The Ethics of Giacomo Leopardi

This is a beautifully written book which, contrary to readings of Giacomo Leopardi which portray him as a pessimist, undertakes the task of reconstructing his ethical project by highlighting the affirmative politics of sharing, flourishing and sociality that underpins his work. In doing so, this research adopts a new vantage point for looking both at key ethical categories and our human fragility as a response to the theoretical and political challenges imposed by the environmental catastrophe that characterizes our time. * German E. Primera, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Critical Theory, University of Brighton, UK * An excellent contribution to Leopardi Studies, and to the current debate over ecological theory. Gibson eloquently and passionately assesses Leopardi’s discourse over nature, human neglect and irresponsibility in the modern world, and convincingly declares it as profoundly poignant and relevant for our present and future. * Emanuella Tandello, Professor Emerita of Italian Language and Literature, Christ Church, University of Oxford, UK * Gibson makes a compelling case for Leopardi's prescient critique of the illusion of human planetary power informing both anthropocene discourse and its environmentalist critique. Her Leopardi advocates an ethics of human solidarity in fragility in the face of a planet indifferent to its survival or extinction. Her book demands a fundamental rethinking of the assumptions informing our environmental ethics and activism. * Howard Caygill, Professor of Modern European Philosophy at the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy, Kingston University, UK *