Giorgio Fano

Giorgio Fano (April 17, 1885 – September 20, 1963) was an Italian philosopher and linguist. He belonged to the school of Italian neo-idealist thinkers, among a group of artists and writers who made Trieste of the early Twentieth Century a notable center of intellectual activity. Fano read and interpreted the work of Benedetto Croce and Giovanni Gentile from an original point of view. In particular, he recognized the importance of the natural sciences and mathematics, which in his system are not pseudo-concepts. He also stressed the major importance of the simplest and most basic aspects of the life of mind, inspired by reflections of Gianbattista Vico. Giorgio Fano was born in Trieste on April 17, 1885. His father Guglielmo was a well-known physician, his mother Amalia Sanguinetti, who for many years was seriously ill, died when he was still a child. His father Guglielmo was one of the few Jews at the time who had converted to Catholicism out of sincere belief in the faith. But this conversion was, unfortunately, accompanied by religious delusions and mental disorders. As an adolescent, Fano was rebellious against adult authority, detesting their conformity, their oppressive spirit and the ponderous atmosphere that enveloped them. In the novel "Quasi una fantasia" (Almost as a phantastic story) by Ettore Cantoni there is talk of two boys, in which it is easy to recognize the author Ettore and his friend Giorgio Fano, who travel and even arrive in Africa, precisely to escape the environment established by adults. A rebellious boy, he refused to accept school discipline. In one notable episode typifying his character, he threw the class register into fire. He attended Austrian schools of the time, but with little benefit. One part of his difficulties was the fact that he did not have a retentive memory. Although he excelled in understanding conceptual principles, he was deficient in retaining the numerous trivial details necessary in the study of history and geography. Thus, he left his studies long before he had achieved the matura (high school degree).