elements is highly relevant for Schmitt’s philosophical anthropology; in the third part, I argue that Schmitt’s metaphysics of elements is strictly linked to his philosophy of technology; in the fourth part, I analyse a few conceptual problems that emerge from this interpretation; in the last part, I summarize the results of the essay and suggest a new line of investigation.