Thomas Campanella – författare

Despite extensive study of the Galileo affair in recent years, there are still some important documents relating to the case which have received little attention in the English-speaking world. In his translation of Thomas Campanella's Apologia pro Galileo, Richard J. Blackwell presents for the first time in English a reliable and highly readable translation of this important and neglected work. Campanella, the maverick Dominican, sought to head off the confrontation between Galileo and the theologians by defending Galileo's right to develop, debate, and publish his ideas freely. By making available at last a well-documented English version of this treatise--one in which the theological dimensions of the dispute receive their clearest presentation yet--Blackwell makes a worthy contribution to a heightened awareness of the doctrinal issues in the Galileo affairs. Written in 1616 while Campanella was imprisoned by the Inquisition, the Apologia pro Galileo was banned in Rome at the time of its publication in 1622, therefore having little influence on the outcome of the Galileo case. However, then as now it stands as an important document calling for intellectual freedom as related to the Galileo case in particular, and as a plea for intellectual freedom in general.

Despite extensive study of the Galileo affair in recent years, there are still some important documents relating to the case which have received little attention in the English-speaking world. In his translation of Thomas Campanella's Apologia pro Galileo, Richard J. Blackwell presents for the first time in English a reliable and highly readable translation of this important and neglected work. Campanella, the maverick Dominican, sought to head off the confrontation between Galileo and the theologians by defending Galileo's right to develop, debate, and publish his ideas freely. By making available at last a well-documented English version of this treatise--one in which the theological dimensions of the dispute receive their clearest presentation yet--Blackwell makes a worthy contribution to a heightened awareness of the doctrinal issues in the Galileo affairs. Written in 1616 while Campanella was imprisoned by the Inquisition, the Apologia pro Galileo was banned in Rome at the time of its publication in 1622, therefore having little influence on the outcome of the Galileo case. However, then as now it stands as an important document calling for intellectual freedom as related to the Galileo case in particular, and as a plea for intellectual freedom in general.

Campanellas Sonnenstaat ist ein Klassiker der utopischen Literatur, geschrieben im 17. Jahrhundert. Die Rahmenhandlung des "Sonnenstaats" - der Name deutet auf einen sehr weit entfernten Ort hin - wird durch die Erzählung eines Genuesen gebildet, der selbst eine Reise dorthin unternimmt. Wo genau dieser Ort liegt, ist unklar - Utopia kann der griechischen Wortbedeutung nach auch "Nirgendland" heißen, meist dargestellt durch eine ferne Insel. Anschließend berichtet der Erzähler des "Sonnenstaates" seinen italienischen Landsleuten in Genua von den vorgefundenen Verhältnissen und den Verbesserungen gegenüber dem eigenen Land. Die Kritik an der zeitgenössischen Realität wird im "Sonnenstaat" dadurch deutlich, dass die so genannten "Solarier" beispielsweise über Gebräuche und Sitten der italienischen Landsleute spotten. Die Staatsform selbst ist relativ kompliziert, da aus heutiger Sicht sehr gegensätzliche Elemente dort zusammenkommen und sich zu einer widersprüchlichen Einheit fügen. . Insgesamt spiegeln sich also im "Sonnenstaat" Elemente einer Universalmonarchie, einer Priesterherrschaft (Theokratie), einer Urform des Sozialismus ohne Privatbesitz und ebenfalls Anleihen aus Platons Philosophenstaat - der in seiner Utopie die Herrschergewalt in gebildete Philosophenhände legte - wider. "100% Klassiker - kommentiert, relevant" + Einleitung zum historischen Kontext.