Synopsis
The human and intellectual story of Giacomo Leopardi offers the opportunity to understand how he, in the travails of his brief existence, represents a unicum, a laboratory for the definition of a model of life that configures the idea of ‘wisdom’. The analysis focuses on his ability to ‘see’ and ‘aim’, to ‘rage’ and ‘appease’, to delude and disenchant.
Giacomo matures an awareness that, above all, overcomes the paradoxes implicit in the toxicity of his family relationships and, through the development of his temperament, leads him to a certain independence and coherence capable of articulating and modifying his own language-feeling-thought. The complex and fascinating figure of the poet-philosopher is to be considered as a universal and timeless paradigm of an educator, and not only of a ‘supreme poet’ and sublime philosopher.
The pragmatic significance of these considerations leads to the construction of a model, articulated on the basis of a learning theory, that provides a guide for finding clues, for arguing and commenting on conceptions and evidence, in order to support and explain the proposition that the dimension of ‘wise living’ is an attainable goal through an ethical approach aimed at caring for suffering and the preoccupation of dying.
‘Wise living’ is an emergent feature of a system that encompasses society and that we observe in its ‘ecological’ nature. Many of the lessons to be drawn from Leopardi’s work anticipate many of the themes of European existentialism and allow a ‘universal’ value to be assigned to the subjective dimension of the process of ‘self-education’ to which one is subjected.
The book is divided into two separate and complementary parts.
The biographical part and the historical framework, in which the peculiarities of Leopardi’s human vicissitudes are highlighted, are intended to involve the reader in a narrative prose in which the personalities of the protagonists of the “case of the Antici-Leopardi house” weave the plot of a “psychological drama”. But his “pessimism” is not directed inwards, and the way out for humanity appears – between the lines of La Ginestra – in solidarity with the whole universe. It makes us think of human beings all among themselves confederate and embraces all with true love, offering/and expecting powerful and prompt aid/in the changing dangers and anguish/of the common war.
This perception of community, of ‘reciprocity’, of the creative power of solidarity, becomes the engine that drives Leopardi to appropriate what sounds like a serene judgement, harmonised in context, a meditation on ’emptiness’ and illusion, which is also a capacity to reach a state of imperturbability and abstention from judgement.
The second part of the book develops the theoretical basis of the multidisciplinary research that allows us to understand the pragmatics of the so-called ‘Leopardian pedagogy’. This section, together with the endnotes, can be considered as a complement, an interpretive perspective of the first part, and allows the acquisition of an autonomous method to carry out a “systemic” critique of exemplary lives and, in particular, of those afflicted by great physical and/or psychological suffering. The process is explained within the ‘learning theory’ proposed by Gregory Bateson, based on the ‘ecological’ dimension of the mind.
Another method of investigation described in the book respects the pattern that Zygmunt Bauman has usefully identified in outlining three major ‘narratives’ for dealing with the fear of life’s fatal transience: the heteronomous strategy; the heteronomous-autonomous S. and the autonomous S.
For those who wish to approach this perspective, Leopardi, with his language and his human story, offers us an instructive and engaging case study for developing an autonomous strategy for dealing with suffering and the fear of death.
Index
Introduction and work plan
Part One
Chapter 1 The Case of Casa Antici-Leopardi
Adelaide Antici-Leopardi
Monaldo Leopardi
Paolina Leopardi
Carlo Antici
Carlo Leopardi and the other brothers
Grandmother Virginia
Pietro Giordani
Chapter 2 Learning and adaptation to the environment in Giacomo’s adolescence
The Monaldo’s library: sanctuary of erudition and workshop of manipulation
Leopardi’s meditations and the practice of self-education as a way of life
Chapter 3 The early poems, thoughts and epistolary in the paradoxical context of death-in-life
Chapter 4 A brief reflection on the critical analysis of the Giacomo Leopardi ‘person
Chapter 5 Leopardi, ‘disenchanted’ philosopher by profession and poet of disillusionment
‘Dialogue of Tristan and a Friend’.
Chapter 6 The infinite quest for love in the human story of Giacomo Leopardi
‘To Himself’
‘Aspasia’.
Chapter 7 What can we expect from Ultraphilosophy in terms of learning?
Chapter 8 See Naples and then die
Wild Broom, or the Flower of Solidarity between Human Beings and Nature
Part Two
Chapter 9 The coherence of three complementary intersecting processes in Giacomo’s human story
Chapter 10 The learning theory according to Gregory Bateson
Chapter 11 The Social Construction of Reality
Chapter 12 Death: end of story or ‘phase transition?’
Chapter 13 The coordinates of the three strategies for dealing with the fear of dying, according to Zygmunt Bauman
Chapter 14 Cultural contaminations between East and West and vice versa
Chapter 15 The ‘wisdom’ of Suffering and Death
Conclusions
Endnotes
Target audience and reasons why they should buy the work
It is not easy to make a brief list of those who might benefit most from the con-tents of this study, given its wide range of interest and application.
Wise Living’ is a ‘way of life’ and this book is more than a self-help manual. It does not propose a ‘practical guide’ or a ‘doctrine’. It has been written to suggest a method for developing the critical sense necessary to deal with “eschatological” issues that are bursting at the seams, and to point out a path that is suggested so that those who choose to apply themselves can develop individual and social empowerment from a solid foundation
What titles, if any, could readers buy as an alternative?
The critical literature on Giacomo Leopardi is boundless and attracts the atten-tion of scholars from many different disciplines. It is to be expected that the various points of view and reflections that are provoked by an analysis that re-constructs the “sapiential” path of self-education that Leopardi develops be-tween poetry, prose and philosophy will be enriched by further contributions. The present volume stands out in the context of this kind of proposal.
For what reasons should the proposed volume be preferred?
The work may be preferred for the fact that it treats the subjects dealt with in a hitherto unthought pattern, and is aimed at stimulating an analytical and con-scious approach to actual knowledge. They are described with the aim of edu-cating to the practice of wise living through the invitation to ‘cultivate human-ity’. A critical reasoning is developed that examines the evolution of Leopardi’s temperament in terms of learning and empowerment, supported by an intelli-gent use of acquired notions with a progressive adaptation to the environment. It outlines an unprecedented philosophical and epistemological framework and a toolkit for constructing a pedagogical scenario that can be applied at an indi-vidual, social or professional level. Moreover, the study invites us to adopt an innovative scientific approach to the issues of wise living, opening up relevant reflections capable of stimulating research in various fields and expressing an invitation to recompose complexity through a “systemic”, “ecological” and in-evitably multidisciplinary approach.
In which ‘series’ would you like the volume to be published?
Tools for educators
Philosophy; Epistemology; Phenomenology
University texts for doctors, nurses, health professionals
Science and Health
Humanistic disciplines in medicine
Bioethics, relations between science and society
Medicine and Psychology
Pedagogy
Behavioural and cognitive practices
TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VOLUME
There are five Black and white figures. The images have been chosen for an interpretation that serves the purpose and remains valid in black and white.
Figures are in the public domain or can be reproduced in low resolution with attribution.
The text is complete. It is currently paginated according to the author’s orienta-tion.
Note. The book has been published in Italian as an e-book on the self-publishing platform ‘Youcanprint’. It can be found at the following URL:
OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION FOR ASSESSING VOLUME
It is evident that the approach given to content transfer follows a structure similar to that of books aimed at students, lecturers, academics, bibliophiles or professionals, and that, in terms of content, a passionate and long-term approach is required of the reader.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Essayist studying Ethics, Epistemology of Medicine, Artificial Intelligence.
President of the Olos Onlus Foundation (Pescara).
Expert evaluator of projects – funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Programme – on the topic of research and development of solutions applying Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence to the advancement of Medicine.
Professional experience and publications
Valerio Di Vincenzo graduated in medicine in 1981. From 1983 to 1994, he was a researcher in anaesthesia and resuscitation at the University of Chieti, where he retired as a full researcher.
From 1987 to 1989, he was in charge of a surgical unit of the “Icaros” project, funded by the CNR, and a member of the team responsible for the clinical application of a total artificial heart as a bridge to heart transplantation in several cardiac surgery centres in France, Switzerland, Monaco and Italy.
From 1989 to 1992, he coordinated the “Project 92” working group, which aimed to manage the preparation of the athlete Giovanni De Benedictis on the base of scientific criteria and of the innovative inclusion of a sports psychologist in the support team. During these years, the Italian racewalker remained at the top of the world rankings and won the bronze medal at the Barcelona Olympics.
From 1997 to 2010, he was a partner and CEO of an IT company specialising in the production of information and decision support systems.
Since 2008, he has been President of the non-profit Olos Foundation, whose statutory objective is the affirmation of human dignity. He personally supervises, with the help of professionals in each sector, the production of documentaries and the online communication of the initiatives developed by the Foundation, which are mainly expressed through the “Bike4truce” project, told in the documentary “The Bicycle as an Instrument of Peace”, which was broadcast by “BikeChannel” in the Italian and English versions (videos can be found at the URL https://www.archasalutis.it/bike4truce/il-film/ ).
Since 2011 he has been working assiduously with the European Commission, as an expert evaluator and “reviewer” of research and technological development projects, which stimulates him to constantly update himself on the epistemology of medicine, innovative technologies and Health Systems’ organization.
In 2015 he taught the course The Myth of Olympism. The “being there” of ethics in sport at the Faculty of Physical Education, University of Chieti-Pescara.
The latest publication in English presents a literature review analysing some IT and telematics solutions aimed at organising health data and systems through the functions of “computerised medical records” and “telemedicine”. The paper has been published in full and can be downloaded from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285593280_The_bigger_e-health_picture_Framework_for_Strategic_Action .
In 2021 he published the book: Valerio Di Vincenzo. Practicing impermanence to conquer freedom. The search for an ethical and ecological approach to the fear of dying. Publishing house Il Filo di Arianna. La Spezia. Italia.
In 2022, in collaboration with the communications expert Dr Ilaria Di Russo, it began publishing the contents of the website www.archasalutis.it. The Archasalutis portal aims to become a collaborative tool for the collection of contributions that promote academic, professional, managerial and political choices in the direction of healthy living.
In 2024 he published in Italian , in e-book format “In Praise of the Wise Life Freely adapted from the human story by Giacomo Leopardi” . Youcanprint publishing house.
For the last 25 years he has been cycling 2-3,000 km a year, also enjoying wonderful cycling tours in the company of a close-knit and “moderately trained” group; he has been practising Ashtanga yoga for over 10 years. As a hobby, he assembles bicycles in his well-equipped mechanical workshop.
For love, he never stopped studying, is married and the father of three children.
The full CV (in English) can be found at the following URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valerio-di-vincenzo-93a7358/
E-mail: v.divincenzo@idealogic.net ; segreteria@archasalutis.it
Online presence
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Valerio-Di-Vincenzo
https://www.linkedin.com/in/valerio-di-vincenzo-93a7358/
Contact the author
A novel framework is proposed, following the chronological order marked by the situations and turning points of Giacomo Leopardi’s life experience, parallel to his literary production. Because of its pedagogical nature, the message of the great poet-philosopher is considered as a eulogy of the wisdom expressed by a “Master of Life”. The message is addressed to the new generations of teachers and students and, in general, to all those who have lost or have not yet perceived the universal dimension of the anxiety provoked by suffering and the fear of dying, as well as the contemporary need to find autonomous strategies for dealing with them.