Andrea Altobrando

University of Padua
China University Of Political Science And Law
  • University of Padua
    Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology
    Associate Professor
  • China University Of Political Science And Law
    School of Humanities - Department of Philosophy
    Teaching staff
Bergische Universität Wuppertal / University Of Turin
Alumnus
Padua, Veneto, Italy
  •  6
    Observing Mythical Entities
    Grazer Philosophische Studien 100 (3): 302-335. 2023.
    Sellars has taught us that we do not have direct epistemic access to sense data. Therefore, the latter cannot work as the bedrock of our knowledge. At the same time, through the myth of genius Jones, Sellars has tried to explain how we become able to rationally refer to sense data. What is more, it even seems that, following Jones’ teachings, the Rylean folk have become able to observe sense data. How could this be possible if sense data are merely mythical entities? By making use of some ideas …Read more
  •  7
    On Husserl’s so-called Reduction to the Real Component_( _Reduktion auf den reellen Bestand)
    Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology 54 (4): 323-342. 2023.
    As Dieter Lohmar (Citation2002; Citation2012) has shown, in the Logical Investigation Husserl sketches a peculiar type of reduction, the so-called “Reduktion auf den reellen Bestand.” Husserl does not explicitly put this kind of reduction forward, though, and he does definitely not clarify how it works, and what its elements properly are. Lohmar proposes to understand it as a kind of empiricist reduction to mere sense-data. On the contrary, I believe that it should be considered as entailing als…Read more
  •  9
    Realizing the Imaginary
    with Simone Villani
    Studia Phaenomenologica 23 157-181. 2023.
    We provide a phenomenological explanation of the particular function mental images play in the realization of enjoyment and their significance for human freedom on the basis of the idea, drawn from Sartre, that images are not things but rather a way consciousness behaves towards objects. The mental image’s matter, which consists of affectivity, knowledge, and kinaesthetic operations, allows imagination to conjure up an unreal item to satiate a desire. However, by foreshadowing enjoyment in the i…Read more
  •  20
    The Resistance of the Given
    Review of Metaphysics 76 (4): 651-701. 2023.
    Abstract:It has convincingly been asserted that only what is conceptually formed can enter the space of reasons, and that only within the latter can we properly speak of knowledge in a way that is specific of human nature. The author purports to show (1) that, even if true, this does not mean that only what is intrinsically conceptual can have epistemic efficacy, (2) that we are able rationally to see nonconceptual contents, and (3) that the "vision" of nonconceptual content plays an essentially…Read more
  • La negazione: dal rifiuto al contrasto. Brentano e Husserl sul giudizio negativo
    Verifiche: Rivista Trimestrale di Scienze Umane (2): 139-177. 2017.
    Phenomenology tries to uncover the pre-linguistic foundation of logical operators, in order to show how our logical thinking is grounded in reality, and does not have a merely psychological value. If negation is grounded in the pre-predicative experience, though, it seems to follow that reality somehow contains something negative. It has been in order to avoid such consequence that Brentano has promoted a reform of ‘classical’ logic, which, among others, avoids negative terms. Husserl answered t…Read more
  • Giudizio negativo e impegno meontologico
    In Davide Sisto (ed.), Ritorno alla metafisica?, Aracne. pp. 49-66. 2019.
  • Monad
    In Daniele De Santis, Burt Hopkins & Claudio Majolino (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Phenomenology and Phenomenological Philosophy, Routledge. pp. 292-303. 2020.
  • Especially after the disasters of WWII, the relationship between human nature and technology has mainly been discussed in “Promethean” terms. That is to say, it has been discussed as it concerns the capacity, and perhaps the necessity, of humans to think and act technically, i.e., by means of technical devices, as well as to technically transform the environment. Now, as a consequence of the more recent, impressive advancements and achievements in biotechnology, pharmaceutics, etc. the new quest…Read more
  •  1
    Four core concepts in psychiatric diagnosis
    with Leonardo Zaninotto
    Psychopathology 55 (2): 73-81. 2021.
    In the present article, we aimed at describing the diagnostic process in Psychiatry through a phenomenological perspective. We have identified 4 core concepts which may represent the joints of a phenomenologically oriented diagnosis. The "tightrope walking" attitude refers to the psychiatrist's ability to swing between 2 different and sometimes contrasting tendencies (e.g., engagement and disengagement). The "holistic experience" includes all those intuitive, nonverbal, and pre-thematic elements…Read more
  •  8
    In this paper, we will revisit the relation between the respective conceptions of pure experience of Nishida Kitaro and William James. As various authors have previously shown, comparing Nishida and James can not only help us better understand both of their specific understandings of pure experience, and consequently its position within their respective enterprises, but also give a platform with which to see how these two authors could contribute to contemporary discussions on philosophical meth…Read more
  •  1
    On the transcendental
    Metodo. International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy 7-10. 2015.
  •  4
    On the transcendental - Part II
    Metodo. International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy 7-10. 2017.
  •  3
    Introduction
    with Takuya Niikawa and Richard Stone
    In Andrea Altobrando, Takuya Niikawa & Richard Stone (eds.), The Realizations of the Self, Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 1-12. 2018.
    Within the history of philosophy and across different cultures, few questions have been raised as frequently as what the realization of oneself means. Certainly, one of the very driving forces of philosophy seems to be the clarification of the self and its life. However, in spite of this, within recent years, there have been few serious critical and philosophical efforts to discuss what exactly it means to realize oneself. To this degree, there is a need to critically assess the meaning of self-…Read more
  •  16
    The Realizations of the Self (edited book)
    with Takuya Niikawa and Richard Stone
    Palgrave MacMillan. 2018.
    Recent discussions of self-realization have devolved into unscientific theories of self-help. However, this vague and often misused concept is connected to many important individual and social problems. As long as its meaning remains unclear, it can be abused for social, political, and commercial malpractices. To combat this issue, this book shares perspectives from scholars of various philosophical traditions. Each chapter takes new steps in asking what the meaning of self-realization is–both i…Read more
  •  16
    We are still looking for a satisfactory definition of what makes an individual being a human individual. The understanding of human beings in terms of organism does not seem to be satisfactory, because of its reductionistic flavor. It satisfies our need for autonomy and benefits our lives thanks to its medical applications, but it disappoints our needs for conscious and free, self-determination. For similar reasons, i.e. because of its anti-libertarian tone, an organicistic understanding of the …Read more
  •  6
    Jean-Luc Marion, Dialogo con l’amore (review)
    Rivista di Estetica 42 207-208. 2009.
    Con il titolo Dialogo con l’amore sono pubblicate le cinque lezioni e la conferenza pubblica che Jean-Luc Marion ha tenuto a Torino nel Novembre 2006 in occasione del primo ciclo seminariale della Scuola di Alta Formazione Filosofica. Jean-Luc Marion, professore di Filosofia alla Sorbona di Parigi, ha offerto nell’arco degli ultimi trent’anni contributi originali e spesso controversi nel campo della ricerca teologica e filosofica. Egli si situa lungo quella linea di pensiero inaugurata da Hei...
  •  6
    Muddling Through: An Episodic Conversation on Self, Narrativity, Transience, and Other Pleasantries
    In Andrea Altobrando, Takuya Niikawa & Richard Stone (eds.), The Realizations of the Self, Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 135-163. 2018.
    In your article “The unstoried life”, you criticize the idea that having a ‘storied life’ is necessary for a Good life. Some authors would probably admit that having a storied life is perhaps not necessary in order to simply exist as an Individual, singular being, but they would probably not accept that what you call a ‘Whole human being’ is possible without such narration.
  •  12
    The Phenomenology of the Pure Ego and Its Dialectical Actuality
    In Danilo Manca, Elisa Magrì, Dermot Moran & Alfredo Ferrarin (eds.), Hegel and Phenomenology, Springer Verlag. pp. 93-114. 2019.
    The notion of the “pure ego” is an expression which seems to have long been discredited. Even before the twentieth century – in the work of Hume, for instance – the idea that there is a pure pole of experience, and life, has been considered to be nothing more than a myth. More recently, criticism of the pure ego has often been made along the same lines as the criticism against the Cartesian self. That is to say, both have been regarded as something lacking not only a body, but also any psycholog…Read more
  • In the this article I try to show how an interaction between the phenomenological works of Enzo Paci and of Bernhard Waldenfels can lead to some interesting results concerning Husserl's search for a rigorous and apodictic ground for knowledge and for a universal science which involves the whole life of consciousness also in its intersubjective aspects. I do not try to compare the two thinkers, nor to assess the correctness of their interpretation of Husserl's thought, but to show through their t…Read more
  • Sul bisogno di individualità
    In Francesca Menegoni & Nicola De Carlo (eds.), Etica e mondo del lavoro, Franco Angeli. 2015.