View source for Luigi Taparelli

{{Short description|Italian Jesuit (1793–1862)}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox philosopher
| honorific_prefix = [[Monsignor]]
| name             = Luigi Taparelli
| honorific_suffix = [[Society of Jesus|SJ]]
| image            = Luigi Taparelli d'Azeglio.tif
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1793|11|24|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Turin]], [[Kingdom of Sardinia|Piedmont-Sardinia]]<br>(present-day [[Italy]])
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1862|9|21|1793|11|24|df=y}}
| death_place      = [[Rome]], [[Papal States]]<br>(present-day Italy)
| alma_mater       = [[University of Turin]]
| era              = 19th century
| region           = {{tree list}}
* [[Western philosophy]]
** [[Italian philosophy]]{{tree list/end}}
| school_tradition = [[Thomism]]<br>[[Traditionalist Catholic|Traditionalism]]
| institutions     = [[Oblates of the Virgin Mary]]<br>[[Society of Jesus]]
| main_interests   = [[Religion]], [[sociology]]
| notable_ideas    = [[Social justice]], [[subsidiarity]]
| influences       = {{hlist|[[Bruno Lanteri]]|[[Karl Ludwig von Haller]]|[[Thomas Aquinas]]|[[Ignatius of Loyola]]|[[Joseph de Maistre]]|[[Alfonso Maria de' Liguori]]}}
| influenced       = {{hlist|[[Pope Leo XIII]]|[[Matteo Liberatore]]|[[Matthias Joseph Scheeben]]|[[Giuseppe Toniolo]]|[[Oswald von Nell-Breuning]]}}
}}
{{Integralism |expanded=people}}
'''Luigi Taparelli''' {{post-nominals|post-noms=[[Society of Jesus|SJ]]}} (born '''Prospero Taparelli d'Azeglio'''; 24 November 1793{{snd}}2 September 1862) was an Italian scholar of the [[Society of Jesus]] and [[counter-revolutionary]] who coined the term [[social justice]] and elaborated the principles of subsidiarity as part of his natural law theory of just social order.{{sfn|Herbermann|1913}}<ref>Behr, Thomas. "Luigi Taparelli D'Azeglio, SJ and the Revival of Scholastic Natural Law," ''The Journal of Markets and Morality'', Spring 2003.</ref><ref name=":0">Behr, Thomas. ''Social Justice and Subsidiarity: Luigi Taparelli and the Origins of Modern Catholic Social Thought'' (Washington DC: Catholic University of American Press, December 2019).</ref> He was the brother of the Italian [[Diplomat|statesman]] [[Massimo d'Azeglio]].{{sfn|Sulas|2019}}

==Biography==
His father, [[Cesare Taparelli]], was at one time ambassador of [[Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia]] to the [[Holy See]], and his brother, [[Massimo d'Azeglio|Massimo]], was one of the Italian ministers of State. Cesare was a member of the associations Amicizia cristiana and Amicizia cattolica, and a main contributor to ''L'Ape'', the first Catholic journal in Italy.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
 |title= D'Azeglio, Cesare Taparelli
 |encyclopedia= The Oxford Companion to Italian Literature
 |year= 2002
 |last= Millar
 |first= Eileen Anne
 |publisher= Oxford University Press
 |location= Oxford
 |isbn= 978-0-19-818332-7
 |url= https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198183327.001.0001/acref-9780198183327-e-1009
 |access-date= 31 July 2024
}}</ref> Luigi was educated under the [[Piarists]] at [[Siena]] and in the Atheneo of [[Turin]]. He attended the [[military School of St Cyr]] at [[Paris]] for some months, but he was not destined to be a soldier. He entered the [[Society of Jesus]] at Rome, 12 Nov. 1814. He was the first rector of the [[Roman College]] after its restoration to the Jesuits by [[Pope Leo XII|Leo XII]]. He taught [[philosophy]] for sixteen years at [[Palermo]].

Taparelli cofounded the journal ''[[Civiltà Cattolica]]'' in 1850 and wrote for it for twelve years. He was particularly concerned with the problems arising from the [[Industrial Revolution]]. He was a proponent of reviving the philosophical school of [[Thomism]], and his social teachings influenced [[Pope Leo XIII]]'s 1891 [[encyclical]], ''[[Rerum novarum]]'' (On the Condition of the Working Classes).<ref>Behr, Thomas. "Catholic Social Teaching" in ''The Development of Catholic Social Teaching: A Volume of Scholarly Essays''. G. Bradley; E. Brugger (eds.). (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019).</ref>

In 1825, he became convinced that the philosophy of [[Thomas Aquinas]] needed to be revived, thinking that the [[subjectivism|subjective]] philosophy of [[René Descartes]] leads to dramatic errors in morality and politics. He reasoned that whereas different opinions on the natural sciences have no effect on nature, unclear [[metaphysics|metaphysical]] ideas about humanity and society can lead to social chaos.

The [[Catholic Church]] had not yet developed a clear philosophical view regarding the great social changes that were appearing in the early nineteenth century in [[Europe]], which led to much confusion among the ecclesiastical hierarchy and laity. In response to this problem, Taparelli applied the methods of [[Thomism]] to these social problems in a coherent manner.<ref>Behr, Thomas. "Taparelli on Cult, Culture and Authentic Progress," ''Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Quarterly'', Summer 2020.</ref><ref name=":0"/>

After the [[Revolutions of 1848|social revolutions of 1848]], the church decided to enter the conflict raging between the ''[[laissez-faire]]'' [[liberal capitalism|liberal capitalists]] and the [[socialism|socialists]]. Up until then, the church relied primarily on evangelical charitable activities. In 1850, Taparelli, until then a liberal and revolutionary, was granted permission by [[Pope Pius IX]] to co-found ''[[Civiltà Cattolica]]'' with [[Carlo Maria Curci]]. In particular, he attacked the tendency to separate morality from [[positive law]], and also the "heterodox spirit" of unconstrained freedom of conscience which destroyed the unity of society.<ref>Taparelli, Luigi. "Critical Analysis of the First Principles of Political Economy," Thomas Behr, ed., trans. ''Journal of Markets & Morality'', Fall 2011.</ref><ref>Behr, Thomas. "Luigi Taparelli's Natural Law Approach to Social Economics," ''Journal des Économistes et des Études Humaines'', Summer 2002.</ref>

His major ideas include [[social justice]] and [[subsidiarity]]. He viewed society as not a monolithic group of individuals, but of various levels of sub-societies, with individuals being members of these. Each level of society has both rights and duties which should be recognized and supported. All levels of society should cooperate rationally and not resort to competition and conflict.

== Works ==
His chief work, "Saggio teoretico di diritto naturale appogiato sul fatto", i. e. "A Theoretical Essay on Natural Right from an Historical Standpoint" (2 vols., 7th ed., Rome, 1883), was in a way the beginning of modern [[sociology]]. It was translated into [[German language|German]] (Ratisbon, 1845) and twice into [[French language|French]] (Tournai, 1851; Paris, 1896). Herein was developed the position, at once widely accepted in conservative circles on the Continent, that the normal origin of civil government was by extension of paternal power through the patriarchal head of a group of families. This essay was later abridged into "An Elementary Course in Natural Right" (6th ed., Naples, 1860; also in French, Tournai, 1864; and in [[Spanish language|Spanish]], Paris, 1875), which was in use as a text-book in the [[University of Modena and Reggio Emilia|University of Modena]]. Next in importance is his "Esame critico degli ordini rappresentativi nella società moderna", i. e. "Critical Examination of Representative Government in Modern Society" (2 vols., Rome, 1854; in Spanish, Madrid, 1867). Besides his striking monographs on "Nationality" (Rome, 1847), "Sovereignty of the People" (Palermo, 1848; Florence, 1849), and "The Grounds of War" (Genoa, 1847) he left a long list of articles in the Civiltà Cattolica chiefly on subjects in [[political economy]] and social rights, as well as an equally long list of book reviews on kindred topics, which were acute and penetrating essays.

==References==
<references />

== Bibliography ==
{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFSulas2019}}
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{CE1913|wstitle=Aloysius Taparelli}}
* {{cite journal |last=Connolly |first=Michael |date=1947 |title=A Pioneer Catholic Sociologist: Luigi Taparelli S. I., 1793–1862 |url= |journal=Irish Jesuit Directory and Year Book |volume=20 |issue= |pages=167–176 |issn=}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Mastromatteo |first1=Giuseppe |last2=Solari |first2=Stefano |title=Jesuits and the Italian unification: the form and the economic role of the State in the writings of Taparelli |date=2014 |journal=Pensiero Economico Italiano |pages=11–24 |volume=XXII |issue=1 |doi=10.1400/229527}}
* {{cite book |last=Tarantino |first=Maria Lucia |chapter=L'organizzazione della società in Taparelli D'Azeglio: riflessioni per uno studio |date=2015 |title=Filosofia e politica: studi in memoria di Laura Lippolis |location=Trento |publisher=Tangram edizioni scientifiche |pages=427–461 |doi=10.1400/253680 |isbn=978-88-6458-128-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Malusa |first=Luciano |chapter=Bertrando Spaventa e padre Luigi Taparelli d'Azeglio |date=2018 |title=Bertrando Spaventa : tra unificazione nazionale e filosofia europea |location=Rome |publisher=Viella |pages=43–76 |doi=10.23744/2826 |isbn=978-88-3313-349-2}}
* Behr, Thomas, ''Luigi Taparelli and the 19th-Century Neo-Thomistic "Revolution" in Natural Law and Catholic Social Sciences'', Doctoral Thesis, State University of New York at Buffalo, 2000.
* {{cite journal |last=Behr |first=Thomas |date=2005 |title=Luigi Taparelli and Social Justice. Rediscovering the Origins of a "Hollowed" Concept |journal=Social Justice in Context |volume=1 |pages=3–16 |doi=10.13140/2.1.4710.2085}}
* {{DBI |title= Taparelli d'Azeglio, Prospero |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/prospero-taparelli-d-azeglio_(Dizionario-Biografico)|last= Sulas|first= Cinzia|volume= 94}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|first=W. J.|last=Fulco|encyclopedia=[[New Catholic Encyclopedia]]|title=Taparelli D'Azeglio, Luigi|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/taparelli-dazeglio-luigi|volume=13: Seq–The|year=2003|edition=2|publisher=[[Thomson Gale]]|location=Detroit|page=756}}
* {{cite journal|first=Thomas|last=Behr|journal=Journal of Markets & Morality|title=Luigi Taparelli D'Azeglio, S.J. (1793-1862) and the Development of Scholastic Natural-Law Thought as a Science of Society and Politics|year=2005|volume=6|issue=1| ssrn=914562}}
* {{cite encyclopedia
 |title= Taparelli d'Azeglio, Luigi
 |encyclopedia= Il Contributo italiano alla storia del Pensiero – Storia e Politica
 |year= 2013
 |last= Vian
 |first= Giovanni
 |author-link= Giovanni Maria Vian
 |publisher= [[Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana]]
 |url= https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/luigi-taparelli-d-azeglio_(altro)
 |access-date= 16 September 2023
}}


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taparelli, Luigi}}
[[Category:1793 births]]
[[Category:1862 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Italian Jesuits]]
[[Category:Thomists]]
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[[Category:19th-century Italian philosophers]]
[[Category:Jesuit philosophers]]
[[Category:People from Turin]]
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[[Category:Italian counter-revolutionaries]]
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