It is difficult to find agreement on what constitutes perceiving.at Rovereto, Italy. The term is used in a wide array of domains ranging from psychology to physiology to aesthetics, and over time it has also acquired diverse connotations within various disciplines. Current perceptual science, however, even when it deals with qualitative aspects of experience, for example phenomena of lightness and colour, almost exclusively explains them in terms of primary qualities or stimuli quantitatively understood. The fact that science treats (...) qualitative experiences in terms of stimuli is important, because almost nothing of phenomenal perception as such is quantitative in nature. The paper argues for a qualitative science of perceiving, its methodology, its laws, and its possible developments. (shrink)

Summary My paper aims to clarify the subsequent steps of Rome’s encroachment on Etruria in the aftermath of the Pyrrhic War. As is well known, the Latin colony of Cosa was founded in 273 BC on the Tyrrhenian coast to the north of Vulci; moreover, in the years 264–245 BC, four citizen colonies were founded on the Caeretan coast, namely Castrum Novum, Pyrgi, Alsium and Fregenae. Unfortunately, it is not easy to reconstruct precisely what the Roman movements in Etruria were, (...) or how the Etruscans reacted to them. Above all, it is difficult to determine whether a colonial foundation like Cosa – which was contemporary with the establishment of Paestum in Lucania – was part of a broader and coherent strategy that the Romans had been following in their expansion into the Italian peninsula. By evaluating all the available evidence, I will try to demonstrate that the foundation of Cosa depended more upon particular contingencies than upon any preconceived plan for the conquest of Italy. (shrink)

As Russian influence in Italy grows, Putin’s ‘Trojan horse’ in the EU reflects several societal trends, molding perceptions of a foreign policy appropriate for Italy.

Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany: Comparisons and Contrasts, Edited by R. Bessel, (Cambridge University Press, 1996) 242 pp. £35 cloth, £12.95 paper. The Sacralization of Politics in Fascist Italy. By E. Gentile (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1996). 208 pp. $49.95 cloth.

The COVID-19 virus is severely testing the Italian healthcare system, as the requests for intensive treatment are greater than the real capacity of the system to receive patients. Given this emergency situation, it follows that citizens are limited in their freedom of movement in order to limit infection, and that in hospitals a significant number of critical situations must be faced. This brief contribution aims to offer a reflection on the public and clinical role of the bioethicist: a figure able (...) to promote dialogue between the world of medicine and the community, and to face ethical dilemmas even in emergent clinical settings. (shrink)

About a year ago some important philosophical works were published in Italy which, both in the agreement and in the divergence of the trends they indicate, may be useful for characterizing the present situation of Italian philosophy. I think it opportune, therefore, for the information of the English reader, to give a fuller notice of these books than usual. One of them is by Ugo Spirito, La vita come amore , with the subtitle “The downfall of Christian civilization ”. (...) Ugo Spirito, who was one of the most intelligent and restless pupils of Giovanni Gentile, announced his secession from idealism in 1937.In that year he published a book entitled La vita come ricerca , in which, as sole alternative to idealistic philosophy, henceforth considered untenable, he pointed to a philosophy of never concluded enquiry, which, while positing numerous problems, never solves them. The intention of the book was to conclude in the impossibility of philosophy as “system” or as “metaphysics”, on the supposition that all the possibilities of metaphysics had been exhausted in the course of its historical development, culminating in Gentile. In a certain sense this presupposition remains in the book now under examination; but here it is a question of defining positively the way that philosophy, and with it human life, ought to take, which is, according to Spirito, the way of love. (shrink)

About a year ago some important philosophical works were published in Italy which, both in the agreement and in the divergence of the trends they indicate, may be useful for characterizing the present situation of Italian philosophy. I think it opportune, therefore, for the information of the English reader, to give a fuller notice of these books than usual. One of them is by Ugo Spirito, La vita come amore, with the subtitle “The downfall of Christian civilization ”. Ugo (...) Spirito, who was one of the most intelligent and restless pupils of Giovanni Gentile, announced his secession from idealism in 1937.In that year he published a book entitled La vita come ricerca, in which, as sole alternative to idealistic philosophy, henceforth considered untenable, he pointed to a philosophy of never concluded enquiry, which, while positing numerous problems, never solves them. The intention of the book was to conclude in the impossibility of philosophy as “system” or as “metaphysics”, on the supposition that all the possibilities of metaphysics had been exhausted in the course of its historical development, culminating in Gentile. In a certain sense this presupposition remains in the book now under examination; but here it is a question of defining positively the way that philosophy, and with it human life, ought to take, which is, according to Spirito, the way of love. (shrink)

La fin du xviiie siècle et le début du xixe coïncident en Italie non seulement avec de grandes mutations politiques et juridiques liées aux guerres napoléoniennes, mais aussi avec de profondes transformations des rôles familiaux. À travers l’analyse d’une série de correspondances épistolaires échangées dans cette période entre des frères et des sœurs membres de familles de l’aristocratie, l’article examine la manière dont l’interprétation du rôle des individus a pu se modifier et les attentes que ces derniers ont entretenues quand (...) au comportement des autres membres de leur fratrie. Les arguments des lettres, leur ton, les références à des épisodes de la vie familiale et les notices sur la gestion du patrimoine permettent de définir la substance de la relation entre frères et sœurs à la fin de l’Ancien Régime, et de saisir en quoi elle différait des rapports noués par leurs pères et leurs oncles ou de ceux entretenus par des frères et sœurs appartenant à d’autres familles aristocratiques d’Italie dans la seconde moitié du xviiie siècle. (shrink)

La fin du xviiie siècle et le début du xixe coïncident en Italie non seulement avec de grandes mutations politiques et juridiques liées aux guerres napoléoniennes, mais aussi avec de profondes transformations des rôles familiaux. À travers l’analyse d’une série de correspondances épistolaires échangées dans cette période entre des frères et des sœurs membres de familles de l’aristocratie, l’article examine la manière dont l’interprétation du rôle des individus a pu se modifier et les attentes que ces derniers ont entretenues quand (...) au comportement des autres membres de leur fratrie. Les arguments des lettres, leur ton, les références à des épisodes de la vie familiale et les notices sur la gestion du patrimoine permettent de définir la substance de la relation entre frères et sœurs à la fin de l’Ancien Régime, et de saisir en quoi elle différait des rapports noués par leurs pères et leurs oncles ou de ceux entretenus par des frères et sœurs appartenant à d’autres familles aristocratiques d’Italie dans la seconde moitié du xviiie siècle. (shrink)

Cet article constitue l'un des éléments d'un dossier comparatif international sur le traitement médiatique de l'attentat survenu à la gare d'Atocha à Madrid en mars 2004. Centré sur l'Italie et basé sur l'étude d'un corpus des quatre principaux quotidiens, il analyse les orientations du discours développé par cette presse dans les jours qui ont suivi cet événement. Il montre, qu'après un moment de compassion devant les conséquences dramatiques de l'attentat, ces titres se sont déterminés sur la base d'une analogie entre (...) la situation politique espagnole et la situation italienne et ceci en raison des positions identiques de leurs gouvernements quant au conflit en Irak. Des divergences de tons et d'attitude sont observables entre ces différents journaux, mais on assiste globalement à une forme de banalisation et de «nationalisation» de l'événement progressivement replié sur la scène nationale.This article is one of a comparative study on the international media coverage of the attack in Atocha train station in Madrid in March 2004. Centered on Italy and based on the study of a corpus of four major dailies, it analyzes the stand taken by the press in the days following the event. It shows, after a moment of compassion for the tragic consequences of the attack, these securities are determined on the basis of an analogy between the Spanish political situation and the situation in Italy and this because of the identical positions of their governments about the conflict in Iraq. Differences of tone and attitude are observable between these newspapers, but there is generally a form of trivialization and "nationalization" of the event gradually declined on the national scene. (shrink)

José de Sousa Pereira, membro do Conselho da Fazenda de D. Pedro II, foi enviado a Roma com a embaixada do Bispo de Lamego entre 1676 a 1682. Consignou as impressões da viagem A politica dos princepes de Itália em 1680, decerto com a finalidade de fornecer modelos críti­cos aos governantes portugueses. Da apreciação da política italiana ressaltam simpatias pela república veneziana, pelo Ducado de Saboia, mas também um conhecimento deficiente das políti­cas de Génova, Modena, Mântua, Parma e Lucca, tão (...) reduzida é a informação que sobre elas aduz. Fez ressaltar o peso da falta de unidade territorial da Itália, os inconvenientes do regime electivo e as vantagens do absolutismo, este através do modelo da corte papal e na participação da nobreza, ao nível dos outros Estados. Mas a sugestão utópica vai para a república, através duma idealização do regime veneziano. Diplomata como era, Pereira não enjeitou também in­teressantes observações sobre política internacional. (shrink)

Résumé Et toi, quel est ton genre? Les Betty, intellectuelles précaires, partageant un désir militant, critiques tant vis-à-vis des groupes féministes historiques, que des pratiques politiques au sein du mouvement des mouvements, nous racontent leur création d’un espace, le "sexishock" au cœur même d’un centre social à Bologne.

We analyse the development of Fair Trade in Italy by examining its principles, structure, performance, dilemmas and potential solutions and identifying its main distinctive features. These lead us to develop a specifically Italian model. Fair Trade in Italy is younger than its more established North European counterparts and more focussed on broad social justice issues in addition to its concern to include marginalized producers. This normative difference has given rise to a social-economy-dominated value chain, although it has generated (...) much lower per capita consumption of Fair Trade products. At the same time, we also observe a relatively higher specialization in handicraft products and educational activities as well as a strong capacity to attract voluntary labour and create social capital. We identify clear trade-offs between social goals and the economic performance of the Italian model: reduced economies of scale, a closer focus on non-economic-value-creating social activities and greater consideration of values such as consumption sobriety and environmental concerns which may conflict with economic performance. We propose solutions which may resolve these dilemmas without abandoning the initial ambition not only to achieve the promotion of market access for marginalized producers in the South, but also to pursue a broader concept of well-being in the North and the South. (shrink)

F. Enriques and G. de Santillana have begun in collaboration the composition of a general history of scientific thought. The first volume of this work, which has been recently published, is concerned with the science of antiquity,1 and to a large extent covers the same ground as the history of ancient philosophy, as the frontiers of philosophy and natural science, at any rate until the time of Aristotle, were not yet clearly differentiated. But the two historians are interested in bringing (...) into prominence a great many problems and personalities that the history of philosophy generally leaves on one side, although they help to complete and vivify the picture of the mentality of the ancients. Mathematics, medicine, geography, astronomy, applied mechanics, and physics, in short all the particular scientific studies that were just beginning to detach themselves from the parent trunk of general philosophy are studied by the authors in their individual developments and through the personalities of their cultivators. The explanations are clear and simple and can be followed even by readers unversed in science; the information is at first hand and is supplemented by a careful discussion of sources. The scientific questions are not isolated from the historical setting of the civilization of antiquity, but are shown in relation to matters of philosophy, religion, art, and moral and political life. The bibliography, intended for the more purely scientific and technical departments of philosophy, forms a very useful and timely completion of the bibliography of philosophic thought in general. (shrink)

In the series Collezione di Filosofia published by Taylor of Turin since 1947, some of the most significant works on Italian existentialism have appeared. The series was inaugurated by two books by the writer of this article: Introduzione all esistenzialismo, second edition, 1947 ; and Filosofia religione scienza, 1947. These were followed by Pietro Chiodi, L'esistenzialismo di Heidegger, 1947; Armando Vedaldi, Essere gli altri, 1948; Uberto Scarpelli, Esistenzialismo e marxismo, 1949; Enzo Paci, II nulla e il problema dell'uomo, 1950; Luigi (...) Pareyson, Esistenza e persona, 1950; and Armando Vedaldi, Struttura della proprietà, 1951. (shrink)