Marcello Pera

Marcello Pera
Marcello Pera in 2022
President of the Senate of the Republic
In office 30 May 2001 – 27 April 2006
Preceded by	Nicola Mancino
Succeeded by	Franco Marini
Member of theSenate of the Republic
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 October 2022
Constituency	Sassari
In office 9 May 1996 – 14 March 2013
Constituency	Lucca(1996–2006) Emilia-Romagna(2006–2008) Lazio(2008–2013)
Personal details
Born	(1943-01-28)28 January 1943 Lucca,Kingdom of Italy
Political party	FdI(since 2022)
Other political affiliations	PSI(until 1994) FI(1994–2009) PdL(2009–2013)
Alma mater	University of Pisa
Profession	Philosopher Politician

Marcello Pera(Italian pronunciation:[marˈtʃɛlloˈpɛːra,-e-];born 28 January 1943) is an Italianphilosopherandpolitician.He was the president of theItalian Senatefrom 2001 to 2006.

Career

Pera was born inLucca,⁣and graduated inaccounting.He worked for the Banca Toscana and for theCamera di Commercioin Lucca. He went on to studyphilosophyat theUniversity of Pisa,concentrating on the works ofKarl Popperand hisopen societytheory, and advocating these principles during the difficult 1970s, theanni di piombo.

His academic career began in 1976 at the University of Pisa. He then went on to pursue research activities internationally:Fulbrightscholar, University of Pittsburgh, 1984; Linguistics and Philosophy,MIT,Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1990; visiting fellow, Centre for the Philosophy of Natural Sciences, London School of Economics, 1995–96. He taught theoretical philosophy from 1989 to 1992 at theUniversity of Catania.In 1992, he became a full professor of philosophy at the University of Pisa.

Pera has written for the newspapersCorriere della Sera,Il Messaggero,andLa Stampa,as well as for the news magazinesL'EspressoandPanorama.Pera has become a leading opponent ofpost-modernismandcultural relativismand on this subject, he resonates with religious thinkers. Opposing cultural relativism, he declared, "There are good reasons for deeming that some institutions are better than others. And I deny that such a judgment must necessarily lead to a clash."

Opposing the postmodern denial of the possibility of ascertaining objective facts, he says, "Against deconstructionism, I do not deny that facts do not exist without interpretation. I refuteNietzsche's thesis that "there are no facts, only interpretations" (F. Nietzsche,Afterthoughts); orDerrida's "there is nothing beyond the text" (J. Derrida,Of Grammatology)."

In the Senate

He was elected as a Senator forForza Italiain1996and2001.During the XIV Legislature, he was President of the Senate from May 30 to April 27, 2006.He was re-elected to the Senate in2006and2008.

Dialogue with Pope Benedict XVI

An atheist,Pera co-authored a book with thenCardinalJoseph RatzingertitledSenza radici( "Without Roots" ) and is the author of the introduction to the book originally titledL'Europa di Benedetto nella crisi delle culture,or in short,The Europe of Benedict,written by Ratzinger shortly before he became the pope. It has been reprinted asChristianity and the Crisis of Cultures.

Pera's 2008 bookPerché dobbiamo dirci cristiani( "Why We Must Call Ourselves Christians" ) has a letter-preface by Pope Benedict XVI. Pera is a critic of the policies ofPope Francisand what he perceive as the Pope's attempts to influence Italian politics, in particular his response to theEuropean migrant crisis;he accused the Pope of demanding that European states "commit suicide".

Honour

Foreign honour

• Malaysia: Honorary Grand Commander of theOrder of the Defender of the Realm(2003)
• Uruguay:Grand Cordon of theMedal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay(2003)

Publications

• Induzione e metodo scientifico,Pera M., Editrice Tecnico Scientifica, Pisa, 1978
• Popper e la scienza su palafitte,Pera M., Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1981
• Hume, Kant e l'induzione,Pera M., Il Mulino, Bologna, 1982
• Apologia del Metodo,Pera M., Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1982
• La Rana ambigua. La controversia sull'eletricità tra Galvana e Volta,Pera M., Einaudi, Torino, 1986; English translationThe Ambiguous Frog: The Galvani-Volta Controversy on Animal Electricity,Princeton University Press, Princeton 1991
• Scienza e retorica,Pera M., Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1992; translated into English and revised asThe Discourses of Science,(Chicago University Press, Chicago 1994
• Senza radici/Without Roots,Pera M., Ratzinger J.,Mondadori,Milano 2004, Basic Books, New York 2006; German edition: Sankt Ulrich Verlag, Augsburg 2005; Spanish edition: Peninsula, Barcelona 2006
  • Ratzinger, Joseph;Pera, Marcello(2006).Without Roots: The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam.New York: Basic Books.ISBN978-0465006342.
• Perché dobbiamo dirci cristiani( "Why We Must Call Ourselves Christians" ),Mondadori,Milano 2008; with a letter-preface by Pope Benedict XVI

External links

• Marcello Pera's official site(inItalianandEnglish)