Marcello Pera

Marcello Pera
Senatore Marcello Pera
President of the Italian Senate
In office
May 30, 2001 – April 27, 2006
Preceded by Nicola Mancino
Succeeded by Franco Marini
Personal details
Born January 23, 1943 (1943-01-23) (age 68)
Lucca, Italy
Nationality Italian
Political party Forza Italia
Profession Philosopher
Politician

Marcello Pera (born January 28, 1943[1]) is an Italian philosopher and politician. He was the President of the Italian Senate from 2001 to 2006.

Contents

Career

Pera, who was born in Lucca,[1] graduated in accounting, and he worked for the Banca Toscana and for the Camera di Commercio in Lucca. He went on to study philosophy at the University of Pisa, concentrating on the works of Karl Popper and his open society theory, and advocating these principles during the difficult 1970s, the anni di piombo.

His academic career began 1976 at the University of Pisa. He then went on to pursue research activities internationally: Visiting Fellow, University of Pittsburgh, 1984; Linguistics and Philosophy, MIT, Cambridge, Mass., 1990; Visiting Fellow, Centre for the Philosophy of Natural Sciences, London School of Economics, 1995-96. He taught Theoretical Philosophy from 1989 to 1992 at the University of Catania. In 1992 he became full professor of Philosophy at the University of Pisa.

Marcello Pera has written for the newspapers Corriere della Sera, Il Messaggero, and La Stampa, and to the news magazines L'Espresso and Panorama.

Pera has become a leading opponent of post-modernism and cultural relativism and on this subject he resonates with religious thinkers.

Opposing cultural relativism he declared, "There are... good reasons for deeming that some institutions are better than others. And I deny that such a judgment must necessarily lead to a clash." [2]

Opposing the post modern denial of the possibility of ascertaining objective facts, he says, "Against deconstructivism I do not deny that facts do not exist without interpretation. I refute Nietzsche's thesis that "there are no facts, only interpretations" (F. Nietzsche, Afterthoughts); or Derrida's "there is nothing beyond the text" (J. Derrida, Of Grammatology)." [2]

In the Senate

He was elected as a Senator for Forza Italia in 1996 and 2001.[1] During the XIV Legislature, he was President of the Senate from May 30, 2001 to April 27, 2006.[3] He was re-elected to the Senate in 2006 and 2008.[1]

Dialog with Pope Benedict XVI

In 2005, Pera co-authored a book with then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), titled "Senza radici" ("Without Roots"), and is the author of the foreword of the book by the Pope Benedict, titled The Europe of Benedict.

Pera's 2008 book "Perche' dobbiamo dirci cristiani" ("Why We Must Call Ourselves Christians"), has a letter-preface by Pope Benedict.

Publications

  • Induzione e metodo scientifico, Pera M., Editrice Tecnico Scientifica, Pisa, 1978
  • Popper e la scienza su palafitte, Pera M., Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1981
  • Hume, Kant e l'induzione, Pera M., Il Mulino, Bologna, 1982
  • Apologia del Metodo, Pera M., Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1982
  • La Rana ambigua. La controversia sull'eletricità tra Galvana e Volta, Pera M., Einaudi, Torino, 1986; English translation The Ambiguous Frog: The Galvani-Volta Controversy on Animal Electricity, Princeton University Press, Princeton 1991
  • Scienza e retorica, Pera M., Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1992; translated into English and revised as The Discourses of Science, (Chicago University Press, Chicago 1994
  • Senza radici/Without Roots, Pera M., Ratzinger J., Mondadori, Milano 2004, Basic Books, New York 2006; German edition: Sankt Ulrich Verlag, Augsburg 2005; Spanish edition: Peninsula, Barcelona 2006
  • Perche' dobbiamo dirci cristiani ("Why We Must Call Ourselves Christians"), Mondadori, Milano 2008; with a letter-preface by Pope Benedict XVI

References

  1. ^ a b c d Page at Senate website (Italian).
  2. ^ a b www.senato.it/presidente14leg/21572/21575/28223/42108/composizioneattopresidente.htm
  3. ^ Senate page for Pera as a member of the XIV Legislature (French).

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Nicola Mancino
President of the Italian Senate
2001 - 2006
Succeeded by
Franco Marini



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Marcello Pera — (* 28. Januar 1943 in Lucca, Provinz Lucca) ist ein italienischer Wissenschaftsphilosoph, Hochschullehrer und Politiker der Forza Italia. Leben Pera wurde nach einem Studium der Philosophie zunächst Universitätsdozent und dann 1972 Ordentlicher… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Pera (Begriffsklärung) — Pera bezeichnet: einen Stadtteil von Konstantinopel, siehe Pera eine antike Stadt in Zypern, siehe Pera (Zypern) eine römische Ledertasche (anderer Name für Loculus), siehe Loculus (Tasche) eine Pflanzengattung, siehe Pera (Gattung) ein Volumen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Forza Italia — Former leaders Silvio Berlusconi, Giulio Tremonti Founded 18 January 1994 …   Wikipedia

  • Artículos solicitados — Wikipedia:Artículos solicitados Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Atajos WP:AS WP:SOL Wikipedia en Español es una enciclopedia en constante crecimiento, por esta causa algunas de las entradas que el usuario espera encontrar están vacías y sin… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Wikipedia:Artículos solicitados — Atajos WP:AS WP:SOL Artículos solicitados En esta página pue …   Wikipedia Español

  • List of Forza Italia leading members by political origin — This is a list of various exponents of Forza Italia (current and former deputies, senators, , MEPs, regional presidents, leading regional level politicians, mayors of big and medium sized cities and important members of party s national organs),… …   Wikipedia

  • Nicola Mancino — President of the Italian Senate Acting President of the Republic from May 15, 1999 to May 18, 1999 In office May 9, 1996 – May 29, 2001 …   Wikipedia

  • Moral relativism — For other uses, see Relativism Moral relativism may be any of several descriptive, meta ethical, or normative positions. Each of them is concerned with the differences in moral judgments across different people and cultures: Descriptive… …   Wikipedia

  • Franco Marini — Infobox Prime Minister honorific prefix = Senatore name = Franco Marini order = President of the Italian Senate term start = 29 April 2006 term end = 28 April 2008 predecessor = Marcello Pera successor = Renato Schifani order2 = Member of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Galvanismus — Froschschenkel Experiment aus Galvanis Deviribus electricitatis in motu musculari Galvanismus ist eine historische Bezeichnung für die Erforschung von Muskelkontraktionen durch elektrischen Strom. Das von Luigi Galvani entdeckte Phänomen führte… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”