Background
Calogero, Guido was born on December 4, 1904 in Rome.
philosopher of language Philosopher of the self
Calogero, Guido was born on December 4, 1904 in Rome.
Arrested for political reasons in 1942. In prison wrote Lezioni di ftlosofia. Sometime Director of the Italian Institute in London.
Calogero defines his philosophy, which is deeply related to his life, as ‘presentialism’, a concentration on the self and what actually surrounds it, opposed to any abstract formalistic or a priori dogmatism. The self is not a passive mirror but active, and knowledge is inseparable from action. This account distinguishes egoism from active choice. One can choose egoism but one can also choose altruism, and so issue from the prison of the self. Calogero vigorously opposed the theorizing of Oxford linguistic philosophers. Language communicates our experience. No linguistic rules have any value save as historically contingent rules expressing a ‘will for discussion’ with others and this ‘will for discussion’ has no need of discussion.