Books by Giovanni Giorgini
" Ragionare dello stato " Studi su Machiavelli a cura di Anna Maria Cabrini, Milano, 2017 , 2017
An examination of the role of laws and examples in Machiavelli's thought
Despite the increasing concern for the issue of respect for persons displayed over the last decad... more Despite the increasing concern for the issue of respect for persons displayed over the last decades by political philosophers, human-right thinkers, social and ethical theorists, a comprehensive treatment of the problem at stake from a historical-philosophical perspective is conspicuously absent. The present collection of essays aims to contribute to the fulfillment of this gap by offering a reconstruction of the seminal passages in the history of philosophy which testify to the evolution of the idea of respect for persons and the rich array of conceptual specifications that such an idea acquires across the centuries.
By analysis of pivotal texts of ancient and modern contemporary philosophy, the volume will try to offer an articulated account of respect which, starting from its primeval connection with the search for esteem and the pursuit of human excellence, gradually evolves towards the recognition of the political status of each citizen and culminates into a true politics of human rights.
Bringing together the expertise of classicists and scholars specialized in modern and contemporary philosophy, the volume is especially intended for scholars working in the fields of the history of philosophy, ethical and political theory.
An investigation of Plato's fascination for tyranny
Papers by Giovanni Giorgini
Journal of Ethics, 2023
Commenting on Michael Walzer's essay, the author adopts a perspective that traces back to Machiav... more Commenting on Michael Walzer's essay, the author adopts a perspective that traces back to Machiavelli. In this view, 'dirty hands' is a true problem faced by politicians, not a philosophical fiction or a moral quandary resulting from wrong reasoning. 'Dirty hands' results from the collision of two spheres of human action-morality and politics-which entail different duties; it concerns actions which have extremely serious public consequences and therefore applies eminently to politicians and the public sphere. The author examines different scenarios to elicit a clear view of the specificity of this problem, which is not analogous to the conventional issue of immorality in politics. 'Dirty hands' is a problem that cannot be avoided by politicians, because they have responsibility over the ultimate decisions; it follows that people who wish not to dirty their hands should thus refrain from entering the political realm.
Humanities
An investigation of the emergence of the notion of ‘Cosmopolitanism’ in 5th century Greece. The a... more An investigation of the emergence of the notion of ‘Cosmopolitanism’ in 5th century Greece. The author focusses on the early sophists, and specifically on Antiphon and Hippias.
Presentazione del pensiero del filosofo britannico Michael Oakeshott
The author challenges the canonical opposition of utopia vs. realism in political thought. Althou... more The author challenges the canonical opposition of utopia vs. realism in political thought. Although this opposition traces back to the very origens of Western political theory, in the works of such authors as Thucydides and Plato, the author maintains that both ‘utopian’ and ‘realist’ thinkers of every age keep the reality of their society in the background of their political constructions. The real difference is in their view of human nature: ‘utopian’ thinkers have a more optimistic view of human nature, they see it flexible and prone to be changed by education and institutions; whereas ‘realist’ thinkers have a more pessimistic vision of man and have less faith in the power of laws and education. Based on their anthropological view, political authors have different expectations to mould human nature and different hopes to create a perfect society. This view is supported by an examination of Thucydides, Plato and Machiavelli and by reference to some other classic political thinker...
Philosophy and Political Power in Antiquity
The Journal of Ethics
Commenting on Michael Walzer’s essay, the author adopts a perspective that traces back to Machiav... more Commenting on Michael Walzer’s essay, the author adopts a perspective that traces back to Machiavelli. In this view, ‘dirty hands’ is a true problem faced by politicians, not a philosophical fiction or a moral quandary resulting from wrong reasoning. ‘Dirty hands’ results from the collision of two spheres of human action -morality and politics- which entail different duties; it concerns actions which have extremely serious public consequences and therefore applies eminently to politicians and the public sphere. The author examines different scenarios to elicit a clear view of the specificity of this problem, which is not analogous to the conventional issue of immorality in politics. ‘Dirty hands’ is a problem that cannot be avoided by politicians, because they have responsibility over the ultimate decisions; it follows that people who wish not to dirty their hands should thus refrain from entering the political realm.
Filosofia politica, 2007
... Fin da quando Solone abolì la schiavitù per debiti ad Atene ogni pen-satore e uomo politico è... more ... Fin da quando Solone abolì la schiavitù per debiti ad Atene ogni pen-satore e uomo politico è stato guidato da un'immagine dell'essere ... a una visione della politica come attività condivisa di discus-sione e di successiva decisione su temi di importanza vitale per tutti i citta-dini. ...
Governare la Paura, 2017
Utopia versus Realism? Several upstream reflections The author challenges the canonical oppositio... more Utopia versus Realism? Several upstream reflections The author challenges the canonical opposition of utopia vs. realism in political thought. Although this opposition traces back to the very origens of Western political theory, in the works of such authors as Thucydides and Plato, the author maintains that both 'utopian' and 'realist' thinkers of every age keep the reality of their society in the background of their political constructions. The real difference is in their view of human nature: 'utopian' thinkers have a more optimistic view of human nature, they see it flexible and prone to be changed by education and institutions; whereas 'realist' thinkers have a more pessimistic vision of man and have less faith in the power of laws and education. Based on their anthropological view, political authors have different expectations to mould human nature and different hopes to create a perfect society. This view is supported by an examination of Thucydides, Plato and Machiavelli and by reference to some other classic political thinkers in the Western tradition.
Un esame del pensiero del filosofo scozzese Alasdair MacIntyre riguardo al tema della modernit\ue... more Un esame del pensiero del filosofo scozzese Alasdair MacIntyre riguardo al tema della modernit\ue0 e del relativism
Brill's Companion to the Reception of Athenian Democracy, 2021
The first ever guide to the reception of classical Athenian democracy, Brill’s Companion to the R... more The first ever guide to the reception of classical Athenian democracy, Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Athenian Democracy delivers a fresh and wide-ranging analysis of the uses and reinterpretations of ancient Greek democracy from the late Middle Ages to the XXI century. The book’s first section explores this history from the rediscovery of classical antiquity in the Renaissance in different countries (England, France, Germany, Italy, American Republic) and ages, while the second section focuses on philosophical movements such as Marxism and on contemporary philosophers such as Leo Strauss, Hannah Arendt and Michel Foucault; the last section examines the reception from the perspective of current political science. The book offers a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to this important topic by bringing together internationally recognised scholars from a variety of disciplines, including ancient and modern historians, historians of political thought, political philosophers, and political scientists.
Plato’s >Statesman< Revisited, 2018
Giovanni Giorgini 8 See Politicus 284c. It is as if the discourse itself took charge, and led the... more Giovanni Giorgini 8 See Politicus 284c. It is as if the discourse itself took charge, and led the searchers for truth in an unequivocal direction. Aristotle will use a similar expression when, in many passages of the Metaphysics, he speaks of how certain thinkers were forced to revise their ideas, and embark on a certain direction of study by truth itself: see, e.g., Met. I 3, 984a 19-20.
Philosophie für die Polis
History of Political Thought, 2009
The revival of Plato's philosophy in the nineteenth century presents many interesting feature... more The revival of Plato's philosophy in the nineteenth century presents many interesting features. It has become typical to contrast the 'Idealist' Plato portrayed by the don of Greek studies and introducer of Hegel into England, Benjamin Jowett, with the 'Sceptic' Plato presented by the Radical philosophers John Stuart Mill and George Grote. Notwithstanding the mutual high esteem and reviews of each other's works and the fundamentally similar image of Plato they offer, Grote and Mill have a very different relationship with Plato's thought: Grote recruits Plato in the Radicals' field for his use of dialectical inquiry into truth while remaining unaffected by Plato's moral and political ideas; whereas Mill shows a profound Platonic influence in his notion of the rights and duties of a philosophical elite. Their totally divergent view of Protagoras, and relativism, tells the whole tale.
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Books by Giovanni Giorgini
By analysis of pivotal texts of ancient and modern contemporary philosophy, the volume will try to offer an articulated account of respect which, starting from its primeval connection with the search for esteem and the pursuit of human excellence, gradually evolves towards the recognition of the political status of each citizen and culminates into a true politics of human rights.
Bringing together the expertise of classicists and scholars specialized in modern and contemporary philosophy, the volume is especially intended for scholars working in the fields of the history of philosophy, ethical and political theory.
Papers by Giovanni Giorgini
By analysis of pivotal texts of ancient and modern contemporary philosophy, the volume will try to offer an articulated account of respect which, starting from its primeval connection with the search for esteem and the pursuit of human excellence, gradually evolves towards the recognition of the political status of each citizen and culminates into a true politics of human rights.
Bringing together the expertise of classicists and scholars specialized in modern and contemporary philosophy, the volume is especially intended for scholars working in the fields of the history of philosophy, ethical and political theory.
Oltre il governo e la sovranità. Verso nuove istituzioni della politica