Michelangelo Fardella

Michelangelo Fardella (* 1650 in Trapani, † January 2, 1716 in Naples) was a Sicilian scholar who worked mainly in the areas of philosophy and mathematics.

Life and work

Fardella studied with Giovanni Alfonso Borelli in Messina, of which he has accepted the theories of Democritus. But he himself valued more the minds of René Descartes, which he had learned during his stay in Paris in the exchange of ideas with Antoine Arnauld, Nicolas Malebranche and Bernard Lamy (1640-1715) in the years 1678-1680. For a long time he maintained contact with the four- year-older Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who is one of the pioneers of the Enlightenment. Another important correspondent for him was Antonio Magliabechi. As a member of the Franciscan order, he taught mathematics at Rome, and later in Modena and from 1693 in Padua; as a secular priest and also teaches astronomy and philosophy. 1709 he left Padua and went to Barcelona but returned three years later returned to Italy.

Faith and Vision

1689 a Venetian Inquisition against him began, but fizzled. The charge was heresy, in the course of the proceedings had doubts as to the allegations, which branded him as a Lutheran.

For understanding Fardellas it is not possible to prove the independent existence of material reality:

" La ci stessa esperienza insegna che sogno nel spesso percepiamo oggetti che veramente non possiamo ammettere real instruments esistenti. Quante volte, la notte, mentre dormo, splendere vedo il sole sopra l' orizzonte e vedo muoversi in vari modi moltissime prodigiose cose che non sono niente Extra ideam? . Dunque, quel che sento e vedo non può essere in nessun modo dedotto come realmente esistente. "

" The same experience has taught us that in a dream often objects are true, that actually exist, we do not really admit. How often at night while I sleep, I see the sun above the horizon and see them in various ways to move many wondrous things that are not particularly? So what I can hear and see if it really is not derived from what already exists. "