Lucilio Vanini
| Lucilio "Giulio Cesare" Vanini | |
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| Born | 1585 Taurisano, Terra d'Otranto, Italy |
| Died | 9 February 1619 (aged 33) Toulouse, France |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Era | 17th-century philosophy |
| Region | Europe |
| School | rationalism, humanism, libertinism |
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Main interests
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metaphysics, science, religion |
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Notable ideas
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nomological determinism, God as a vital force in Nature, humans evolved from apes; denied immortality of the soul |
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Influenced
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Lucilio Vanini (Taurisano, 1585 – Toulouse, 9 February 1619), who, in his works, styled himself Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar) Vanini, was an Italian philosopher, physician and free-thinker, who was one of the first significant representatives of intellectual libertinism. He was among the first modern thinkers who viewed the universe as an entity governed by natural laws (nomological determinism). He was also the first literate proponent of the thesis that humans evolved from apes.
Vanini was born at Taurisano near Lecce, and studied philosophy and theology at Naples. Afterwards, he applied himself to the physical studies, chiefly medicine and astronomy, which had come into vogue with the Renaissance. Like Giordano Bruno, he attacked scholasticism.
From Naples he went to Padua, where he came under the influence of the Alexandrist Pietro Pomponazzi, whom he styled his divine master. Subsequently, he led a roving life in France, Switzerland and the Low Countries, supporting himself by giving lessons and disseminating radical ideas. He was obliged to flee to England in 1612 but was imprisoned in London for 49 days.
Returning to Italy, he made an attempt to teach in Genoa but was driven again to France, where he tried to clear himself of suspicion by publishing a book against atheism: Amphitheatrum Aeternae Providentiae Divino-Magicum (1615). Though the definitions of God are somewhat pantheistic, the book served its immediate purpose. Although Vanini did not expound his true views in his first book, he did in his second: De Admirandis Naturae Reginae Deaeque Mortalium Arcanis (Paris, 1616). This was originally certified by two doctors of the Sorbonne, but was later re-examined and condemned.
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Wikipedia