Luigi Pareyson

Luigi Pareyson (February 4, 1918 – September 8, 1991) was a prominent Italian philosopher of the 20th century. Born in Piasco, in the province of Cuneo, he earned his doctorate from the University of Turin in 1939 with a dissertation on Karl Jaspers. As a professor at the University of Turin, Pareyson influenced many notable students, including Mario Perniola, Gianni Vattimo, and Umberto Eco. He was instrumental in introducing German existentialism, particularly the philosophies of Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers, to Italy. Pareyson's work challenged the dominant neo-idealism of the time, offering a new interpretation of German idealism by focusing on Friedrich Schelling as a precursor to existentialism. His seminal 1954 work, *Estetica. Teoria della formatività* (Aesthetics. A Theory of Formativity), critiqued the aesthetic theories of Benedetto Croce. In 1971, he published *Verità ed interpretazione* (Truth and interpretation), a foundational text that, along with the work of his students, helped establish the Italian hermeneutic school of thought, which significantly impacted Italian philosophy through the 1990s. Pareyson's philosophy, which he termed 'ontological personalism,' emphasized the role of interpretation in understanding truth and explored profound themes such as the problem of evil and suffering, and the ontology of freedom. His profound engagement with Schelling led Xavier Tilliette to describe him as "Schelling redivivus."