Nicola Abbagnano, un padre fondatore della sociologia italiana nel secondo dopoguerra

Nicola Abbagnano (1901-1990) was the greatest Italian historian of philosophy in twentieth century and one of the greatest in Europe and the West. In his memory Rosanna Panelli Marvulli dedicated an extensive biography. With Franco Ferrarotti, Abbagnano founded “Quaderni di Sociologia”, this journal, in 1951. Both had intense contacts with American philosophical and sociological culture. The aim was to claim the legitimacy of sociology as a social science; reject the criticisms of Benedetto Croce and the Marxists; outline a “rigorously individualistic conception of social life”; reject any determinism, therefore positivist and Marxist theories. It was not by chance that the initiative was heavily criticized by philosophers with a spiritualistic background. Although not a sociologist, Abbagnano was not only, more than others, a great supporter of Italian sociology after the Second World War. It has also guided its development. For this reason he should be recognized, more than others, as a founding father of this discipline in Italy.