The relation between Plato and the Pythagorean philosophy is a topic widely discussed by scholars. The aim of the author is to shed a new light on this problem highlighting any link between Plato’s Philebus and the cosmogonical system developed by Philolaus in his work Περὶ φύσεως. In particular, the present essay will cross, inside the matter of the sources of the Platonic tought, the suggestion of Damascius of Damascus according to which the interaction of πέρας and ἄπειρον would have been affirmed by both Plato and Philolaus, and it is still Proclus to establish a link between the two thinkers. In order to understand this link, in this the study of the matter of the dialectic of πέρας and ἄπειρον one is central, so the page 16c of the Philebus, compared to the fragment of Philolaus, is the crucial point of this discussion.

Philolaus, Plato, Cosmogony, Number, Plato’s Philebus.

The history of thought in the Latin West testifies to a continuous effort to establish with the greatest possible precision a boundary between the sphere of competence of temporal rulers and the jurisdiction of spiritual rulers. As a result, in the period between the end of the fifth century and the fourteenth the doctrine of the double vicariate of Christ was used in defensive function, in turn, by the supporters of both powers, who appealed alternatively to this doctrine to curb any attempt to go beyond their sphere of competence by the pope, the emperor or a national monarch.

Church, State, Dualism, Jurisdictional boundaries, Double vicariate.

This essay focuses on the philosophical figure of Adriaan Koerbagh. He belonged to Spinoza’s circle and was a sincere friend and collaborator of the latter but distinguished himself from every other member of it and from Spinoza himself. What we intend to analyse here is essentially the relationship between Spinoza and Koerbagh, dividing the text into three fundamental parts: 1) a first, brief introduction to Koerbagh’s thought; 2) an in-depth analysis of the points of contact and detachment between his philosophy and that of Spinoza, in particular with regard to theological and political doctrines; 3) a concluding recapitulation that attempts to lift Koerbagh himself from the excessive “Spinozism” in which he is commonly associated by critics. It will then be shown how Koerbagh’s originality and the “precocity” of his texts may suggest a greater mutual influence than the critics have so far assumed.

Adriaan Koerbagh, Spinoza’s circle, Theology, Political doctrines, Mutual influences.

Starting from the analysis of Giambattista Vico’s first works, this essay wants to emphasize the fact that the most evident difference between the Neapolitan author and the prevailing modern philosophy of his times consists of the practical implication that Vico attributes to his thought, differently from the purely theoretical one, typical of most of his contemporary thinkers. It is especially through an accurate investigation into the theme of freedom, which Vico takes into consideration long before beginning La Scienza nuova, and its links with the first forms of work in history, that the Neapolitan philosopher shows the efficacy of his philosophy.

Giambattista Vico, Philosophy of praxis, Modern thought, Freedom, Theory of the work.

Critical studies dedicated to Montesquieu’s thought have paid considerable attention to the English constitutional system. On the contrary, the French monarchy described in the initial books of the Esprit des lois (1748) has been scarcely examined and institutions that Montesquieu deemed essential, i.e. the “intermediate powers”, have been overlooked. In this paper, I intend to investigate Montesquieu’s political thought on the monarchy. I will focus in particular on those institutions considered fundamental to limit sovereign’s power: the nobility, the “justices des seigneurs”, and “parlements”.

Montesquieu, Monarchy, Political Thought, L’Esprit des lois.

This study seeks to show the importance of the theory of the Unconscious in Kant’s thought. In particular, the analysis of some key passages will bring to light, on the one hand, the transversal character of Kant’s reflection on obscure mental processes, and the way it is connected to the critical project; on the other hand, its revolutionary modernity with respect to previous attempts.

Unconscious, Consciousness, Soul, Apperception, Kant.

The essay investigates Karl Marx’s early philosophical projects, in order to offer a Brief reconstruction of the concept of “critique”. Our analysis focuses on Marxian thought at the turn of 1837-1841. We will analyse (1) the specific dimension of Marx‘s adherence to Hegelian philosophy and the contact with the so-called “Young Hegelians”. After outlining the development of some important philosophical concepts as “Sollen” and “lebendige Welt”, we will address some aspects of the Dissertation on The Difference between Democritus and Epicurus. In particular, we will discuss: (2) the specific nature of the historical parallelism between ancient and modern, (3) the concepts of “formelle” and “materielle Bestimmungen”, as well as the historiographical and philosophical scheme used by Marx. Through this reconstruction the critical dimension of philosophy became more readable (4) of philosophy; i. e. the particular way philosophy relates to the world and to historical time.

Marx, Critique, Crisis, Philosophy-World relation.

In 1857, at the same time as a world monetary crisis broke out, Karl Marx wrote
a text entitled Einleitung which remained unpublished. The manuscript contains
precious thematic nuclei and makes it possible to reconstruct significant itineraries
of Marx’s thought, following those traces that best render its principal critical
approach (the logical-methodological plan) and practical intentions (the plan of
the political perspective). The following contribution presents a synthetic picture
of Marx’s writing.

Einleitung, Production, Abstract/Concrete, Social relationships, Abstract labour.

In this paper, I aim to delve into the relationship between Darwin’s theory and Peirce’s philosophy. Firstly I introduce both the epistemological and the logical premises of Peirce’s thinking in order to explain the reasons behind Peirce’s appreciation for Darwin’s probabilistic method. Then I show why Peirce, due to metaphysical reasons, did not accept Darwin’s theory of evolution, and I support the idea that Peirce is to be considered a committed anti-Darwinian evolutionist.

Peirce, Darwin, Theory of Evolution, Anti-darwinism, Evolutionary cosmology.

The aim of this paper is to examine Pietro Dagna’s dissertation entitled Dell’abitudine (1847), in order to deepen the theory of habit in Italian medicine and philosophy. Dagna brings the classical and modern theories of habit together, in particular those of Aristotle and French school of medicine, in order to explain the adagio “consuetudo est secunda natura”, as well as the connection between physical and moral habits. Starting from the ideal of man as the only creature capable to replace bad habits with good ones, this work shows how repetition and exercice give way to significant modifications of brain structure and moral sense.

Piero Dagna’s Dell’abitudine, Habit, Medicine, Repetition, Exercice, Brain.

Pure experience is an all-encompassing, spontaneous and self-unfolding dimension that contains both mental and material phenomena. This is the main topic of An Inquiry into the Good, Nishida Kitarō’s debut book. This paper is devoted to an analysis of the different filiations of this notion. On one hand, Nishida’s notion has commonalities with some of the cornerstones of Buddhist tradition, specifically with the Zen experience. On the other hand, with regard to the Western front, my aim is to provide evidence of a transcendental discipline in pure experience, as the Japanese philosopher considers timeless subjectivity to be the gateway to access reality. It is the necessary condition for meaning, since it grasps the point where the division between subject and object fades away.

Kitaro, Pure experience, Transcendental inquiry, Kant, Strict unity.

This paper is based on Giorgio Agamben’s assertion: «language is sovereign». This study wants to highlight the parallelism between the condition of the “state of exception” within the political-government process and the relevance of the allegorical meaning in language structures. 
Walter Benjamin demonstrates how the real state of exception can be realised in the Messianic Kingdom, which suspends the temporal continuum in the implementation of the redemption process. Looking at Benjamin’s research around the concept of allegory, as observed in The Origin of German Tragic Drama, the allegorical meaning splits the significant linearity of forms, redeeming the meaning through awareness and implementing a critical process. The allegory will turn out to be the real state of exception of the language.

Walter Benjamin, State of Exception, Allegory, Giorgio Agamben, Language.

Berthold Kihn was professor of psychiatry at Jena and from the beginning agreed to participate in the Nazi “euthanasia” programme. The essay takes this into account in a first part by outlining Kihn’s career up to the National Socialist takeover in January 1933. The second part focuses on his specific participation within National Socialist genetic health, race and extermination policy.

Berthold Kihn, Aktion T4, Nazism, Nazi “Euthanasia”, Antisemitismus.

The category of “Radical Enlightenment” is of great interest for the history of modern thought, fueling the conviction that the Enlightenment should be considered as the political and intellectual laboratory of modernity. In the last three decades, this label has gained considerable attention, engendering a large debate among historians and philosophers. Following this survey, it is possible to reflect both on the validity of “Radical Enlightenment” as a historiographical category and on the significant renewal in the field of the Enlightenment studies.

Radical Enlightenment, Clandestine philosophy, Spinoza, Early modern philosophy, Modernity.