Massimo Verdicchio – författare

Between Philosophy and Poetry examines the complex and controversial relation that has informed literary theory since ancient times: the difference between philosophy and poetry. The book explores three specific areas: the practice of writing with respect to orality; the interpretive modes of poetic and philosophical discourse as self-narration and historical understanding; how rhythm marks the differential spaces in poetry and philosophy. The book brings together some of the most prominent international scholars in the fields of philosophy and literature to examine the differences between orality and writing, the signs and traces of gender in writing, the historical dimension of the tension between philosophical and poetic language, and the future possibility of a musical thinking that would go beyond the opposition between philosophy and poetry. In the final instance, rhythm is the force to be reckoned with and is the essential element in an understanding of philosophy and poetry. Rhythm in effect provides a musical ethics of philosophy, for musical thinking goes beyond the metaphysical opposition between philosophy and poetry and sets the frame for post-philosophical practice.Contributors: Amittari F. Aviram, Babette Babich , Eve Taylor Bannet, Stephen Barker, Alexandro Carrera, Richard Detsch, Karen Feldman, David Halliburton, Richard Kearney, Carlo Sini, P. Christopher Smith, Forrest Williams

"Between Philosophy and Poetry" examines the complex and controversial relation that has informed literary theory since ancient times: the difference between philosophy and poetry. The book explores three specific areas: the practice of writing with respect to orality; the interpretive modes of poetic and philosophical discourse as self-narration and historical understanding; how rhythm marks the differential spaces in poetry and philosophy. The book brings together some of the most prominent international scholars in the fields of philosophy and literature to examine the differences between orality and writing, the signs and traces of gender in writing, the historical dimension of the tension between philosophical and poetic language, and the future possibility of a musical thinking that would go beyond the opposition between philosophy and poetry. In the final instance, rhythm is the force to be reckoned with and is the essential element in an understanding of philosophy and poetry. Rhythm in effect provides a musical ethics of philosophy, for musical thinking goes beyond the metaphysical opposition between philosophy and poetry and sets the frame for post-philosophical practice.Contributors: Amittari F. Aviram, Babette Babich, Eve Taylor Bannet, Stephen Barker, Alexandro Carrera, Richard Detsch, Karen Feldman, David Halliburton, Richard Kearney, Carlo Sini, P. Christopher Smith, and Forrest Williams.

The book is the first critical reading of all the major writings on history by Benedetto Croce. The study is not a summary but a critical assessment based on the relevance of Croce’s aesthetics for his concept of history. This account differs from previous studies which are characterized by the excluding or by minimizing the aesthetic, a process the author calls “defiguring.” Within this framework Croce’s concept of history is not a total philosophy but only an allegory of history: a narrative of the impossibility of history. In other words, Croce’s history is not unlike his definition of Hegel’s Phenomenology or his system as fiction. It is also not unlike Vico’s New Science, the other major influence on Croce’s concept of history, as an imaginative science. This study realigns Croce’s concept of history with Hegel’s and Vico’s to redefine, thanks to Croce, how we understand history.

Benedetto Croce was a historian, humanist, political figure, and the foremost Italian philosopher of the early twentieth-century. A Croce Reader brings together the author’s most important works across the fields of aesthetics, philosophy, history, literary criticism, and the Baroque and presents the "other" Croce that has been erased by scholarly tradition, including by Croce himself. Massimo Verdicchio traces the progress of Croce as a thinker, focusing on his philosophy of absolute historicism and its aesthetic implications. Unlike other anthologies, A Croce Reader includes essays from the Aesthetics of 1902 and key studies on Vico, Hegel, and Pirandello. Verdicchio’s masterful translation of the source material welcomes specialists and non-specialists alike to discover the "other" Croce for themselves.

Paradiso, the conclusion to Dante Alighieri's masterpiece, the Divine Comedy, is an exploration of the nine celestial spheres of Heaven. A highly original and comprehensive reading, The Poetics of Dante's Paradiso challenges established scholarly interpretations to demonstrate that the intricacies of Dante's text reveal a subtle irony, employed to deliver a sharp critique of the corrupt church and empire of his own time.Massimo Verdicchio's canto-by-canto analysis focuses on the subversive undercurrents created by poetic allegory and irony and relates Dante's ordering of the heavens to the Arts and Sciences of the Trivium and Quadrivium (the major subjects taught at medieval universities). This new reading highlights Dante's use of language to expose the earthly flaws of the saints and denounce the illicit and destructive alliance between the House of Anjou and the church. The Poetics of Dante's Paradiso is thought-provoking, tenacious, and sure to stimulate discussion amongst all students of the Commedia.

Benedetto Croce was a historian, humanist, political figure, and the foremost Italian philosopher of the early twentieth-century. A Croce Reader brings together the author’s most important works across the fields of aesthetics, philosophy, history, literary criticism, and the Baroque and presents the "other" Croce that has been erased by scholarly tradition, including by Croce himself. Massimo Verdicchio traces the progress of Croce as a thinker, focusing on his philosophy of absolute historicism and its aesthetic implications. Unlike other anthologies, A Croce Reader includes essays from the Aesthetics of 1902 and key studies on Vico, Hegel, and Pirandello. Verdicchio’s masterful translation of the source material welcomes specialists and non-specialists alike to discover the "other" Croce for themselves.

Benedetto Croce was the foremost Italian philosopher of the first half of the twentieth century and his influence extended to every aspect of intellectual life in Italy. He played a significant, sometimes crucial, role in Italian politics, and his writing commanded attention throughout Europe, America, and beyond. In the last few years his contribution to various disciplines has been undergoing a re-evaluation in Italy. This collection continues that reassessment with an English-speaking audience in mind.The book is a collection of essays by scholars from various disciplines - philosophy, history, literature, and art history - covering the broad scope of Croce's life and work, from his early writings on local Neopolitan history in the 1890s to his activity as a public figure before and after the Second World War. In this much-needed addition to contemporary criticism one senses the depth and originality of his thought in the areas of history, national politics, rhetoric, and art. Including the first English-language discussion of Taccuini di lavoro, Croce's working diary, this is the first volume in English that provides a critical survey of Croce's major works and ideas, as well as fresh interpretations from a variety of contemporary points of view.

Benedetto Croce was a historian, humanist, political figure, and the foremost Italian philosopher of the early twentieth-century. A Croce Reader brings together the author’s most important works across the fields of aesthetics, philosophy, history, literary criticism, and the Baroque and presents the "other" Croce that has been erased by scholarly tradition, including by Croce himself. Massimo Verdicchio traces the progress of Croce as a thinker, focusing on his philosophy of absolute historicism and its aesthetic implications. Unlike other anthologies, A Croce Reader includes essays from the Aesthetics of 1902 and key studies on Vico, Hegel, and Pirandello. Verdicchio’s masterful translation of the source material welcomes specialists and non-specialists alike to discover the "other" Croce for themselves.

Benedetto Croce was a historian, humanist, political figure, and the foremost Italian philosopher of the early twentieth-century. A Croce Reader brings together the author’s most important works across the fields of aesthetics, philosophy, history, literary criticism, and the Baroque and presents the "other" Croce that has been erased by scholarly tradition, including by Croce himself. Massimo Verdicchio traces the progress of Croce as a thinker, focusing on his philosophy of absolute historicism and its aesthetic implications. Unlike other anthologies, A Croce Reader includes essays from the Aesthetics of 1902 and key studies on Vico, Hegel, and Pirandello. Verdicchio’s masterful translation of the source material welcomes specialists and non-specialists alike to discover the "other" Croce for themselves.

Paradiso, the conclusion to Dante Alighieri's masterpiece, the Divine Comedy, is an exploration of the nine celestial spheres of Heaven. A highly original and comprehensive reading, The Poetics of Dante's Paradiso challenges established scholarly interpretations to demonstrate that the intricacies of Dante's text reveal a subtle irony, employed to deliver a sharp critique of the corrupt church and empire of his own time.Massimo Verdicchio's canto-by-canto analysis focuses on the subversive undercurrents created by poetic allegory and irony and relates Dante's ordering of the heavens to the Arts and Sciences of the Trivium and Quadrivium (the major subjects taught at medieval universities). This new reading highlights Dante's use of language to expose the earthly flaws of the saints and denounce the illicit and destructive alliance between the House of Anjou and the church. The Poetics of Dante's Paradiso is thought-provoking, tenacious, and sure to stimulate discussion amongst all students of the Commedia.