Paradeigmata voluntatis 2: L'esperienza dell'Occidente

The volume contains eleven contributions that were presented at the second conference dedicated to voluntas, held at Ca' Foscari University of Venice in 2023. The focus of this collection is the Western conception of voluntas, which, in its paradigmatic value, had been established in the Greco-Roman world. The authors proceed to explore the history of the concept in medieval and modern philosophy, highlighting the contributions of prominent figures such as Augustine, Duns Scotus, Descartes, and twentieth-century German philosophy. Important advances in this area can be attributed, at least in part, to efforts to delineate the dynamism and mutation of the paradigm adopted. The concept of voluntas, originally introduced by Cicero and subsequently elaborated by Augustine inside a Platonic, Aristotelian and Stoic tradition, encapsulates the fundamental principle of subjective action and the desire unequivocally present in all human beings. Later, in the Romance languages and finally in modern contexts, voluntas underwent a process of recalibration, redefinition, and reshaping. In the nineteenth century, voluntas began to take on the character and force of a non-rational metaphysical foundation of the whole of reality. This transformation is evident in the depersonalisation of voluntas, as evidenced by Schopenhauer's representation of the 'World' and Nietzsche's conception of the 'Dionysian character' and 'Will to power'. These philosophers argue that voluntas functions as an all-encompassing horizon of vital occurrence in constant becoming, aspiring to unceasingly empower itself. Today, the problematic radical distinction between 'will' and 'free-will' on the one hand; the meaning of 'intentionality' and the concept of 'agent-causality' on the other appear to predominate. The dichotomy between will and reason can indeed be theorised; nevertheless, when considered collectively, it can be reasonably contested.