Books by Laura Nicolì
Si presenta in questo volume una versione italiana del saggio introduttivo alla prima edizione cr... more Si presenta in questo volume una versione italiana del saggio introduttivo alla prima edizione critica, che sarà pubblicata all’interno del progetto Digital d’Holbach della Voltaire Foundation, dell’opera "La Contagion sacrée, ou Histoire naturelle de la superstition" del barone Paul-Henri Thiry d’Holbach (1724-1789). Pubblicata nel 1768 in forma anonima e presentata fittiziamente come una traduzione della "Natural History of Superstition" (1709) di John Trenchard, "La Contagion sacrée" è in realtà un’opera originale. Il saggio intende metterne in luce le peculiarità tanto nel quadro della produzione holbachiana quanto in quello più ampio del dibattito settecentesco sull’origine e la natura della religione. "La Contagion" viene collocata nel suo contesto, ne vengono presentati i contenuti e vengono affrontate le questioni preliminari (in parte ancora aperte) della sua attribuzione e data di composizione. Se ne propone quindi un’interpretazione complessiva, esplorando l’uso che d’Holbach fa delle sue fonti e proponendo un confronto con il modo in cui tratta temi analoghi in altre opere. Infine, si offre un repertorio bibliografico inedito in cui si dà notizia dei manoscritti noti, delle edizioni a stampa, delle traduzioni dell’opera e della bibliografia di riferimento.
Brill, 2022
Gathering together generations of scholars, The Great Protector of Wits provides a new assessment... more Gathering together generations of scholars, The Great Protector of Wits provides a new assessment of baron d'Holbach (1723-1789) and his circle. A challenging gure of the European Enlightenment, Paul-Henri Thiry d'Holbach not only was a radically materialistic philosopher, a champion of anticlericalism, the author of the Système de la nature known as "the Bible of atheists", an idéologue, a popularizer of the natural sciences and a proli c contributor to the Encyclopédie, but also played a crucial role as an organizer of intellectual networks, a master of disseminating clandestine literature and a consummate strategist in authorial ctions. In this collective volume, for the rst time, all these di ferent threads of d'Holbach's "philosophy in action" are considered and analyzed in their interconnection.
La Lettre Clandestine, 28, 2020
Table des matières
Papers by Laura Nicolì
The following are three online Appendices to my essay ‘“Aussi hardi … qu’aucun philosophe en Fran... more The following are three online Appendices to my essay ‘“Aussi hardi … qu’aucun philosophe en France”: The Eighteenth-Century French Reception of Hume’s Essays’, in Max Skjönsberg and Felix Waldmann, eds., "Hume’s Essays: A Critical Guide" (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, forthcoming in 2024). Appendix I: Chronology of Eighteenth-Century French Translations of Hume’s "Essays". Appendix II: Hume’s "Essays" in Eighteenth-Century French Periodicals. Appendix III: Some Other French Reuses and Responses to Hume’s "Essays".
The present essay provides an overview of the images of seventeenth-century philosophy in the "Ri... more The present essay provides an overview of the images of seventeenth-century philosophy in the "Rivista di storia della filosofia" (then retitled "Rivista critica di storia della filosofia") in the years 1946–1983. Founded in 1946 by Mario Dal Pra, the journal promoted a new anti-idealistic approach to the history of philosophy. Based on philological accuracy, this approach enhanced the complexity of history and the interdependence of different fields of knowledge. In particular, the unprecedented emphasis on the connections between science and philosophy entailed a preeminent place for empiricism in the "Rivista". This explains why this essay focuses on empiricist currents in seventeenth-century philosophy and especially on three of their representatives, namely Galileo Galilei, Thomas Hobbes and Francis Bacon.
Enlightenment approaches to pagan religions are various and complex. Ancient myths are considered... more Enlightenment approaches to pagan religions are various and complex. Ancient myths are considered like ridiculous fables or fascinating adventures. Some authors look at pagan rites like sad memories of the miserable past of mankind, others like a joyful expression of the passions. The nature itself of polytheistic religions is peaceful and tolerant according to some, ferocious and warmongering according to others. This article aims to show some aspects of the modern debate on paganism. In particular, it focuses on the question of polytheism’s supposed tolerance or intolerance to shed light on its theoretical and political issues in Eighteenth-century thought.
This paper proposes a re-interpretation of the article in the Encyclopédie on «Polythéisme» based... more This paper proposes a re-interpretation of the article in the Encyclopédie on «Polythéisme» based on its sources, which have hitherto been largely ignored (Boureau-Deslandes, Houtteville) or underrated (Warburton, Bayle). These sources are identified, and the author's treatment of them is investigated (quotations, plagiarism, juxtapositions, alterations). The paper thereby aims to make a contribution to the question of the attribution of the article to the Abbé Yvon and brings to light some ideological implications of the eighteenth-century debate on polytheism and idolatry. On the basis of this research and of a short comparison with the entries «Dieux» and «Idole, Idolâtre, Idolâtrie», the paper attempts to demonstrate that the article «Polythéisme» should be considered as belonging to an essentially traditional cultural background.
«Linguaggio, scrittura e idolatria in Warburton e Pluche», in C. Marras, A.L. Schino (a c. di), «Linguaggio, filosofia, fisiologia nell'età moderna. Atti del convegno (Roma, 23-25 gennaio 2014)», collana “Monografie digitali”, Iliesi-CNR, settembre 2015, pp. 259-270. In The Divine Legation of Moses (1738-1741) William Warburton developed a complex theory of writi... more In The Divine Legation of Moses (1738-1741) William Warburton developed a complex theory of writing, suggesting among other things a relationship between hieroglyphic writing and zoolatry. In the same years the abbé Pluche maintained a singular explanation of the origin of idolatry in his Histoire du ciel (1739). He stated that all pagan religions originally arose from the misinterpretation of hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt. By doing so, he extended the relationship between religion and writing to the entire explanation of idolatry. Warburton's theory of writing was set to obtain a great deal of fortune in France, but also its application to the history of pagan religions by Pluche found some illustrious followers: first among them was Condillac, who reinterpreted it in the light of his own theory of language on the one hand, and of the new Enlightenment's views about the history of religion on the other.
Cette étude porte sur les différentes positions qui, au cours du dix-huitième siècle, tombèrent s... more Cette étude porte sur les différentes positions qui, au cours du dix-huitième siècle, tombèrent sous la définition d'« évhémérisme » (théorie de l'origine des dieux par l'apothéose d'hommes). Des auteurs majeurs tels que Newton, Toland et Le Clerc sont pris en considération aussi bien que des mineurs comme Banier et Foucher, en vue d'une reconstruction historique du débat qui n'existait encore dans la littérature savante. En comparant les versions orthodoxes de l'évhémérisme avec ses versions hétérodoxes et athées, cette reconstruction montre les questions théologiques et philosophiques qui étaient impliquées par cette catégorie et qui roulaient autour du problème de la nature humaine de la divinité et du Christ.
La première partie de l'essai trace l'évolution de la réflexion de Bayle au sujet des religions p... more La première partie de l'essai trace l'évolution de la réflexion de Bayle au sujet des religions païennes, à travers un examen lexicographique de ses écrits qui porte sur les mots « idolâtrie » et « polythéisme » : c'est seulement dans les œuvres les plus tardives de Bayle et dans des contextes spécifiques qu'on retrouve la seconde de ce deux notions. L'étude s'interroge donc sur les raisons de ce changement intervenu dans la terminologie philosophique baylienne et, dans la deuxième partie, montre la grande influence que l'introduction d'une réflexion philosophique sur le polythéisme par Bayle a eu sur les écrits des philosophes des Lumières au sujet du paganisme.
Conferences Announcements by Laura Nicolì
Double panel proposed at the ISECS Congress: Edinburgh, 14-19 July, 2019
Reviews and Reports by Laura Nicolì
Uploads
Books by Laura Nicolì
Papers by Laura Nicolì
Conferences Announcements by Laura Nicolì
Reviews and Reports by Laura Nicolì