Raison et bon sens. Due studi tra letteratura e filosofia

The diptych outlined here, straddling literature and philosophy, draws on seventeenth-century themes that took root in twentieth-century Italy. Two strands: scientists and moralists. Two critics, distinct, in some respects quite distant, yet also connected in various ways: Enrico Falqui and Giovanni Macchia. Two classic anthologies that exerted a long-lasting influence: "Antologia della prosa scientifica italiana"; "I moralisti classici". Two different conceptions, and a theoretical awareness that differed greatly for each; a firmly held conviction: ‘any renunciation of style will also be a diminution of civilisation, of awareness’. Scientists and moralists; two facets of a multifaceted seventeenth century; two facets that can become one: ‘study is the most substantial nourishment for our spirit… conversation, however, is what makes it worthwhile’; but they can also diverge: ‘the world exists more so that we may make use of it than so that we may understand it’.