Il Maine de Biran di Giovanni Amendola. L’attualità della prima tappa degli studi biraniani in Italia

The first volume entirely dedicated to the thought of Maine de Biran, published in Italy, originates from a series of lectures given by Giovanni Amendola (1882-1926) in Florence in 1911. It is a work little appreciated by contemporaries and forgotten by critics. However, it actually presents several reasons of interest, both for the reconstruction of the development of Biranian studies in Italy and for the interpretation of Biran, especially regarding the comparison with authors such as Kant or Fichte. The present contribution reconstructs the contents of the volume, the philosophical motivations that guided its author in the study of Biran’s thought, and in his own intention to make it known, recognizing the basic elements of an ethical voluntarism that would then move the interest of Amendola from philosophy to political praxis.