Books by Angela Ferraro
Collection Constitution de la modernité, Paris, Classiques Garnier, 2019
Cet ouvrage met en valeur la contribution que la philosophie de Malebranche a donnée au développe... more Cet ouvrage met en valeur la contribution que la philosophie de Malebranche a donnée au développement des Lumières. En effet, la richesse de la réflexion de l’oratorien a alimenté des courants de pensée différents, voire opposés, tels le matérialisme et le spiritualisme, le déisme et l’athéisme, le scepticisme et l’empirisme. En outre, l’auteur de la Recherche de la vérité a joué un rôle crucial dans certains processus capitaux de l’époque moderne, dont la transformation de la métaphysique en théorie de la connaissance. Le concept de réception comme phénomène complexe qui dirige ce travail rend enfin raison de l’attention portée aux croisements de la postérité de Malebranche et de celle d’autres auteurs.
Edited volumes by Angela Ferraro
Phares, Revue philosophique étudiante de l'Université Laval, 2023
Introduction, édition et notes. Collection Textes philosophiques, Paris, Vrin, 2022
De toutes les grandes académies du dix-huitième siècle philosophique, seule l’Académie Royale des... more De toutes les grandes académies du dix-huitième siècle philosophique, seule l’Académie Royale des Sciences et des Belles-Lettres de Berlin possédait une Classe de philosophie spéculative. Y ont appartenu des philosophes de valeur dont les mémoires traduisent des investigations originales, qu’il s’agisse de méthodes d’échange entre philosophes, de métaphysique et de sciences de la nature, de psychologie, de morale ou d’esthétique philosophique. L’écho de cette production s’est réfléchi dans l’histoire des Lumières à travers toute l’Europe savante.
Un choix de mémoires illustrant la production philosophique de Maupertuis, Formey, Mérian, Prémontval, Euler, Béguelin, Sulzer, Beausobre et Lambert est ici réédité.
Papers by Angela Ferraro
Les Études philosophiques (La sympathie avant la sympathie, éd. par J.-L. Lantoine et F. Toto), 2024
Bien que l’importance de Nicolas Malebranche comme auteur charnière entre le xvii e et le xviii e... more Bien que l’importance de Nicolas Malebranche comme auteur charnière entre le xvii e et le xviii e siècle soit de plus en plus reconnue, le rôle qu’il a joué dans l’histoire de l’idée de sympathie n’a pas été assez étudié jusqu’à aujourd’hui. Le présent article veut contribuer à combler cette lacune, en prenant en considération non seulement les emplois du mot « sympathie » dans la Recherche de la vérité mais aussi l’usage de termes qui lui sont apparentés, notamment ceux de « compassion » et d’« imitation », afin de montrer quel a été l’apport indirect du principal ouvrage malebranchiste à la transformation du concept de sympathie. La comparaison avec des textes d’auteurs contemporains aussi bien que de philosophes de l'époque des Lumières (dont David Hume, Adam Smith, Edmund Burke et Sophie de Grouchy) permettra à la fois de mieux encadrer et de mettre davantage en valeur la pensée de l’oratorien.
Revue Internationale de Philosophie (Port-Royal et la voie des idées confuses, éd. par A. Frigo), 2023
This article aims to show how, by addressing the tricky question of the habits of the soul, Maleb... more This article aims to show how, by addressing the tricky question of the habits of the soul, Malebranche’s thought integrated and renewed the debate on the inscrutability of the human heart, of particular importance to the moralists of the Grand Siècle. In this context, the aim will be to bring to light the relationships that emerge, within the Malebranchist corpus, between a series of conceptual pairs: logic and morality, sensation and inner feeling, psychological consciousness and moral consciousness, sin and error, reproaches of reason and remorse. This will provide some answers to the fundamental questions that persist about the nature and orientation of the Oratorian’s moral philosophy.
Condillac and His Reception. On the Origin and Nature of Human Abilities, ed. by D. Antoine-Mahut and A. Waldow, New York, Routledge, 2023
As recent research has pointed out, the intellectual scene of the Berlin Academy was not entirely... more As recent research has pointed out, the intellectual scene of the Berlin Academy was not entirely dominated by Leibniz’s and Wolff’s metaphysics during the second half of the eighteenth-century. The members of this institution were also interested in the epistemological theories of the so-called empiricist philosophers, either due to critical concerns or because they endorsed their views. The first names that come to mind here are Locke and Hume, but Condillac’s role should not be underestimated. Without being exhaustive, this chapter aims to show that, historiographically speaking, it is important to highlight the interest that Franco-German philosophers took in Condillac. With this purpose, I will especially focus on Johann Heinrich Samuel Formey’s (1711-1797) reception of Condillac, which deserves special attention for its dimension of interaction and debate.
Philosophy at the Berlin Academy in the Reign of Frederick the Great, ed. by P. Anstey and T. Prunea-Bretonnet, Oxford University Studies in the Enlightenement, 2022
A member of the Berlin Academy from 1755, Louis de Beausobre is known primarily for his contribut... more A member of the Berlin Academy from 1755, Louis de Beausobre is known primarily for his contribution to the skepticism debate and for his writings on madness. In this chapter, I argue that our attention should be focused instead on his reflections on the role of experience and its relationship with reasoning. I aim at answering the following questions: (1) What place does Beausobre assign to sensory knowledge? (2) How, in his view, is experience to be employed and how may it contribute to scientific practice? (3) What does Beausobre think of those of his contemporaries who work in the same field as he? By way of conclusion, I will offer a summary of Beausobre’s efforts at setting out a theory and practice of science of his own.
Historia philosophica (Helvétius: philosophe, poète, critique, éd. par Sophie Audidière et Francesco Toto), 2022
Helvétius’s works are strewn with references to Malebranche and his errors, references which are ... more Helvétius’s works are strewn with references to Malebranche and his errors, references which are certainly not due to chance but whose meaning requires further explanation. Unfortunately, we cannot find enough unambig- uous statements in the texts which would allow us to easily take a stand on this subject. To provide an alternative solution, I propose to reexamine Helvétius’s philosophy and biography. Attention will therefore be drawn to two main points. On the one hand, a certain indifference towards Malebranche’s errors is consistent with the fundamental conception of public esteem and with the definition of genius proposed in De l’esprit. On the other hand, Helvétius’s interest in Malebranche, and even in his errors, can be justified by some complementary aspects of his theory of esteem as well as by some attitudes specific to the homme d’esprit. Finally, I will come back to the historical circumstances in which Helvetius became acquainted with Malebranche’s thought.
Rivista di filosofia (Esteem and Self-Esteem in the British and French Moralists. A Comparative Approach, ed. by A. Blank et F. Toto), 2022
This paper aims to deepen the comparative examination of Malebranche’s and Hume’s philosophies by... more This paper aims to deepen the comparative examination of Malebranche’s and Hume’s philosophies by focusing on a specific case study, which the secondary literature has not so far sufficiently explored: the phenomenon of esteem for the rich and powerful. A hypothesis will be formulated about the knowledge Hume could have had of Malebranche’s Treatise on Ethics (1684). Regarding Hume, some significant differences will appear between the Treatise on Human Nature (1739-1740) and the Enquiry concerning the Principles of Morals (1751).
Les ismes et catégories historiographiques. Formation et usage à l'époque moderne, éd. par D. Dumouchel et C. Leduc, Québec, Presses de l’Université Laval, 2021
Libertinage et philosophie à l'époque classique (XVIe-XVIIIe siècle) (L’usage de la métaphysique chez les matérialistes des XVIe, XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, éd. par G. Coissard), 2021
Nouvelles recherches sur La Recherche de la vérité, sous la direction de J.-C. Bardout, V. Carraud et D. Moreau, Paris, Vrin, 2020
Dialogue (Éclectisme et critique des systèmes au XVIIIe siècle, éd. par D. Dumouchel, A. Ferraro et C. Leduc), 2018
Cet article est consacré au rapport que, dans la France du XVIII e siècle, la réflexion sur l'uti... more Cet article est consacré au rapport que, dans la France du XVIII e siècle, la réflexion sur l'utilité et la légitimité des systèmes entretient avec le débat sur le statut et l'usage des mathématiques. En retraçant une double ligne d'opposition-entre Formey et Condillac, d'une part, et entre d'Alembert et le couple Diderot-Buffon, d'autre part-on s'attache à décrire l'émergence d'un partage significatif à l'intérieur du front newtonien; partage qui reflète des changements profonds s'opérant dans le panorama philosophique et scientifique de l'époque. À la fin de ce parcours, une question supplémentaire se pose au sujet du destin réservé aux mathématiques et aux systèmes après 1750.
This paper focuses on the link between systems criticism and anti-mathematicism in the French-speaking philosophical literature of the mid-18 th century. Moving from Condillac's omissions to the exemplary cases of Diderot and Buffon-as well as considering Formey's crucial remarks-I reconsider the complex relationship that the authors of the French Enlightenment have with the Newtonian model. Finally, I inquire into the fate awaiting both mathematics and systems in this context after 1750.
History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, 2016
According to a classic periodization in the history of science, biological thought as it emerged ... more According to a classic periodization in the history of science, biological thought as it emerged in France from the last decades of the seventeenth century to the 1740s was strongly committed to the doctrine of the preexistence of germs. Nicolas Malebranche's role in disseminating this paradigm, particularly in the milieu of the Académie Royale des Sciences during the years when Bernard Le Bouyer de Fontenelle was its secretary, has been studied in detail, especially by Jacques Roger. However, much less has been said about the authors who argued against this doctrine prior to the appearance of the relevant pieces by Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, and Denis Diderot. I aim to examine a series of French medical treatises and clandestine manuscripts that outlined a mechanist theory of epigenesis, between the end of the seventeenth century and the 1720s, to bring to light the strategies-often quite original-that allowed them to achieve this result. One interesting case is the heterodox readers of Malebranche, which use some of his own arguments (notably on the physiology of brain traces and the laws of nature) both against preexistence and to support epigenesis. I inquire into the historical worth of the positions defended by these authors as well as into the connections existing between the history of epigenesis and that of materialism in the early modern era. ANGELA FERRARO
L’uomo, il filosofo, le passioni, a cura di C. Borghero e A. Del Prete, Firenze, Le Lettere , 2016
Historia philosophica, 2015
The aim of this paper is to examine Antoine Louis’ Essai sur la nature de l’âme (1747) in order t... more The aim of this paper is to examine Antoine Louis’ Essai sur la nature de l’âme (1747) in order to highlight its importance in advancing an alternative theoretical position to Descartes’ and Cartesians’ as well as in enriching the debate on the nature of the soul which had developed in the first half of the 18th century. Besides sketching the historical background of the hypothesis of the extended but non-material soul, I will focus on the distinctive interlacing of philosophical speculation and medical inquiry which is not only characteristic of the Essai but also revealing of what were most probably Louis’ motivations and goals.
Individuazione/Individualità/Identità personale, a cura di S. Caroti e M. Spallanzani, Firenze, Le Lettere, 2014
Talks by Angela Ferraro
Colloque Practices of Thinking: New Perspectives on Early Modern and Enlightenment Philosophical Cultures, organisé par S. Corneanu et T. Prunea, 2024
Malebranche et les sciences. Journée d’études organisée par Sandra Bella et Claire Schwartz, 2024
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Books by Angela Ferraro
Edited volumes by Angela Ferraro
Un choix de mémoires illustrant la production philosophique de Maupertuis, Formey, Mérian, Prémontval, Euler, Béguelin, Sulzer, Beausobre et Lambert est ici réédité.
Papers by Angela Ferraro
This paper focuses on the link between systems criticism and anti-mathematicism in the French-speaking philosophical literature of the mid-18 th century. Moving from Condillac's omissions to the exemplary cases of Diderot and Buffon-as well as considering Formey's crucial remarks-I reconsider the complex relationship that the authors of the French Enlightenment have with the Newtonian model. Finally, I inquire into the fate awaiting both mathematics and systems in this context after 1750.
Talks by Angela Ferraro
Un choix de mémoires illustrant la production philosophique de Maupertuis, Formey, Mérian, Prémontval, Euler, Béguelin, Sulzer, Beausobre et Lambert est ici réédité.
This paper focuses on the link between systems criticism and anti-mathematicism in the French-speaking philosophical literature of the mid-18 th century. Moving from Condillac's omissions to the exemplary cases of Diderot and Buffon-as well as considering Formey's crucial remarks-I reconsider the complex relationship that the authors of the French Enlightenment have with the Newtonian model. Finally, I inquire into the fate awaiting both mathematics and systems in this context after 1750.
salutaire, mais sans portée cognitive, ou avec Leibniz une
“expression” représentative de notre corps ? R. Andrault explore les
débats post-cartésiens à l’âge classique.
Cogito ? N’est-ce pas ignorer des pans tout aussi importants de
cette doctrine multiple par son arborescence et sa descendance ?
Delphine Antoine-Mahut montre comment, dès le vivant du
philosophe, s’est constitué un “canon”.