A philosophy as old as Homer : Giacomo Leopardi and Greek poetic pessimism

Leopardi, Giacomo, 1798-1837--Criticism and interpretation;Leopardi, Giacomo, 1798-1837--Appreciation--Greece.;Leopardi, Giacomo, 1798-1837--Knowledge--Philosophy;Philosophy, Ancient;Pessimism;Pessimisim in literature

Franzoni, Maria Giulia ; Halliwell, Stephen ; Halliwell, Stephen

University:The University of St Andrews

Department:Classics (School of)

关键词: Leopardi, Giacomo, 1798-1837--Criticism and interpretation;    Leopardi, Giacomo, 1798-1837--Appreciation--Greece.;    Leopardi, Giacomo, 1798-1837--Knowledge--Philosophy;    Philosophy, Ancient;    Pessimism;    Pessimisim in literature;   

Others  :  https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/11357/MariaFranzoniPhDThesis.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y

来源: DR-NTU

【 摘 要 】

The aim of this thesis is twofold: it explores Giacomo Leopardi’s (1798-1837)interpretation of, and engagement with, Greek pessimistic thought and, through him, itinvestigates the complex and elusive phenomenon of Greek pessimistic thought itself.This thesis contends that Greek pessimistic thought – epitomised by but not limited tothe famous wisdom of Silenus, the µὴ φῦναι topos – is an important element of Greekthought, a fundamental part of some of Greece’s greatest literary works, and a vitalelement in the understanding of Greek culture in general. Yet this aspect of ancientthought has not yet received the attention it deserves, and in the history of itsinterpretation it has often been forgotten, denied, or purposefully obliterated.Furthermore, the pessimistic side of Greek thought plays a crucial role in both themodern history of the interpretation of antiquity and the intellectual history of Europe; Iargue that this history is fundamentally incomplete without the appreciation ofLeopardi’s role in it. By his study of and engagement with ancient sources Leopardicontributed to the 19th century rediscovery of Greek pessimistic wisdom, alongside,though chronologically before, the likes of Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich Nietzsche,and Jacob Burckhardt.Having outlined some fundamental steps in the history of the reception of Greekpessimism, this thesis examines the cardinal components of Leopardi’s reception of it:his use of Greek conceptions of humanity to undermine modernity’s anthropocentricfallacy, his reinterpretation of the Homeric simile of the leaves and its pessimisticundertones, and his views on the idea that it would be best for man not to be born.