Facticity, Transcendence, Value: Enzo Paci and Ernesto De Martino in Dialogue
Andrea Bauckneht
Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology October 23, 2026 DOI: 10.1080/00071773.2026.2744561 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that despite their different perspectives, Paci and De Martino both affirm a primacy of the concrete monad in its constitutive relation to the spiritual, expressed through a fundamentally existentialist understanding of phenomenology. The article situates their 1950s debate within the Italian reception of phenomenology and the decisive references of Croce's historicism and Abbagnano's positive existentialism. |
Abstract
This article sets out to examine the 1950s debate between Enzo Paci and Ernesto de Martino, with particular attention to the Italian reception of phenomenology, but also to other philosophical references that prove decisive for this confrontation, namely Croce’s historicism and Abbagnano’s positive existentialism. We will follow the arguments presented by the two thinkers in Il nulla e il problema dell'uomo and Scritti filosofici to elucidate the philosophical foundations of their debate. In conclusion, it will be shown how Paci and De Martino, from different perspectives, both affirm a primacy of the concrete monad in its constitutive relation to the spiritual, which finds expression in a fundamentally existentialistic understanding of phenomenology.