Bertrando Spaventa (26 June 1817 – 20 September 1883) was a leading Italian philosopher of the 19th century whose ideas had an important influence on the changes that took place during the unification of Italy and on philosophical thought in the 20th century.
Biography
Elder brother of Italian patriot
Silvio Spaventa
Silvio Spaventa (12 May 1822 – 20 June 1893) was an Italian journalist, politician and statesman who played a leading role in the unification of Italy, and subsequently held important positions within the newly formed Italian state.
Early lif ...
, Bertrando was born into a middle-class family in financial difficulty. His mother, Maria Anna Croce, was the great-aunt of philosopher
Benedetto Croce
Benedetto Croce (; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952)
was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician, who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography and aesthetics. In most regards, Croce was a lib ...
.
He was educated at the Diocesan Seminary in
Chieti
Chieti (, ; , nap, label= Abruzzese, Chjïétë, ; gr, Θεάτη, Theátē; lat, Theate, ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Central Italy, east by northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region. ...
and ordained there. In 1838 he moved, along with his brother, to
Montecassino
Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...
to take up the post of teacher of mathematics and rhetoric at the local seminary. In 1840 he went to Naples to continue his education. By learning German and English, he became one of the first Italian thinkers of the period to read the works of foreign philosophers in the original. He moved in liberal circles and became close to thinkers like
Ottavio Colecchi (Italian entry) and
Antonio Tari (Italian entry), set up his own philosophy school and also helped edit ''Il Nazionale'', the newspaper founded and edited by his brother, Silvio. In 1849, following the repeal of the Constitution by
Ferdinando II and the arrest of Silvio, he left Naples: first for Florence, then Turin. After abandoning the priesthood, he began work as a journalist for the Piedmontese publications ''Il Progresso'', ''Il Cimento'', ''Il Piemonte'', and ''Rivista Contemporanea''. While in Turin, Spaventa drew close to the ideas of
Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...
, working out his philosophical system and political thought, and engaging in a polemic with ''La Civiltà Cattolica'', the
Jesuit
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, nickname = Jesuits
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, founders ...
's journal, arguing against the idea that religion was necessary for human development.
In 1858 he took up the chair of philosophy of law at the
University of Modena
The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia ( it, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia), located in Modena and Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, is one of the oldest universities in Italy, founded in 1175, with a population of 2 ...
, followed by that of history of philosophy at Bologna in 1860, then philosophy at the
University of Naples
The University of Naples Federico II ( it, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) is a public university in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1224, it is the oldest public non-sectarian university in the world, and is now organized into 26 depar ...
in the following year. In a series of lectures, given in Bologna in 1860, he first expounded his theory on the circular movement of philosophical thought between Italy and Europe. Although the accepted view then was that Italian philosophy had always remained loyal to the Platonic-Christian tradition, Spaventa sought to demonstrate that modern, secular, idealist, philosophy had originated in Italy, even though it had reached its highest form in Germany. He attributed the sorry state of philosophy in 19th century Italy to the lack of intellectual freedom following the Counter-Reformation, as well as to the oppression of despotic rulers. Furthermore, he attempted to equate the philosophy of
Descartes to that of
Tommaso Campanella
Tommaso Campanella (; 5 September 1568 – 21 May 1639), baptized Giovanni Domenico Campanella, was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet.
He was prosecuted by the Roman Inquisition for heresy in 1594 and w ...
, of
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...
to that of
Giordano Bruno
Giordano Bruno (; ; la, Iordanus Brunus Nolanus; born Filippo Bruno, January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, mathematician, poet, cosmological theorist, and Hermetic occultist. He is known for his cosmologic ...
, of
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...
to that of
Giambattista Vico
Giambattista Vico (born Giovan Battista Vico ; ; 23 June 1668 – 23 January 1744) was an Italian philosopher, rhetorician, historian, and jurist during the Italian Enlightenment. He criticized the expansion and development of modern rationali ...
and
Antonio Rosmini
Blessed Antonio Francesco Davide Ambrogio Rosmini-Serbati (; Rovereto, 25 March 1797Stresa, 1 July 1855) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and philosopher. He founded the Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity or , pioneered the ...
, and of the German Idealists to that of
Vincenzo Gioberti
Vincenzo Gioberti (; 5 April 180126 October 1852) was an Italian Catholic priest, philosopher, publicist and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Sardinia from 1848 to 1849. He was a prominent spokesman for liberal Catholicism.
Biogr ...
. His aim in this was to free Italian philosophy of its provincialism and bring new life to it without falling into the trap of the nationalists, against whom he wrote a vigorous polemic.
Spaventa spread the influence of Hegelian Idealism in Italy: his work influenced profoundly
Giovanni Gentile
Giovanni Gentile (; 30 May 1875 – 15 April 1944) was an Italian neo-Hegelian idealist philosopher, educator, and fascist politician. The self-styled "philosopher of Fascism", he was influential in providing an intellectual foundation for I ...
and
Benedetto Croce
Benedetto Croce (; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952)
was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician, who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography and aesthetics. In most regards, Croce was a lib ...
, who moved in with Silvio Spaventa after his parents had died and attended Bertrando's lectures, liking them particularly for their liberalism. Other members of his “school” include
Sebastiano Maturi (in Italian),
Donato Jaja (in Italian),
Filippo Masci (in Italian),
Felice Tocco (in Italian), and
Antonio Labriola
Antonio Labriola (; 2 July 1843 – 12 February 1904) was an Italian Marxist theoretician and philosopher. Although an academic philosopher and never an active member of any Marxist political party, his thought exerted influence on many pol ...
.
Bertrando Spaventa also served three terms as Member of Parliament in the
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
for the
Historical Right
The Right group ( it, Destra), later called Historical Right ( it, Destra storica) by historians to distinguish it from the right-wing groups of the 20th century, was an Italian conservative parliamentary group during the second half of the 19th c ...
party. He supported secular policies, linked to a strong feeling for the state, based on universal suffrage. This would form the source of inspiration for the development of a harmonious society, in which individuals and the community could find the necessary resources for growth in an “orderly and just” manner.
Main works
*''La filosofia di Kant e la sua relazione colla filosofia italiana'', Unione Tipografica-editrice,
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, 1860;
*''Principii di filosofia'', 2 vols., Stabilimento Tip. Ghio,
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, 1867;
*''Studi sull'etica di Hegel'', Stamperia della Regia Università, Naples, 1869;
*''La filosofia di Vincenzo Gioberti'', Tip. del Tasso, Naples, 1870;
*''Saggi critici di filosofia politica e religione'', Tip. Giordano Bruno, Rome, 1899;
*''La dottrina della conoscenza di Giordano Bruno'', Stamperia della Regia Università, Naples, 1900;
*''Scritti filosofici'', ed. G. Gentile, Ditta A. Morano & Figlio, Naples, 1901;
*''Principi di etica'', Pierro, Naples, 1904;
*
La filosofia italiana nelle sue relazioni con la filosofia europea', ed. G. Gentile, Laterza,
Bari
Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
, 1909;
*''Logica e metafisica'', ed. G. Gentile, Laterza, Bari, 1911;
*''Rivoluzione e utopia'', in ''Giornale critico della filosofia italiana'', XLII, pp. 66–93, ed. I. Cubeddu, 1963;
*''Introduzione a Hegel'', in ''Il primo hegelismo italiano'', ed. G. Oldrini,
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, 1969;
*''Opere'', ed. G. Gentile, "Classici della Filosofia", 3 vols.,
Sansoni, Florence, 1972;
*''Scritti kantiani'', ed. L. Gentile, Sigraf Editrice,
Pescara
Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...
, 2008; ;
*''Opere'', introductory essay, prefaces, notes and apparatus criticus by Francesco Valagussa – afterword by
Vincenzo Vitiello (in Italian); 2881 p.; Bompiani -
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, 2009; ;
*Critical edition of the ''Opere psicologiche inedite'' ed.
Domenico D'Orsi (in Italian):
**1976: ''Lezioni di antropologia''
**1978: ''Psiche e metafisica''
**1984: ''Elementi di psicologia speculativa''
**2001: ''Sulle psicopatie in generale''.
Bibliography
*Renato Bartot, ''L'hegelismo di Bertrando Spaventa'', Olschki, Florence, 1968;
*Italo Cubeddu, ''Bertrando Spaventa. Edizioni e studi (1840-1970)'',
Sansoni, Florence, 1974;
*Raffaello Franchini (ed.), ''Bertrando Spaventa. Dalla scienza della logica alla logica della scienza'', Pironti, Naples, 1986;
*
Eugenio Garin
Eugenio Garin (May 9, 1909 – December 29, 2004) was an Italian philosopher and Renaissance historian. He was recognised as an authority on the cultural history of the Renaissance. Born at Rieti, Garin studied philosophy at the University of Flore ...
, ''Filosofia e politica in Bertrando Spaventa'', ed. G. Tognon, Bibliopolis, Naples, 1983;
*
Eugenio Garin
Eugenio Garin (May 9, 1909 – December 29, 2004) was an Italian philosopher and Renaissance historian. He was recognised as an authority on the cultural history of the Renaissance. Born at Rieti, Garin studied philosophy at the University of Flore ...
, ''Bertrando Spaventa'', Bibliopolis, Naples, 2007;
*
Giovanni Gentile
Giovanni Gentile (; 30 May 1875 – 15 April 1944) was an Italian neo-Hegelian idealist philosopher, educator, and fascist politician. The self-styled "philosopher of Fascism", he was influential in providing an intellectual foundation for I ...
, ''Bertrando Spaventa'', Vallecchi, Florence, 1920;
*Luigi Gentile, ''Coscienza Nazionale e pensiero europeo in Bertrando Spaventa'', Ed. NOUBS,
Chieti
Chieti (, ; , nap, label= Abruzzese, Chjïétë, ; gr, Θεάτη, Theátē; lat, Theate, ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Central Italy, east by northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region. ...
, 2000; ;
*Marcel Grilli, ''The Nationality of Philosophy and Bertrando Spaventa'', in ''Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 2, No. 3'', University of Pennsylvania Press, 1941;
*S. Landucci, ''Il giovane Spaventa tra hegelismo e socialismo'', in ''Annali dell' Istituto G. G. Feltrinelli'', VI, 1963;
*
Domenico Losurdo
Domenico Losurdo (14 November 1941 – 28 June 2018) was an Italian historian, essayist, Marxist philosopher, and communist politician.
Life and career
Born in Sannicandro di Bari, Losurdo obtained his doctorate in 1963 from the University ...
, ''Dai fratelli Spaventa a Gramsci'', La Città del Sole, Naples, 1997;
*
Silvio Spaventa
Silvio Spaventa (12 May 1822 – 20 June 1893) was an Italian journalist, politician and statesman who played a leading role in the unification of Italy, and subsequently held important positions within the newly formed Italian state.
Early lif ...
, ''Dal 1848 al 1861. Lettere scritti documenti'', ed. B. Croce, Bari, 1923;
*
Giuseppe Vacca (in Italian), ''Politica e filosofia in Bertrando Spaventa'', Laterza, Bari, 1966.
Notes
External links
*
*
Information on website of Comune of
:it:Bomba, Bomba (in Italian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spaventa, Bertrando
1817 births
1883 deaths
People from the Province of Chieti
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies people
Historical Right politicians
Deputies of Legislature VIII of the Kingdom of Italy
Deputies of Legislature X of the Kingdom of Italy
Deputies of Legislature XI of the Kingdom of Italy
Deputies of Legislature XII of the Kingdom of Italy
19th-century Italian philosophers
Idealists
Italian political philosophers
Liberalism
Italian historians of philosophy
Hegelian philosophers
Political philosophers
Social philosophers