No open-access location is known for this record yet.
No open-access location is known for this record yet.
Naturalmente omini boni desiderano sapere * In 1959 at a well-known conference in Cambridge, Charles Snow proclaimed that between worlds of science and literature a profound gap had formed, reaching according to him point of reciprocal incommunicability. He famously labeled them the two cultures, and when his discussion came to speaking of possible resolutions to problem, he formulated a hypothetical third that could somehow reconcile their differences. While viewed by some to be a bit incomplete theoretically, Snow's ideas did go to heart of an issue that had been for some time growing in urgency and brought it to public's attention.1 In effect, during 1950s and 1960s one could clearly perceive in all of Europe (in particular Italy) a growing mistrust in science's optimistic vision for world, especially championed by Positivism, when economic boom gave rise to a sense of alienation in industrial workplace, increased industrialization, and consumerism. In fact, entire twentieth century up until 1960s, with aftermath of two world wars and problems of abject poverty, is characterized by a negative image of science that was spread via mass communication and eventually became common cultural heritage. Pirandello, for instance, used to consider science as a source of deception, unhappiness, and death, and in his view science and nature were opposites. The Italian intellectuals and authors who addressed this crucial issue at that time numbered, among others, Elio Vittorini, Sergio Solmi, Umberto Eco, Primo Levi, and Dino Buzzati. In addition, of particular importance is Italo Calvino's literary and theoretical contribution, dedication to which, bringing science closer to world of literature, became concrete during 1 960s. Witness Le cosmicomiche (1965) and Ti con zero (1967), two works which revealed his interest in a variety of topics such as geometry, astronomy, and botany. In a historical period that had definitely exhausted expressive potentialities of neorealism, Calvino adopted an anti-mimetic writing style with a pronounced imaginary component, present m his writing from very beginning. However, what distinguishes Calvino's writing style from that of other authors of period is pronounced Fairy-tale element in his narration. Pagetti notes that it was, in fact, interpretation of science fiction given by Sergio Solmi that constituted intellectual transition from phase in which Calvino published Lefiabe italiane (1956) to phase of ten years later. Pagetti also notes that Solmi, in preface to Meraviglie del possibile (1959), comparing science fiction to novels of chivalry, 1400-1500, suggested an interpretation of le nuove mitologie scientifiche as simboli, trasposizioni inconsciamente allegoriche delle fonde aspirazioni e inquietudini dell'oggi.(2) The fairy-tale, being linked with fantastic, turned out to be an ideal c oupling in Calvino's scientific style which, because of its multilayered nature, became a model for a new way of producing and reading literature. In this way of conceiving writing, an important key to interpreting Calvino's literary works is his use of humor, through which he reestablishes equilibrium between two fields. This element is particularly central in Cosmicomiche (as title suggests) and is clearly indicated from beginning by selection of twelve theories about origin of universe that introduce each story. This sampling of theories portrays uncertainty that shadows entire field of cosmology and comically highlights unsolved mysteries that limit our knowledge of cosmos. Through his humorous writing style Calvino frees literature from its inferiority complex towards science, creating on page a dialogue between two, in order to reassign to literature task of evaluating models upon which culture is shaped. …
Loading…
Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.