Rosario Assunto

Abstract

In this short unpublisched manuscript, the italian philosopher Rosario Assunto (Caltanissetta 1915 – Roma 1994) take stock of his own philosophical activity. He identifies two key concepts of his aesthetics: (love of) life and (love of) objects. By the analysis the character of Eugène de Rastignac, of Balzac’s «Père Goriot», Assunto presents the artistic experience as a different sphere in comparison with the sphere of the real life, through the concept of «vital transcendence».

Rosario Assunto (Caltanissetta 1915 – Roma 1994) taught aesthetics and history of italian philosophy at University of Urbino and University of Rome «La Sapienza» respectively. He has been one of the international greatest theorist of aesthetics of the landscape and philosophy of the garden. Among his books: Il paesaggio e l’estetica (Giannini, Napoli 1973); L’antichità come futuro (Mursia, Milano 1973); Filosofia del giardino e filosofia nel giardino (Bulzoni, Roma 1981); Theorie der Literatur bei Schriftstellern des 20. Jahrhunderts (Rowohlt, Hamburg 1975); La città di Anfione e la città di Prometeo (Jaca Book, Milano 1984); Ontologia e teleologia del giardino (Guerini, Milano 1988); Die Theorie des Schönen im Mittelalter (Dumont, Köln 1992²).