Gaetano Sanseverino (7 August 1811 – 16 November 1865) was an Italian philosopher and theologian. He made a comparative study including the

scholastics Scholasticism was a medieval European philosophical movement or methodology that was the predominant education in Europe from about 1100 to 1700. It is known for employing logically precise analyses and reconciling classical philosophy and C ...

, particularly

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

, and of the connection between their doctrine and that of the

Church Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical peri ...

Biography

Gaetano Sanseverino was born in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

on 7 August 1811. Gaetano made his studies in the seminary in

Nola Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian worship. ...

, where his uncle was rector. After his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

, he continued the study of philosophy, with the special view of comparing the various systems. Gaetano also became a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the cathedral of Naples, professor of logic and metaphysics in the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

, substitute professor of ethics in the university, and eventually ''scrittore'' in the National Library. Sanseverino had been educated in the Cartesian system, which at that time prevailed in the ecclesiastical schools of Italy, but his comparative study of the various systems supplied him with a deeper knowledge of the

, particularly St. Thomas Aquinas, and of the intimate connection between their doctrine and that of the church fathers. From that time until the end of his life, his only concern was the restoration of Christian philosophy, in which by his writings, lectures and conversation, he was of supreme assistance to

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

. With this object, in 1840, he founded ''La Scienza e la Fede'', a periodical which was continued until 1887 by his disciples and associates, Signoriello and d'Amelio. Gaetano Sanseverino died in Naples of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

on 16 November 1865, at age 54.

Writings

*His principal work, ''Philosophia christiana cum antiqua et nova comparata'' (5 volumes, Naples, 1862–66), is incomplete, covering only logic and psychology, but the work is lucid in exposition, extensive in argument, and has a vast number of authors cited and discussed. *''I principali sistemi della filosofia del criterio, discussi colla dottrina de' Santi Padri e de' Dottori del Medio Evo'' (1850–53), in which he discusses and confutes the systems of Hume and Gioberti on the criterion of truth. *''La dottrina di S. Tommaso sull'origine del potere e sul preteso diritto di resistenza'' ("On the Origin of Authority and the Pretended Right of Resistance", 1853). * ''Elementa philosophiæ christianæ'' (1864–70), written for the use of his classes, the last volume ("Ethics") being edited by his disciple Nunzio Signoriello.

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References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanseverino, Gaetano 1811 births 1865 deaths 19th-century Italian male writers 19th-century Italian non-fiction writers 19th-century Italian philosophers 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians 19th-century Neapolitan people Deaths from cholera in Italy Italian male non-fiction writers Italian Roman Catholic writers

Biography

Writings

See also

Notes

References