The Human Project: The Year 2000

by Nicola Abbagnano

This book explores human possibility at the end of the twentieth century. It takes the form of discussion between an eminent philosopher and a skilled journalist about "the human measure" as it engages false absolutes and their accompanying utopias. The book proposes a "third way" between capitalism and socialism, and it concludes with comments on end-of-century phenomena, including democracy, intellectuals, and terrorism.

187 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Leading Italian existentialist, Abbagnano studied in Naples and taught at Turin. His ‘philosophy of the possible’ condemned other existentialists for either denying human possibility (because all our efforts are futile in a hostile and meaningless universe) or exaggerating it, imagining us capable of things which actually lie outside our potential. In his later work he tended to adopt a more naturalistic and scientific approach to philosophy, although still condemning the ‘myth of security’ implicit in a complacent scientific world view. His major works include the monumental three-volume Storia della filosofia (‘History of Philosophy’, 1946–50) and Possibilità e libertà (‘Possibility and Liberty’, 1956).