Bernardino Varisco (April 20, 1850 – October 21, 1933), was an Italian philosopher and a Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Rome La Sapienza from 1905 to 1925.

Life

Bernardino Varisco was born on April 20, 1850 in

Chiari Chiari may refer to: * Chiari (surname) *Chiari, Lombardy, a commune in Italy * The Chiari Institute, a medical institution in Great Neck, New York *Battle of Chiari (1701), part of the War of the Spanish Succession See also * Arnold–Chiari malf ...

, a commune in the province of Brescia, in

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, northern Italy. His mother was the daughter of the Italian philosopher

Francesco Bonatelli Francesco Bonatelli (1830-1911) was a 19th-century Italian philosopher of the Roman Catholic spiritualist tradition. Francesco Bonatelli was born in Iseo, Brescia, Italy on 25 April 1830. He first studied philosophy at the University of Vienna ...

and his father, Carlo, was the director of the ''Ginnasio Locale'' (public school) in Chiari. After the death of his mother in 1864, Varisco pursued classical studies at the Collegio Nazionale di Torino, and finally completed them first at the University of Padua then later at the University of Pavia where he graduated with a degree in mathematics. From 1874 to 1905, he taught as a professor of mathematics at various secondary schools and technical colleges. In 1906, he was appointed Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Rome La Sapienza, where he remained until his retirement in 1925. After his retirement from the University of Rome in 1925, Varisco returned to Brescia. In 1928, he was appointed as a ''Senatore del Regno'' (national senator). He died at the age of 83 in his hometown on October 21, 1933. Bernardino's tomb is located in the Varisco family area of the town cemetery of Chiari. Above his tomb stands a bronze bust of the philosopher with the stern gaze of a man who spent his life absorbed in philosophical thought.

Philosophy

Varisco's early philosophy adhered to the

positivism Positivism is an empiricist philosophical theory that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positive—meaning ''a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. G ...

and the

empiricism In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological theory that holds that knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience. It is one of several views within epistemology, along with rationalism and skepticism. Empir ...

that underlies the fundamental presuppositions of science. This position later evolved into something closer to a pluralistic form of idealism with strong theological tendencies. In his later years he eventually arrived at a blend of monadology and

panpsychism In the philosophy of mind, panpsychism () is the view that the mind or a mindlike aspect is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of reality. It is also described as a theory that "the mind is a fundamental feature of the world which exists thro ...

. The most obscure and therefore weakest part of Varisco's philosophy was his attempt to move from the apparent plurality of subjects to an all-encompassing unitary reality. In his posthumous work ''Dall'uoma a Dio'' (''From Man to God'') he completed his gradual transformation from

to theism by arguing for a God who limits Himself by his own creation in order that we human beings can cooperate with Him in creative activity. Varisco, therefore, believed that philosophy supports a religious attitude of life fully compatible with the tenets of Christianity. His eventual metaphysical view was thus a pluralistic form of Philosophy of Spirit similar to the works of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Hermann Lotze. There is also a strong similarity between the philosophical theories of Bernardino Varisco and his British counterpart, James Ward. Although his work is seldom referenced by contemporary philosophers, during Varisco's lifetime his reputation was considerable both in the United States and in Europe—especially in Italy. In fact, two of his major works were translated into English in order to accommodate popular demand.

Principal Works

* ''Scienze e opinioni.'' Rome, 1901. * ''La conoscenza.'' Pavia, 1905. * ''I massimi problemi.'' Milan, 1910. * ''Conosci te stesso.'' Milan, 1912. * ''The Great Problems.'', translated by R. C. Lodge, London: Allen, 1914. * ''Know Thyself.'', translated by Guglielmo Salvadori, London: Allen and Unwin, 1915. * ''Linee di filosofia critica.'' Rome, 1925. * ''Sommario di filosofia.'' Rome, 1928. * ''Dall'uomo a Dio'' Padua, 1939, (released posthumously.)

Works on Varisco

* Chiapetta, L. ''La teodicea di Bernardino Varisco.'' Naples, 1938. * De Negri, E. ''La metafisica di Bernardino Varisco.'' Florence, 1929. * Drago, P. C. ''La filosofia di Bernardino Varisco.'' Florence, 1944. * Librizzi, C. ''Il pensiero di Bernardino Varisco.'' Padua, 1944; rev. ed., 1953.

External links

*
Biography of Bernardino Varisco (PDF download in Italian)

References

# Preface to ''The Great Problems.'', translated by R. C. Lodge, London: Allen, 1914. # ''Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Philosophers''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Varisco, Bernardino 1850 births 1933 deaths 20th-century Italian philosophers Academic staff of the Sapienza University of Rome Writers from the Province of Brescia