In this highly original book the author addresses the question of
how we are to conceive of human reasoning in a situation where
there are no global, privileged points of view.

Drawing on the work of Nietzsche and Heidegger, Vattimo proposes
a conception of thought based on 'difference' - a conception which
accepts the fragmentation of knowledge and renounces the quest for
totality. He also argues for an 'ontology of decline' - a
conception of being which renounces all the strong characteristics
attributed to it by traditional metaphysics and which instead,
following Heidegger, links being to time, life and the rhythm of
birth and death.