Videos by Alberto Fabris
École thématique de Néolatin_02/07/2019
3 views
Enregistrement de la présentation par Alberto Fabris, chercheur invité au PHI (ULB) : "Vertu inte... more Enregistrement de la présentation par Alberto Fabris, chercheur invité au PHI (ULB) : "Vertu intellective et puissance. Incarnation de l'intellect possible de Dante à Giordano Bruno".
Réponse d'Elisabeth Lefort, chercheuse au CTP (ULB). 3 views
Books by Alberto Fabris
Rizzoli, Il Corriere della Sera, 2020
Orfana di entrambi i genitori poco dopo la nascita, Ca- terina de’ Medici diviene la pedina delle... more Orfana di entrambi i genitori poco dopo la nascita, Ca- terina de’ Medici diviene la pedina delle spregiudicate politiche dei pontefici della sua famiglia. Colta e raffinata, assiste allo scempio del sacco di Roma prima di essere data in moglie a Enrico di Valois per suggellare l’alleanza tra Francia e Stato pontificio. Le sue vicende si legano così a quelle del Paese adottivo, contribuendo alla diffusione della cultura e dei costumi del Rinascimento italiano. Sola e sottostimata dai più, vince con le sue forze enormi difficoltà diventando una delle donne più potenti del tempo. Nella Francia travolta dalle guerre di religione, tenta di realizzare un’impossibile pacificazione tra le parti e di rafforzare la monarchia, prefigurando esiti che saranno al centro delle sfide del Grand Siècle.
Rizzoli, Il Corriere della Sera, 2020
Nata da uno dei matrimoni più controversi della storia – quello che inaugurò lo scisma anglicano ... more Nata da uno dei matrimoni più controversi della storia – quello che inaugurò lo scisma anglicano – Elisabetta fu proclamata principessa, figlia illegittima e regina d’Inghil- terra e d’Irlanda in un vortice di svolte che plasmarono la sua instancabile tempra. Fu imprigionata e scampò più volte miracolosamente alla morte. Seppe dimostrarsi tollerante ma anche determinata e, in certe occasioni, spietata. Regnò per oltre quarantaquattro anni eserci- tando un’influenza indelebile sulla storia dell’Inghilterra e più in generale d’Europa. Durante il suo regno convissero i fasti del teatro shakespeariano e la miseria delle enclo- sure, l’affermarsi della potenza inglese e l’asservimento di uomini e donne nelle workhouse o nelle colonie ameri- cane. Come ogni grande personaggio, Elisabetta resterà per sempre affascinante e contraddittoria.
Rizzoli, Il Corriere della sera, 2020
Quando Tommaso Campanella nasce, il Concilio di Trento si è concluso da pochi anni e l'Europa è o... more Quando Tommaso Campanella nasce, il Concilio di Trento si è concluso da pochi anni e l'Europa è ormai entrata nell'età della Controriforma. Il suo dinamismo intellettuale e la sua vo-lontà di conciliare le Scritture con il gran libro della natura si scontreranno continuamente con censure, sospetti e condanne per una filosofia che, malgrado le continue riformulazioni, ap-pariva eterodossa rispetto a canoni che andavano rigidamente imponendosi. Subirà più di cinque processi, l'ultimo dei quali, originato da un tentativo fallito di insurrezione contro la do-minazione spagnola in Calabria, gli costerà ventisette anni di prigionia. Scienza e poesia, profetismo e meditazione politica s'intrecciano nella straordinaria vicenda di colui che nacque "a debellar tre mali estremi: tirannide, sofismi, ipocrisia". Ina-scoltato, fu relegato nelle segrete di molte prigioni ma, anche nei momenti più bui, non smise mai di confidare che "i profeti risorgono, o dopo tre giorni, o dopo tre secoli".
articles by Alberto Fabris
Machiavelliana, 2024
This article contributes to the growing debate in recent historiographical works on the conceptua... more This article contributes to the growing debate in recent historiographical works on the conceptualisation of space according to Machiavelli. In particular, it focuses on three key points in the Florentine Histories: (1) the struggles between the nobility and the people, shaped by the city’s fortifications and boundaries; (2) Walter of Brienne’s tyrannical interlude,
in regard to which Machiavelli highlights the tyrant’s ability to ‘politically inhabit’ diπerent spaces and the heartfelt plea made by an anonymous member of the Signoria, who attempts to dissuade the French nobleman from the coup by pointing out how the urban structure itself constantly rekindles in the citizens their love of lost freedom; (3) the acknowledgement of the political significance of noble palaces, which can usher in a new era in city politics. According to the author of this article, Machiavelli sees the urban fabric not just as the by-product of societal forces but as the instigator of particular socio-political dynamics within the urban context.
Scaffale Aperto, 2022
Questo articolo intende analizzare alcuni aspetti dell’enigmatica struttura del Candelaio, commed... more Questo articolo intende analizzare alcuni aspetti dell’enigmatica struttura del Candelaio, commedia in italiano composta da Giordano Bruno nel 1582. In primo luogo, come l’autore mette in luce fin dalle prime battute, la pièce teatrale è intimamente connessa alle coeve opere mnemotecniche e fornisce una chiave d’accesso privilegiata all’innovativa ars memoriae formulata in quegli anni da Bruno. Sfidando continuamente la possibilità di essere messo in scena, il Candelaio chiama in causa il lettore-spettatore facendo della sua immaginazione il supporto che lo rende possibile. In secondo luogo, costruendo il suo intreccio attorno all’ambiguo desiderio di Bonifacio, Bartolomeo e Manfurio — protagonista uno-e-trino della rappresentazione — in contrasto con quello delle altre figure che appaiono sulla scena, il Candelaio si propone come una meditazione sul desiderio, motore delle azioni umane e della vicissitudine universale. Da ultimo, la commedia di Bruno è anche una riflessione sulla città e sul denaro, flusso multiforme che vivifica il perimetro urbano e che, incarnando desideri e relazioni della civiltà urbana di fine Cinquecento, finisce col confondersi con l’essenza stessa delle cose.
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This article aims at analysing certain aspects of the enigmatic structure of The Candle-Bearer, a play in Italian composed by Giordano Bruno in 1582. Firstly, as the author highlights from the very first lines, the play is intimately connected to contemporary mnemonic works and provides a privileged key to the innovative ars memoriae formulated by Bruno in those years. Constantly challenging the possibility of being staged, The Candle-Bearer calls upon the reader-spectator by making his imagination the medium that makes it possible. Secondly, by constructing its plot around the ambiguous desire of Bonifacio, Bartolomeo and Manfurio — the one-and-triune protagonist of the play — in contrast to that of the other figures appearing on stage, The Candle-Bearer is proposed as a meditation on desire, the motor of human actions and universal vicissitude. Finally, Bruno’s play is also a reflection on the city and money, a multiform flux that enlivens the urban perimeter and that, embodying desires and relationships of late 16th-century urban civilisation, ends up embodying the very essence of things.
Méthodes. Savoirs et textes, 2020
The philosophic and literary production of Giordano Bruno (1545-1600) is characterised by a const... more The philosophic and literary production of Giordano Bruno (1545-1600) is characterised by a constant issue about the mutual relationships between a text and its reader, both being the result of a reciprocal construction. In this article, we will focus especially on the Italian comedy The Candle Bearer (1582) and on the art of memory's treatise Cantus Circæus (1582) to show how the relation text/reader is essential to understand the philosophical implication of the two works. During the Renaissance, reading has to be considered an authentic assimilation exercise and the Art of memory was conceived as a tool to act on the soul. Through a very deep link with the reader, Bruno's works seek to renovate the human being and to shape his intellect according to the opus magnum of the universe.
Bruno et Montaigne. Chemins de la modernité, 2020
Figures majeures de la Renaissance, Montaigne et Bruno partagent une atmosphère culturelle analog... more Figures majeures de la Renaissance, Montaigne et Bruno partagent une atmosphère culturelle analogue et se nourrissent souvent des mêmes références textuelles. En nous concentrant surtout sur Montaigne, nous verrons comment la tentative de penser le passage de l’un au multiple et du fini à l’infini les amène à théoriser une véritable herméneutique de la transformation.
Implications philosophiques, 2017
La présence et l’usage des sources dans la production littéraire d’un auteur pose des questions q... more La présence et l’usage des sources dans la production littéraire d’un auteur pose des questions qui vont bien au-delà de la simple érudition. Cela est par exemple le cas des échos du Roland furieux dans les écrits de Giordano Bruno. Si les octaves de l’Arioste et les références à ses paladins marquent des passages significatifs des dialogues italiens, il ne s’agit pas de simples renvois formels et stylistiques. Le Furieux, comme Italo Calvino n’a pas manqué d’observer, est une immense machina qui multiplie en permanence les plains du discours et s’ouvre sur l’infinité des mondes possibles. Dans l’âge d’or de l’art de la mémoire et de l’ars combinatoria, la logique qui anime le poème de l’Arioste est pour Giordano Bruno le chiffre d’une véritable pensée en mouvement qui ouvre chaque aspect du réel à l’infinité du possible. Des œuvres ontologiques aux dernières tentatives de construire une mens artificiata capable de reproduire les rythmes vitaux de la nature, la production de Bruno est toujours traversée par une force sous-jacente qui rouvre le fini à la puissance du chaos primordial. Cette même force nous semble l’un des traits constitutifs de la poétique de l’Arioste. Dans cet article, je me propose de développer quelques conclusions sur la lecture et le mécanisme de la citation de l’Arioste dans les travaux de Giordano Bruno.
chapters, entries by Alberto Fabris
Philosophical Readings, 2024
In this paper, I explore new research paths to reevaluate the significance of Francesco Ingoli as... more In this paper, I explore new research paths to reevaluate the significance of Francesco Ingoli as a political thinker. This reassessment is conducted through a philosophical and conceptual analysis of his work as the
General Secretary of the Congregation de Propaganda Fide. I focus particularly on his Relazione delle Quattro Parti del Mondo (circa 1631), a text where Ingoli merges data from missionary reports and scholarly treatises with his own insights on global geography, politics, and anthropology proposing an innovative perspective on newly discovered regions. Despite the importance of Ingoli’s work, attesting to the deep resemantisation of political space that resulted from 16th and 17th century geographical discoveries, an in-depth assessment of his political thought from the perspective of political philosophy is still largely missing. Specifically, by investigating the Church’s efforts in adapting evangelization strategies across different regions of the world, including the development of a cosmopolitan and multilingual clergy, and the gathering of detailed information on the geographical, cultural, and ethnic characteristics of each area, sometimes even through indigenous correspondents, I intend to point out possible ways to explore the global interconnections that emerged at the dawn of early modernity. Finally,
this paper aims to shed new light on the impact of extra-European contributions on Western culture, as well as on Early Modernity as a global and multipolar phenomenon, characterized by cultural hybridization and reciprocal transfer.
Vie et pensée dans l'Europe de la Contre-Réforme La pensée philosophique de Bruno est le fruit d'... more Vie et pensée dans l'Europe de la Contre-Réforme La pensée philosophique de Bruno est le fruit d'un syncrétisme particulièrement accompli entre des traditions différentes qui s'exprime dans une quarantaine d'ouvrages écrits dans leur ensemble en moins de dix ans. Cette oeuvre est du reste le reflet d'un vécu existentiel en même temps unique et paradigmatique de l'Europe de la Contre-Réforme. Fils d'un mercenaire de conditions modestes, Bruno avait effectué ses premières études à Nola, sa ville natale, qu'il avait quittée en 1562 pour poursuivre sa formation à Naples dans l'Ordre dominicain. Le studium du monastère de S. Domenico Maggiore, où avait enseigné Thomas d'Aquin, était l'un des centres intellectuels les plus importants de l'Italie méridionale et offrit à Bruno une culture très solide en rhétorique, philosophie et théologie. Malgré les divergences précoces avec l'Ordre, Bruno ne renia jamais son parcours. Quand en 1584 il dut débattre avec les docteurs puritains d'Oxford, il opposa à leur formalisme vide sa compétence dans une « théologie plus profonde », analogue à celle des anciens « princes de la métaphysique » que l'Angleterre réformée avait reniés (De la cause, du principe et de l'un, OC 1996 : 76). L'âpre dispute cosmologique résumée dans Le Banquet des Cendres devint ainsi l'occasion d'opposer deux anthropologies différentes : d'un côté les magistri anglais, vides mais ornés de robes académiques et de bijoux, et de l'autre Bruno, « chien écorché », « mangeur d'oignons » (Le Chandelier, OC 1993 : 39) mais surtout « Napolitain, né et élevé sous un ciel plus aimable » (Le Banquet des Cendres 1988 : 134). Outre une évidente polémique contre les « fruits » pervers de l'extrémisme puritain, des passages comme celui-ci soulignent la conviction brunienne que les hommes, engendrés spontanément par la nature conformément à la doctrine de Lucrèce, sont aussi bien des constructions culturelles et sociales. La capacité humaine de transformer son environnement se révèle donc la forme la plus importante d'autopoïèse. La rupture avec l'Ordre dominicain, résultat d'une indépendance intellectuelle incompatible avec la rigueur de l'Église tridentine, eut lieu en 1576. Les documents de ces premières procédures disciplinaires ne sont plus disponibles et nous avons seulement les déclarations du philosophe au tribunal de l'Inquisition à la fin de sa vie. L'enlèvement de toutes les icônes en dehors du crucifix de sa cellule, la découverte de livres interdits en sa possession (notamment Érasme) et des propos mal placés concernant les protestants et le dogme trinitaire suscitèrent probablement la suspicion d'une proximité inquiétante de Bruno avec les idées réformées. Du reste, des imputations analogues revinrent aussi dans le procès romain, motivées par le long séjour de Bruno dans des pays protestants et par des passages incriminés de ses écrits. Si les positions du Nolain envers la Réforme furent encore plus sévères de celles à l'égard du catholicisme, les critiques virulentes à la figure du Christ méritent une attention particulière. Les doutes juvéniles sur la trinité-et notamment sur la deuxième personne-aboutirent à un questionnement radical du modèle christologique, Deus perfectus et homo perfectus, seul point d'accès et médiation possible entre les hommes et le divin. Une subversion si profonde des axes portants du christianisme-de la transcendance divine au concept de création, du rôle de l'homme, créature privilégiée, à la subsistance de l'âme-ne permettait aucune conciliation et rendit inévitable l'issue tragique d'un procès qui a duré dix ans. Un tel
Vie et pensée dans l'Europe de la Contre-Réforme La pensée philosophique de Bruno est le fruit d'... more Vie et pensée dans l'Europe de la Contre-Réforme La pensée philosophique de Bruno est le fruit d'un syncrétisme particulièrement accompli entre des traditions différentes qui s'exprime dans une quarantaine d'ouvrages écrits dans leur ensemble en moins de dix ans. Cette oeuvre est du reste le reflet d'un vécu existentiel en même temps unique et paradigmatique de l'Europe de la Contre-Réforme. Fils d'un mercenaire de conditions modestes, Bruno avait effectué ses premières études à Nola, sa ville natale, qu'il avait quittée en 1562 pour poursuivre sa formation à Naples dans l'Ordre dominicain. Le studium du monastère de S. Domenico Maggiore, où avait enseigné Thomas d'Aquin, était l'un des centres intellectuels les plus importants de l'Italie méridionale et offrit à Bruno une culture très solide en rhétorique, philosophie et théologie. Malgré les divergences précoces avec l'Ordre, Bruno ne renia jamais son parcours. Quand en 1584 il dut débattre avec les docteurs puritains d'Oxford, il opposa à leur formalisme vide sa compétence dans une « théologie plus profonde », analogue à celle des anciens « princes de la métaphysique » que l'Angleterre réformée avait reniés (De la cause, du principe et de l'un, OC 1996 : 76). L'âpre dispute cosmologique résumée dans Le Banquet des Cendres devint ainsi l'occasion d'opposer deux anthropologies différentes : d'un côté les magistri anglais, vides mais ornés de robes académiques et de bijoux, et de l'autre Bruno, « chien écorché », « mangeur d'oignons » (Le Chandelier, OC 1993 : 39) mais surtout « Napolitain, né et élevé sous un ciel plus aimable » (Le Banquet des Cendres 1988 : 134). Outre une évidente polémique contre les « fruits » pervers de l'extrémisme puritain, des passages comme celui-ci soulignent la conviction brunienne que les hommes, engendrés spontanément par la nature conformément à la doctrine de Lucrèce, sont aussi bien des constructions culturelles et sociales. La capacité humaine de transformer son environnement se révèle donc la forme la plus importante d'autopoïèse. La rupture avec l'Ordre dominicain, résultat d'une indépendance intellectuelle incompatible avec la rigueur de l'Église tridentine, eut lieu en 1576. Les documents de ces premières procédures disciplinaires ne sont plus disponibles et nous avons seulement les déclarations du philosophe au tribunal de l'Inquisition à la fin de sa vie. L'enlèvement de toutes les icônes en dehors du crucifix de sa cellule, la découverte de livres interdits en sa possession (notamment Érasme) et des propos mal placés concernant les protestants et le dogme trinitaire suscitèrent probablement la suspicion d'une proximité inquiétante de Bruno avec les idées réformées. Du reste, des imputations analogues revinrent aussi dans le procès romain, motivées par le long séjour de Bruno dans des pays protestants et par des passages incriminés de ses écrits. Si les positions du Nolain envers la Réforme furent encore plus sévères de celles à l'égard du catholicisme, les critiques virulentes à la figure du Christ méritent une attention particulière. Les doutes juvéniles sur la trinité-et notamment sur la deuxième personne-aboutirent à un questionnement radical du modèle christologique, Deus perfectus et homo perfectus, seul point d'accès et médiation possible entre les hommes et le divin. Une subversion si profonde des axes portants du christianisme-de la transcendance divine au concept de création, du rôle de l'homme, créature privilégiée, à la subsistance de l'âme-ne permettait aucune conciliation et rendit inévitable l'issue tragique d'un procès qui a duré dix ans. Un tel
Giordano Bruno, born Filippo (Nola 1548-Rome 1600), was one of the major philosophers of the late... more Giordano Bruno, born Filippo (Nola 1548-Rome 1600), was one of the major philosophers of the late Renaissance. His vast production-comprising more than thirty-nine works written between 1582 and 1591 and often unpublished-encompasses mnemotechnic, magic, moral and political writings as well as a solid corpus of natural and ontological works. Bruno was the first philosopher to defend the theory of an infinite universe animated by unlimited worlds. He combined such a theory with an original interpretation of Copernicanism. Rejecting any idea of transcendence between the First Cause and its effects, Bruno placed at the core of his system the notion of a permanent, creative matter, source of all transient forms. After his education in the Dominican order, diverse accusations of complaisance with Reformed ideas and possessions of forbidden books compelled him to leave the monastery of S. Domenico Maggiore in Naples and begin a lifelong wandering across Europe. For the following sixteen years, he associated with divergent cultural and religious contexts such as Calvin's Geneva, Valois' France, Elizabethan England, and Protestant Germany before being arrested in Venice by the Catholic Inquisition and burnt in Rome in 1600 after a ten-year trial. Following the emphasis that Jacobi and idealist philosophers like Shelling (Bruno oder über das göttliche und natürliche Prinzip der Dinge, 1802) and Hegel (Lectures on the History of Philosophy, part II, section III) placed on his opposition to Christian's dogmas, on his "bacchantic" prose and poetry, as well as on his identification of the Absolute with nature, Bruno's biography and intellectual profile were rediscovered all along the 19 th century, when his works were translated into several European languages. The fascination for the philosopher was particularly vivid in the German-speaking world, as attested by the significant number of studies and critical editions published between 1830 and 1891 (Bassi 2012, p. 554). These new critical instruments allowed a better understanding and contextualization of Bruno's thought. Nonetheless, a consistent part of this rediscovery was driven by a liberal and Freemasonic reading of his biography, that elevated him to a martyr of freethinking in the fight against religion and the Church (Mola 1994, pp. 196-197; Bucciantini 2015). While all these elements exercised an evocative but generic influence on Nietzsche, the most significant mediation between him and the Italian philosopher is to be found in the work of Heinrich von Stein (1857-1887), whose posthumous book Giordano Bruno. Gedanken über seine Lehre und sein Leben (1900) celebrated the Nolano as one of the most influential thinkers of the Renaissance, in open antithesis with contemporary positivism and abstract logic. According to von Steiner, Bruno's philosophy-unlike the post-Cartesian and post-Kantian ones-embraced the challenge of understanding the world's intimate essence and conciliating it with the human soul. Bruno refused any abstract logic, trying instead to forge a poetic and artistic language in his journey towards the deepest meaning of nature, whereof man would be nothing but a particular configuration. The linguistic expressionism of the Italian philosopher always fascinated von Stein, who obtained his habilitation at the University of Halle in 1881 with a dissertation on The meaning of the poetic element in the philosophy of Giordano Bruno. Thus, it is unsurprising to see that Bruno's use of language was featured prominently in the first exchanges between von Stein and Nietzsche. Since 1878, von Stein was appointed as preceptor of Wagner's son and became a Wagnerian circle member. He was then introduced to Nietzsche by Lou Salomé and Paul Ree. After a long correspondence started in 1882, the two finally met in Sils Maria in august 1884 (Posani Löwerstein, 2014). As attested by a posthumous fragment of 1884-one of the three only occasions where Nietzsche mentions the Italian philosopher-, Bruno and his "heroic" personality, able to conjugate speculation and creativeness, were at the core of the discussions between him and von Stein since their first exchanges. In that fragment, composed between summer and autumn 1884 after his meeting with Stein, Nietzsche celebrates "G. Bruno", together with Plato and Goethe, as one of these creative figures "where the artist is only a part of the man" (eKGWB/NF-1884,26[42], my transl.). A few months earlier, in a letter sent on 22 May from Venice to Berlin, where von Stein had obtained the chair of aesthetics, Nietzsche expressed a singular appreciation for certain verses by Bruno that he had read in a translation provided by von Stein himself. More particularly, to thank Nietzsche for sending him the third part of Also sprach Zarathustra, von Stein had dispatched him his translations
review by Alberto Fabris
Astérion, 2020
Ce document a été généré automatiquement le 9 septembre 2021. Astérion est mis à disposition selo... more Ce document a été généré automatiquement le 9 septembre 2021. Astérion est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Attribution-Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale-Pas de Modification 4.0 International.
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Videos by Alberto Fabris
Réponse d'Elisabeth Lefort, chercheuse au CTP (ULB).
Books by Alberto Fabris
articles by Alberto Fabris
in regard to which Machiavelli highlights the tyrant’s ability to ‘politically inhabit’ diπerent spaces and the heartfelt plea made by an anonymous member of the Signoria, who attempts to dissuade the French nobleman from the coup by pointing out how the urban structure itself constantly rekindles in the citizens their love of lost freedom; (3) the acknowledgement of the political significance of noble palaces, which can usher in a new era in city politics. According to the author of this article, Machiavelli sees the urban fabric not just as the by-product of societal forces but as the instigator of particular socio-political dynamics within the urban context.
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This article aims at analysing certain aspects of the enigmatic structure of The Candle-Bearer, a play in Italian composed by Giordano Bruno in 1582. Firstly, as the author highlights from the very first lines, the play is intimately connected to contemporary mnemonic works and provides a privileged key to the innovative ars memoriae formulated by Bruno in those years. Constantly challenging the possibility of being staged, The Candle-Bearer calls upon the reader-spectator by making his imagination the medium that makes it possible. Secondly, by constructing its plot around the ambiguous desire of Bonifacio, Bartolomeo and Manfurio — the one-and-triune protagonist of the play — in contrast to that of the other figures appearing on stage, The Candle-Bearer is proposed as a meditation on desire, the motor of human actions and universal vicissitude. Finally, Bruno’s play is also a reflection on the city and money, a multiform flux that enlivens the urban perimeter and that, embodying desires and relationships of late 16th-century urban civilisation, ends up embodying the very essence of things.
chapters, entries by Alberto Fabris
General Secretary of the Congregation de Propaganda Fide. I focus particularly on his Relazione delle Quattro Parti del Mondo (circa 1631), a text where Ingoli merges data from missionary reports and scholarly treatises with his own insights on global geography, politics, and anthropology proposing an innovative perspective on newly discovered regions. Despite the importance of Ingoli’s work, attesting to the deep resemantisation of political space that resulted from 16th and 17th century geographical discoveries, an in-depth assessment of his political thought from the perspective of political philosophy is still largely missing. Specifically, by investigating the Church’s efforts in adapting evangelization strategies across different regions of the world, including the development of a cosmopolitan and multilingual clergy, and the gathering of detailed information on the geographical, cultural, and ethnic characteristics of each area, sometimes even through indigenous correspondents, I intend to point out possible ways to explore the global interconnections that emerged at the dawn of early modernity. Finally,
this paper aims to shed new light on the impact of extra-European contributions on Western culture, as well as on Early Modernity as a global and multipolar phenomenon, characterized by cultural hybridization and reciprocal transfer.
review by Alberto Fabris
Réponse d'Elisabeth Lefort, chercheuse au CTP (ULB).
in regard to which Machiavelli highlights the tyrant’s ability to ‘politically inhabit’ diπerent spaces and the heartfelt plea made by an anonymous member of the Signoria, who attempts to dissuade the French nobleman from the coup by pointing out how the urban structure itself constantly rekindles in the citizens their love of lost freedom; (3) the acknowledgement of the political significance of noble palaces, which can usher in a new era in city politics. According to the author of this article, Machiavelli sees the urban fabric not just as the by-product of societal forces but as the instigator of particular socio-political dynamics within the urban context.
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This article aims at analysing certain aspects of the enigmatic structure of The Candle-Bearer, a play in Italian composed by Giordano Bruno in 1582. Firstly, as the author highlights from the very first lines, the play is intimately connected to contemporary mnemonic works and provides a privileged key to the innovative ars memoriae formulated by Bruno in those years. Constantly challenging the possibility of being staged, The Candle-Bearer calls upon the reader-spectator by making his imagination the medium that makes it possible. Secondly, by constructing its plot around the ambiguous desire of Bonifacio, Bartolomeo and Manfurio — the one-and-triune protagonist of the play — in contrast to that of the other figures appearing on stage, The Candle-Bearer is proposed as a meditation on desire, the motor of human actions and universal vicissitude. Finally, Bruno’s play is also a reflection on the city and money, a multiform flux that enlivens the urban perimeter and that, embodying desires and relationships of late 16th-century urban civilisation, ends up embodying the very essence of things.
General Secretary of the Congregation de Propaganda Fide. I focus particularly on his Relazione delle Quattro Parti del Mondo (circa 1631), a text where Ingoli merges data from missionary reports and scholarly treatises with his own insights on global geography, politics, and anthropology proposing an innovative perspective on newly discovered regions. Despite the importance of Ingoli’s work, attesting to the deep resemantisation of political space that resulted from 16th and 17th century geographical discoveries, an in-depth assessment of his political thought from the perspective of political philosophy is still largely missing. Specifically, by investigating the Church’s efforts in adapting evangelization strategies across different regions of the world, including the development of a cosmopolitan and multilingual clergy, and the gathering of detailed information on the geographical, cultural, and ethnic characteristics of each area, sometimes even through indigenous correspondents, I intend to point out possible ways to explore the global interconnections that emerged at the dawn of early modernity. Finally,
this paper aims to shed new light on the impact of extra-European contributions on Western culture, as well as on Early Modernity as a global and multipolar phenomenon, characterized by cultural hybridization and reciprocal transfer.
Jeudi 4 mars 2021 : présentation par Alberto Fabris,
Discussant: Elisabeth Lefort.
Réception italienne de la Begriffsgeschichte et nouvelles perspectives de recherche"
Alberto Fabris,
Centre de recherche en philosophie, ULB
I will focus on Circe as she appears in the Renaissance philosopher Giordano Bruno’s works, especially the 1582 Cantus Circæus. She becomes a personification of Bruno’s philosophy and an allegory of the perpetual mutation of things. From an example of lust and moral perdition, Circe becomes the one who recognizes the stable and eternal principle of the universe under the flux of its infinite appearance.