Compassion in Action

Overview

The PRIN 2020 project Compassion in Action aims to investigate the relationship between the theories of compassion developed by the Enlightenment philosophers and their application in fiction (literature, theatre, pa inting) during the “long 18th century” (1660-1830). We endeavour to highlight how this “contamination” has played a decisive role both in the development of human rights and in the more general process of the recognition of “otherness”, which is typical of modernity. In particular, the imaginative and projective dimension of compassion, mobilised by fiction, allows the subject to go beyond his or her usual framework of life, to the point of authentically sympathising with situations that are completely unavailable on an experiential level.

Methodology

The innovative significance of the project lies in its interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach to the topic of compassion. Although the project stems from a philosophical interest in the study of the emotional foundation of morality, its realization presupposes the integrated approach of multiple disciplines. From a methodological point of view, this requires the theme of compassion to be considered through the lens of certain highly specifc historiographical paradigms.

Work Packages

WP1

The Roots of Compassion

A research about the distinctive features of the 18th-century vision of compassion starting from a quantitative and qualitative study of materials related to different aspects of 18th-century culture

WP2

Lexicon of Compassion

A lexical work that identifies both the similarities and differences between the various sympathetic principles theorised abstractly and those implemented in the fictional dimension

WP3

Taxonomy of Otherness

A repertoire of specific groups of “case studies” showing how the doctrines of compassion may be effectively applied thanks to the artistic-literary dimension.

WP4

18th-Century Compassion Today

An attempt to bring out the theoretical implications of our historiographic reconstruction. in a historical period in which human sciences are experiencing a so-called “emotional turn”

The Platform

We are preparing an innovative digital platform including all the research outputs. Stay tuned on this website!