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964Un'esile significanza: Eugenio Lecaldano sul senso della vitaEtica E Politica 19 (2). 2017.In this paper, I examine Eugenio Lecaldano’s way of tackling the issue of the meaning of life. I highlight the dependence of his individualistic approach on the specific character of the person who inquires into the meaning of life. I also sketch a weaker way of understanding the meaning of life as an attempt to provide reasons which are valid from the standpoint of the present, and which will make us continue living.
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741On PrideHumana Mente 12 (35): 101-123. 2019.In this essay, I offer a vindication of pride. I start by presenting the Christian condemnation of pride as the cardinal sin. I subsequently examine Mandeville’s line of argument whereby pride is beneficial to society, although remaining a vice for the individual. Finally, I focus on, and endorse, the analysis of pride formulated by Hume, for whom pride qualifies instead as a virtue. This is because pride not only contributes to making society flourish but also stabilizes the virtuous agent by c…Read more
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670The Force of Sympathy in the Ethics of David HumeIn Lorenzo Greco & Alessio Vaccari (eds.), Hume Readings, Edizioni Di Storia E Letteratura. pp. 193-210. 2012.
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483Il buon soldato e l’agente virtuoso: Hume e la military gloryIn Maurizio Balistreri, Maurizio Benato & Maurizio Mori (eds.), Etica medica nella vita militare: per iniziare una riflessione, vol. 1, Value – Ananke. pp. 107-115. 2014.
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414Toward a Humean Virtue EthicsIn Julia Peters (ed.), Aristotelian Ethics in Contemporary Perspective, Routledge. pp. 210-23. 2013.
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387John Stuart Mill, Bentham e Coleridge. Due saggi (Napoli: Alfredo Guida Editore, 1999). (review)SWIF Recensioni Filosofiche 4 (4). 2002.
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385Maria Chiara Pievatolo, La giustizia degli invisibili. L'identificazione del soggetto morale, a ripartire da Kant (Roma: Carocci Editore, 1999). (review)SWIF Recensioni Filosofiche 1 (3). 1999.
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303Hume, Teleology, and the 'Science of Man'In William Gibson, Dan O'Brien & Marius Turda (eds.), Teleology and Modernity, Routledge. pp. 147-64. 2019.There are various forms of teleological thinking central to debates in the early modern and modern periods, debates in which David Hume (1711–1776) is a key figure. In the first section, we shall introduce three levels at which teleological considerations have been incorporated into philosophical accounts of man and nature, and sketch Hume’s criticisms of these approaches. In the second section, we turn to Hume’s non-teleological ‘science of man’. In the third section, we show how Hume has an ac…Read more
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232Mario Ricciardi, Diritto e natura. H.L.A. Hart e la filosofia di Oxford (review)Mondoperaio 8 89-91. 2009.
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186Humean Reflections in the Ethics of Bernard WilliamsUtilitas 19 (3): 312-25. 2007.In this article, I maintain that the anti-theoretical spirit which pervades Williams's ethics is close to the Humean project of developing and defending an ethics based on sentiments which has its main focus in the virtues. In particular, I argue that there are similar underlying themes which run through the philosophies of Hume and Williams, such as the view that a correct ethical perspective cannot avoid dealing with a broader theory of human nature; the conviction that this inquiry cannot be …Read more
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167The Self as Narrative in HumeJournal of the History of Philosophy 53 (4): 699-722. 2015.In this paper, I return to the well-known apparent inconsistencies in Hume’s treatment of personal identity in the three books of A Treatise of Human Nature, and try to defend a Humean narrative interpretation of the self. I argue that in Book 1 of the Treatise Hume is answering (to use Marya Schechtman’s expressions in The Constitution of Selves) a “reidentification” question concerning personal identity, which is different from the “characterization” question of Books 2 and 3. That is, I maint…Read more
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100Persons and Passions: Essays in Honor of Annette Baier (review)Hume Studies 36 (2): 229-32. 2010.Annette Baier stands out as a figure of prime importance on the contemporary philosophical horizon. This volume finally brings the proper recognition she deserves, presenting a rich collection of essays in her honor. Persons and Passions proves to be extremely interesting both for the discussion of Baier’s own philosophical reflection and as an example of how Baier represents an unparalleled source of inspiration for anyone concerned with the philosophers who have been at the forefront of her in…Read more
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93Against Neo-Aristotelian Virtue Ethics: The Humean ChallengeTeoria: Rivista di Filosofia Fondata da Vittorio Sainati 38 (2): 123-33. 2018.In this essay, I discuss some elements of Hume’s virtue ethics that distinguish it from the neo-Aristotelian approach. I stress some of its characteristics – its emphasis on character traits rather than on actions, the role it reserves for moral education, its being sentimentalist – and highlight its points of strength with respect to the neo-Aristotelian version. I do that by defending an interpretation of Hume’s virtue ethics in terms of a form of subjectivism hinging on individuals possessin…Read more
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85A Powerless Conscience: Hume on Reflection and Acting ConscientiouslyBritish Journal for the History of Philosophy 25 (3). 2017.If one looks for the notion of conscience in Hume, there appears to be a contrast between the loose use of it that can be found in his History of England, and the stricter use of it Hume makes in his philosophical works. It is my belief that, notwithstanding the problems Hume’s philosophy raises for a notion such as conscience, it is possible to frame a positive Humean explanation of it. I want to suggest that, far from corresponding to a mental power or to a faculty of some sort, conscience for…Read more
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81Hume e l'etica della virtùIride: Filosofia e Discussione Pubblica 25 (67): 603-15. 2012.In this paper, I present some reasons in favour of an interpretation of Hume’s moral philosophy as a brand new form of "virtue ethics." By discussing some specific issues within the secondary literature in favour and against this kind of reading, I argue that Hume offers better philosophical tools to redefine the basic notion of virtue ethics than the neo-Aristotelian alternative. In particular, I maintain that the strength of Hume’s proposal lies in its pointing toward the unity of character in…Read more
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72Preserving Practicality: In Defense of Hume's Sympathy-Based EthicsIn Philip A. Reed & Rico Vitz (eds.), Hume’s Moral Philosophy and Contemporary Psychology, Routledge. 2018.In this essay, I examine the role played by sympathy in preserving the practical dimension of Hume’s ethics. I reconstruct how sympathy works for Hume by differentiating it from the contemporary understanding of empathy, and I counter some of the objections that have been moved against Humean sympathy. I argue that Humean sympathy is instrumental in bringing about a common point of view of morality, and capable of vindicating both how we form moral judgments, and how we are moved by them. I main…Read more
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67Aspirazione, riflessione e felicità: l’etica della virtù di Julia AnnasIride: Filosofia e Discussione Pubblica 29 (1): 173-80. 2016.In this essay, I offer a survey of Julia Annas’ perspective on virtue ethics. I focus on her most recent work and highlight the role reflection plays in shaping her conception of the virtuous agent. I compare her approach with that of rival moral conceptions, both within and outside virtue ethics, and conclude with a doubt raised from a Humean point of view.
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60Roger Crisp, Reasons and the Good (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006). (review)Rivista di Filosofia 99 (2): 329-30. 2008.
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57Claudia Portioli (ed.), Natura e libertà (Perugia: Morlacchi, 2009). (review)Rivista di Filosofia 102 (2): 322-23. 2011.
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52Hume on ShameIn Alessandra Fussi & Raffaele Rodogno (eds.), The Moral Psychology of Shame, Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 79-101. 2023.David Hume is famous for developing a ‘science of man’ based on a thorough investigation of passions and sentiments. What is most surprising is that, in his sentimental geography, shame appears to play a rather marginal role. In this essay, I shall maintain that it is nonetheless possible to find room for shame in Hume, and that the most promising way to do so is to consider it in the light of a different passion on which Hume dwells at length, the passion of humility. I shall thus examine where…Read more
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50David HumeIn Giulia Belgioioso, Siegrid Agostini, Chiara Catalano & Francesca Giuliano (eds.), Storia della filosofia moderna, Mondadori Educational/le Monnier Università. pp. 317-33. 2018.
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50Alessio Vaccari, Le etiche della virtù. La riflessione contemporanea a partire da Hume (Firenze: Le Lettere, 2012) (review)Rivista di Filosofia 105 (1): 158-59. 2014.
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47Jacqueline A. Taylor, Reflecting Subjects: Passions, Sympathy, and Society in Hume's Philosophy (Oxford-New York: Oxford University Press, 2015). (review)British Journal for the History of Philosophy (6): 1-4. 2017.
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45Martha C. Nussbaum, Capacità personale e democrazia sociale (Reggio Emilia: Diabasis, 2003). (review)Filosofia Politica 19 (2): 307-308. 2005.
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45Bernard Williams, Vergogna e necessità (Bologna: Il Mulino, 2007). (review)Rivista di Filosofia 99 (2): 352-54. 2008.
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39L’umanesimo di Bernard Williams tra filosofia morale e filosofia politicaRagion Pratica: Rivista semestrale 39 543-61. 2012.
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37Riflessione e individuo in Bernard WilliamsIride: Filosofia e Discussione Pubblica 25 (65): 103-18. 2012.This essay deals with a set of distinctive themes in the thought of Bernard Williams, and focuses on two aspects they all have in common. These are, on the one hand, the idea that the philosophical enterprise is intrinsically reflective in nature, and, on the other, a preoccupation with human beings singly regarded as individuals. By bringing these two constants to the fore, individually and in their interrelations, the essay formulates the general lines of an alternative reading of Williams, re…Read more
University of Pisa
PhD, 2003
Italy
Areas of Specialization
1 more
David Hume |
17th/18th Century Philosophy |
Social and Political Philosophy |
Normative Ethics |
Moral Psychology |
Meta-Ethics |
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Action |
Philosophy of Mind |
Applied Ethics |
20th Century Philosophy |