Antonio Genovesi
Encyclopedia
Antonio Genovesi was an Italian
writer on philosophy and political economy.
.
He was educated for the church and after some hesitation, taking orders in 1736 at Salerno where he was appointed professor of eloquence at the theological seminary. During this period of his life he began the study of philosophy, being especially attracted by John Locke
's ideas. Dissatisfied with ecclesiastical life, Genovesi resigned his post, and qualified as an advocate at Rome
. Finding law as distasteful as theology, he devoted himself entirely to philosophy, of which he was appointed extraordinary professor in the university of Naples.
His first works were Elementa Metaphysicae (1743 et seq.) and Logica (1745). The former is divided into four parts, Ontosophy, Cosmosophy, Theosophy
, Psychosophy
, supplemented by a treatise on ethics
and a dissertation on first causes. The Logic, an eminently practical work, written from the point of view of Locke, is in five parts, dealing with:
Genovesi does introduced the new order of ideas into Italy, at the same time preserving a just mean between the two extremes of sensualism
and idealism
.
Although bitterly opposed by the partisans of scholastic routine, Genovesi found influential patrons. One of them was Bartolomeo Intieri, who in 1754 founded the first European chair of political economy (commerce and mechanics), on condition that Genovesi should be the first professor, at the University of Naples. The fruit of Genovesi's professorial labours was the Lezioni di Commercio, the first complete and systematic work in Italian on economics.
On the whole he belongs to the Mercantile school
, though he does not regard money as the only form of wealth. Specially noteworthy in the Lezioni are the sections on human wants as the foundation of economical theory, on labour as the source of wealth, on personal services as economic factors, and on the united working of the great industrial functions. He advocated freedom of the corn trade, reduction of the number of religious communities, and deprecated regulation of the interest
on loan
s. In the spirit of his age he denounced the relics of medieval institutions, such as entails
and tenures
in mortmain
.
Melchiorre Gioia's more important treatise owes much to Genovesi's lectures.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
writer on philosophy and political economy.
Biography
Genovesi was born at Castiglione, near SalernoSalerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
.
He was educated for the church and after some hesitation, taking orders in 1736 at Salerno where he was appointed professor of eloquence at the theological seminary. During this period of his life he began the study of philosophy, being especially attracted by John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
's ideas. Dissatisfied with ecclesiastical life, Genovesi resigned his post, and qualified as an advocate at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. Finding law as distasteful as theology, he devoted himself entirely to philosophy, of which he was appointed extraordinary professor in the university of Naples.
His first works were Elementa Metaphysicae (1743 et seq.) and Logica (1745). The former is divided into four parts, Ontosophy, Cosmosophy, Theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
, Psychosophy
Psychosophy
The word psychosophy has etymological roots in the Greek words ψυχή and σοφίᾱ , which are often interpreted as "soul" and "wisdom," respectively...
, supplemented by a treatise on ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
and a dissertation on first causes. The Logic, an eminently practical work, written from the point of view of Locke, is in five parts, dealing with:
- the nature of the human mind, its faculties and operations
- ideas and their kinds
- the true and the false, and the various degrees of knowledge
- reasoning and argumentation;
- method and the ordering of our thoughts
Genovesi does introduced the new order of ideas into Italy, at the same time preserving a just mean between the two extremes of sensualism
Sensualism
Sensualism is a philosophical doctrine of the theory of knowledge, according to which sensations and perception are the basic and most important form of true cognition. It may oppose abstract ideas...
and idealism
Idealism
In philosophy, idealism is the family of views which assert that reality, or reality as we can know it, is fundamentally mental, mentally constructed, or otherwise immaterial. Epistemologically, idealism manifests as a skepticism about the possibility of knowing any mind-independent thing...
.
Although bitterly opposed by the partisans of scholastic routine, Genovesi found influential patrons. One of them was Bartolomeo Intieri, who in 1754 founded the first European chair of political economy (commerce and mechanics), on condition that Genovesi should be the first professor, at the University of Naples. The fruit of Genovesi's professorial labours was the Lezioni di Commercio, the first complete and systematic work in Italian on economics.
On the whole he belongs to the Mercantile school
Mercantilism
Mercantilism is the economic doctrine in which government control of foreign trade is of paramount importance for ensuring the prosperity and security of the state. In particular, it demands a positive balance of trade. Mercantilism dominated Western European economic policy and discourse from...
, though he does not regard money as the only form of wealth. Specially noteworthy in the Lezioni are the sections on human wants as the foundation of economical theory, on labour as the source of wealth, on personal services as economic factors, and on the united working of the great industrial functions. He advocated freedom of the corn trade, reduction of the number of religious communities, and deprecated regulation of the interest
Interest
Interest is a fee paid by a borrower of assets to the owner as a form of compensation for the use of the assets. It is most commonly the price paid for the use of borrowed money, or money earned by deposited funds....
on loan
Loan
A loan is a type of debt. Like all debt instruments, a loan entails the redistribution of financial assets over time, between the lender and the borrower....
s. In the spirit of his age he denounced the relics of medieval institutions, such as entails
Fee tail
At common law, fee tail or entail is an estate of inheritance in real property which cannot be sold, devised by will, or otherwise alienated by the owner, but which passes by operation of law to the owner's heirs upon his death...
and tenures
Land tenure
Land tenure is the name given, particularly in common law systems, to the legal regime in which land is owned by an individual, who is said to "hold" the land . The sovereign monarch, known as The Crown, held land in its own right. All private owners are either its tenants or sub-tenants...
in mortmain
Mortmain
Mortmain is a legal term that means ownership of real estate by a corporation or legal institution that can be transferred or sold in perpetuity; the term is usually used in the context of its prohibition...
.
Melchiorre Gioia's more important treatise owes much to Genovesi's lectures.