Firsthand perspectives on the past, present, and future of contemporary Italian philosophy.
Through conversations with twenty-three leading Italian philosophers representing a variety of scholarly concerns and methodologies, this volume offers an informal overview of the background, breadth, and distinctiveness of contemporary Italian philosophy as a tradition. The conversations begin with general questions addressing issues of provenance, domestic and foreign influences, and lineages. Next, each scholar discusses the main tenets, theoretical originality, and timeliness of their work. The interviews conclude with thoughts about what directions each philosopher sees the discipline heading in the future. Every conversation is a testimony to the differences that characterize each thinker as unique and that invigorate the Italian philosophical landscape as a whole. The individual replies differ widely in tone, focus, and style. What emerges is a broad, deep, lively, and even witty picture of the Italian philosophical landscape in the voices of its protagonists.
Silvia Benso is Professor of Philosophy at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She is the author, editor, and translator of several books, including Contemporary Italian Philosophy: Crossing the Borders of Ethics, Politics, and Religion (coedited with Brian Schroeder) and The Face of Things: A Different Side of Ethics, both also published by SUNY Press.
