Philosophers From Italy

"The cradle of Christian metaphysics was Alexandria, Egypt. When Christianity was born, this city was the most important cultural centre of the Roman Empire, having taken the place that had previously been held by Athens. (p. 21)"

"Origen embraces the key principle of Christian metaphysics, the theorem of creation. With Clement, he affirms that everything that is not God was drawn from nothing. He is the only principle of all things. (p. 55)"

"It is from the new truths contained in the great philosophical potential of Christianity that Christian metaphysics derives its main characteristics. It will always be a “'creationist”', “'personalistic”', “'spiritualistic”' and “'agapic”' metaphysics. (introduction, p. 15)"

"After history has taught us that possession of the Truth often produces fanaticism, and that an individual armed with truth is a potential terrorist, one is led to ask: are relativism and nihilism really the radical evil that we are led to believe? Or do they not also produce an awareness of the relativity of every point of view, and therefore of every religion? And so, do they not convey respect for the point of view of others and, therefore, the fundamental value of tolerance? There is beauty even in relativism and nihilism: they inhibit fanaticism."

"Christianity is a religion and not a philosophy: an act of salvation (a Heilsgeschichte) and not philosophical speculation. Its goal is not, like philosophy, to provide an exhaustive explanation of reality, but to establish a relationship of communion between man and God. (introduction, p. 7)"

"Christianity reveals many mysteries that are completely inaccessible to reason. Such are the mysteries of the Trinity, the Incarnation, sanctifying grace, the Mystical Body, and the resurrection of the flesh. (introduction, p. 7)"

"It is in Christianity that the spirit becomes self-transparent consciousness, a reality ‘in and of itself’ (to use the language of Hegel), free initiative and absolute freedom. (introduction, p. 9)"

"There is a faith that is enriched by the concepts of reason, and there is a reason that is enriched by the gifts of faith. (introduction, p. 6)"

"Socrates is not a metaphysician in the traditional sense [...] and yet the epithet “metaphysician” rightfully belongs to him, because his study of man goes far beyond the field of science and penetrates the deepest roots of human being and action. (p. 120)"

"Plato is the supreme philosopher, the philosopher par excellence. Undoubtedly, the figure of Aristotle also shines with brilliant splendour. But [...] no other philosopher has influenced the destiny of Western philosophy as much as Plato. His epistemological, metaphysical, ethical, political and aesthetic doctrines, assimilated by Christianity, have become a permanent legacy of medieval and modern culture. The figure of Plato is fundamental, gigantic and multifaceted. In addition to the history of philosophy, it also affects the history of poetry, literature and the Greek language. […] Plato's extraordinary greatness has been recognised throughout the ages. (p. 139)"

"The concept of person is an acquisition of Christianity. Historically, the word ‘person’ marks the dividing line between pagan and Christian culture. (introduction, p. 9)"

"The long and patient exploration of the spiritual world led classical Metaphysics, in its final phase, to the discovery of God: the one God (the One, the Good) of Plotinus, Porphyry and Proclus. (introduction, p. 5)"

"[Natural law] does not come from outside (and therefore is not heteronomous) but from within (and in this sense is autonomous: it is the law that reason itself gives to man or, better still, it is the law that man himself gives himself through his own reason): it is not the result of arduous and abstruse speculation and its perception is so easy that it appears almost intuitive. :*Quoted in Giuseppe Brienza, “”Who was Battista Mondin, missionary and theologian“”, “'Formiche.net”', 4 February 2015."

"Negative theology and positive theology are almost like the wheels of a bicycle. Just as a bicycle cannot move forward if the two wheels do not turn together, so there can be no valid theology if the negative and positive approaches are not used together. The positive path alone leads to anthropomorphism, idolatry, and blasphemy. The negative path leads to agnosticism and atheism."

"Only with God and in God can man hope to fulfil himself. The study and knowledge of God are the burning embers that (together with worship and prayer) fuel the flame of our hope."

"While man is clearly a finite being, in self-transcendence he reveals himself to be “'capax infiniti”'. Self-transcendence “together with culture and freedom, is the third characteristic trait that clearly separates man from animals: man constantly surpasses himself ... in everything he does, thinks, says, knows, loves and achieves."

"Parmenides reaches the highest peak: it is the peak of being, the culmination of metaphysics. Parmenides is the first to conquer this marvellous peak, which, after him, all the other great metaphysicians will also attempt to reach. Parmenides is aware of the greatness of his achievement. [...] Parmenides reached this highest peak not through the senses but through reason. (p. 70)"

"Adrienne had a very high spirituality with many mystical manifestations (including stigmata). By conversing assiduously with her and noting down her confidences, B. slowly developed his own theological vision."

"My latest book is entitled La Trinità: Mistero d'Amore (The Trinity: Mystery of Love) and has been reprinted for a second edition. Of all the books I have written (more than a hundred), this is the most beautiful and the most original. I also consider it my ‘masterpiece’. The mystery of the Trinity is a mystery of Love, which is realised and expressed in the Three Divine Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is the basic idea of the book, the idea that inspired me: total Love; Love, in the strongest sense of the term, is truly everything!"

"In both Greek and Latin, up until Tertullian, the meaning given to the term “”person“” (which is the equivalent of the Greek “'prosopon”') was that of ‘mask’ or ‘face’. (introduction, p. 9)"

"Too often we forget that the opposite of relativism is absolutism. (p. 15)"

"Once upon a time, the heavens were populated by Deities whom we now consider to be more or less naive human projections. But for centuries, indeed for millennia, they appeared more powerful than men, if not their very creators. There is a Latin word that aptly describes this superiority: ‘'superstitio’'. (p. 18)"

"It seems clear that the current debate on the alleged dictatorship of relativism is a philosophical debate on the meaning and scope of science, critical reflection, political tolerance, and moral choice. (p. 20)"

"Methodological atheism is precisely a way of living as if God did not exist, or regardless of God, or regardless of those who claim to impose their values in the name of God."

"Fundamentalism arises, precisely with this word, in the context of Christianity, particularly Protestant Christianity, especially American. [...] There is also Catholic fundamentalism."

"I believe that we can make sense of the world without necessarily bringing God into it."

"Fallibility is not a theory, but an attitude, a way of life, a philosophical option that Peirce did not see as dominating the practice of research, but rather as lurking in the folds of science. Absolute knowledge, that is, knowledge free from the constraints of criticism, would, in his view, have precluded any renewal of inquiry. (pp. 28-29)"

"Any human behavior, even the most horrible in the light of certain values, is natural because it is permitted by the laws of nature."

"Scientists are wrong when, faced with a part of reality that does not correspond to their theory, they try to erase reality instead of modifying the theory."

"The best thing is to discuss with confident, passionate people. And in this, Giussani was a true master."

"(With the COVID-19 pandemic) We have gone from a city [Milan] that fed on its own light, conquered with Expo, to this desert that invades, as Stefano Boeri would say, its squares. We are in the “'Wasteland”' of Eliot."

"Against this fundamentalism, I believe we must return to the Enlightenment. [...] I particularly like what is called radical Enlightenment, that of Spinoza for example, that of Diderot, that of the Marquis de Sade. [...] How much violence... yes, he theorizes it, describes it in his novels, while some guardians of morality, such as various pedophile priests and those who have covered up for them and continue to do so, actually commit it."

"Every culture has a need for the divine, more like a need for love."

"Criticism is not only corrosive—if it dissolves old bonds, it is because it creates new solidarity. (p. 73)"

"Only thanks to the concept of persona – a being endowed with dignity and absolute value – brought by Christianity, which makes all men images of God created directly by Him, do all forms of discrimination based on sex, age, race, language, power, wealth, religion, etc. All men are equally worthy of esteem, respect and love, even their enemies, especially the weakest, the poorest, the most humble and defenceless. (introduction, p. 10)"

"The foundation of ethics is the practice of ethics; there is no need to base it on anything else."

"Recently, I saw a photograph of Queen Elizabeth and the Pope meeting. They were the image of two remnants. The monarchy within the church and the monarchy within the state."

"Darwin's ‘'Autobiography’' is not only a valuable testimony to the genesis of a concept and the personality of the man who produced it, but also a civic lesson in freedom."

"Geymonat believes that scientific progress can be summed up in the slogan: “challenge and create”: the best service we can render it is therefore to challenge it."

"The core of Catholic interventionism is not, in principle, too different from so-called Islamic fundamentalism (although I personally dislike this term). In both cases, our response must be the same: ‘'They shall not pass!’'"

"Dylan teaches us that philosophical work is essentially work on our incompleteness, on our finitude, on the fact that we are conditioned by a whole host of things."

"(About the death of Margherita Hack) She was a great researcher, a great fighter for the secular concept of freedom of research, and a great woman. Margherita was not afraid to be an atheist in the name of scientific freedom. :*‘’2013/06/29/morta-margherita-hack-trieste-astrofisica-aveva-91-anni/641222/ Margherita Hack dies at 91: astrophysicist between research and civil rights‘’, ‘'Il Fatto Quotidiano’', June 29, 2013."

"Yes, we have a soul. But it is made up of many small robots."

"The libertine is constantly seeking new intellectual experiences. And so, in this sense, lust is the passion for knowledge, for moving forward, for never stopping, for never being satisfied with a point of view that has been reached."

"For centuries, even millennia, we have been dragging along the dualism of mind and body, of soul and flesh. Even before the findings of biology and neurophysiology, this dualism was dismantled by two great figures of modern philosophy: the rationalist Baruch Spinoza and the empiricist David Hume. Starting from very different premises, the two converge in telling us that our ego, which claims to be immortal, is nothing more than a mode of nature."

"All evidence of the existence of God implies a kind of submission."

"I am convinced that the theory of contemporary democracy must respond to the dilemmas that arise in a changed world, which is simply our own. And I wonder what interpretation of democratic freedom is most appropriate for this purpose, if this purpose is shared. The question now is this: what grammar of freedom, in times of internal unrest within democracy and external hostility towards democracy?"

"I fully identify with the anti-idolatrous component of Christianity."

"The Madonna has appeared and spoken to many visionaries from many peoples and in the most varied circumstances, like a living person, who promises, announces, praises, exhorts, prophesies, prays, guides and protects from dangers, heals the sick, performs miracles, weeps, invites conversion and penance, and helps us to draw closer to Christ, her Son."

"My sure compass is to walk the path of charity in every circumstance of life."