Steno Tedeschi (1881–1911) was an Italian intellectual and academic. His works were associated with the ideas of the

Graz School The Graz School (german: Grazer Schule), also Meinong's School, of experimental psychology and object theory was headed by Alexius Meinong, who was professor and Chair of Philosophy at the University of Graz where he founded the Graz Psychological ...

and he is noted for contributing to its object theory and Stephan Witasek's aesthetics. Tedeschi was

Italo Svevo Aron Hector Schmitz (19 December 186113 September 1928), better known by the pseudonym Italo Svevo (), was an Italian writer, businessman, novelist, playwright, and short story writer. A close friend of Irish novelist and poet James Joyce, Svevo ...

's cousin.

Biography

Tedeschi was born in 1881 in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. He was a cousin of Italo Svevo. Tedeschi studied in Graz from 1904 to 1906. There, he became a student of the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

philosopher,

Alexius Meinong Alexius Meinong Ritter von Handschuchsheim (17 July 1853 – 27 November 1920) was an Austrian philosopher, a realist known for his unique ontology. He also made contributions to philosophy of mind and theory of value. Life Alexius Meinong' ...

. Tedeschi would study and illustrate the latter's theory of objects. Under the tutelage of

Stephan Witasek Stephan Witasek (1870-1915) was an Austrian philosopher noted for his contribution to the development of the Graz School. He is cited as the most talented psychologist of the school and was groomed as Alexius Meinong's successor. Witasek is noted ...

, Tadeschi was introduced to the notion of habit through the latter's idea of value beauty or ''Wertschönheit''. He would expand Witasek's position that habits possess the capacity of creating needs and values. When he returned to Trieste, he attempted to promote and defend the ideas of the Graz School. After completing his education, he first taught the Municipal Gymnasium of Trieste. He became a professor of philosophy and is said to have taught and inspired the Italian writer

Giani Stuparich Giani Stuparich (April 4, 1891 – April 7, 1961) was an Italian writer. He was born in Trieste, then in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria ...

. In 1911, Tedeschi committed suicide in front of his dying mother, Peppina Tedeschi.

Works

One of Tedeschi's notable works was a review of Otto Weinenger's ''Geschlecht und Charackter'' (1903), which – for some in Italy – became an alternative to

Freudian psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theories and Therapy, therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a bo ...

. Weinenger also committed suicide. Tedeschi was working on the Italian translation of the ''Grundzüge der allgemeinen Ästhetik'' when he also took his own life. The text, which was completed by Mariano Graziussi, included three essays that explored Witasek's conceptualization of value and beauty. These were published as part of the introductory article called ''La coscienza estetica secondo Stefano Witasek'' ("The aesthetic consciousness according to Stefan Witasek"). Tedeschi also authored critical analyses of other thinkers. For example, he identified

Otto Weininger Otto Weininger (; 3 April 1880 – 4 October 1903) was an Austrian philosopher who lived in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1903, he published the book ''Geschlecht und Charakter'' (''Sex and Character''), which gained popularity after his suici ...

as "the antifeminist philosopher", who was able to effectively expand the feminism theme – a topic that he said was vaguely developed in the works of his contemporaries such as

Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

, and

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

. In his examination of Witasek's conception of value and beauty, Tedeschi suggested that habit has immense potential for creating values and that it facilitates "the apperception of the produced representations", leading to enhanced enjoyment. Tedeschi considered himself a bridge between the Graz and the Florentine schools. Tedeschi's works had been published in periodicals such as ''Cantoni'', ''Cultura'', ''Rivista di Psic''., and ''Rivista d'Italia''.

Publications

* ''Tedeschi, Steno'' (1907), “La coscienza estetica secondo ''Stefano'' Witasek”, ''La Cultura Filosofica'', I, 5, pp. 128-135 * ''Tedeschi, Steno'' (1908), “Un'equivalente aprioristica della metafisica (la teoria degli oggetti)”, ''Rivista filosofica'', X, 11.3, pp. 289-303. * Tedeschi, Steno. (1910). "Sulla funzione conoscitiva del guidizio", ''La Cultura Filosofica'', IV. pp. 32-39. * Tedeschi, Steno. (1912). "Intorno agli oggetti del pensiero", ''Rivista di Filosofia'', IV, pp. 107-118.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tedeschi, Steno 1881 births 1911 deaths Italian essayists Writers from Trieste Abstract object theory Philosophy academics Philosophy writers Suicides in Italy