Marcello Pera

Marcello Pera (; born 28 January 1943) is an Italian philosopher and politician. He was the president of the Italian Senate from 2001 to 2006.

Career

Pera was born in Lucca,⁣

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 refute Nietzsche's thesis that "there are no facts, only interpretations" (F. Nietzsche, Afterthoughts); or Derrida's "there is nothing beyond the text" (J. Derrida, Of Grammatology)." He was re-elected to the Senate in 2006 and 2008. Pera co-authored a book with then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger titled Senza radici ("Without Roots") and is the author of the introduction to the book originally titled L'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 as Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures.

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

Honour Foreign honour Honorary Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (2003) Grand Cordon of the Medal 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 translation The 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 as The 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

Perché dobbiamo dirci cristiani ("Why We Must Call Ourselves Christians"), Mondadori, Milano 2008; with a letter-preface by Pope Benedict XVI