Publications

Books (authored)

  • The Modes of Cognition: Representation, Method, and Understanding in Hegel

    This book challenges prevailing interpretations of Hegel’s epistemology that predominantly rely on his Phenomenology of Spirit, often categorizing it under pragmatism, post-Kantian constructivism, or conceptual realism. By turning attention to less examined sections of Hegel’s later works—specifically the Cognition segment in the Science of Logic and the Psychology within the Philosophy of Subjective Spirit—it argues that processes such as representation, imagination, and scientific cognition are not merely confined cognitive acts but integral, systematic modes of world-building essential to his metaphysical framework.

    Tracing Hegel’s theory of subjective experience and cognition to its Platonic and Aristotelian origins, the book demonstrates that human rationality cannot be fully comprehended by isolating mental phenomena. Instead, cognition must be located within the comprehensive ontological structures that form the foundation of nature and reality, revealing a sophisticated intersection between epistemology and metaphysics in Hegel’s philosophy.

Books (edited)

  • English title: Hegel’s Psychology: A Commentary
    Link: website

    The sections of Hegel’s Encyclopedia dedicated to the Psychology (§§ 440-482) remain one of the least studied parts of Hegel's work, even though they develop themes and arguments of crucial historical and theoretical relevance. This commentary aims to illustrate the richness, interest, and complexity of this text. Following an introductory part—which introduces the reader to the analytical method of the commentary, reconstructs the development of Hegel’s Psychology, and discusses critical literature—are eight analytical studies that examine the different sections of the Psychology. The result is a reading guide that, beyond presenting rigorous, original, and varied interpretations, serves as a useful study tool for tackling Hegel's dense prose.

  • English title: The Historicity of Reason

    Is there still room today for reflection on the philosophy of history and for a reason that seeks to define itself in relation to temporality? Keeping this question in the background, the contributions in this volume unfold in dialogue with the historical inquiries of Lafitau, Turgot, and Diderot, as well as Kant, Hegel, Sartre, Benjamin, Horkheimer, and Adorno. By exploring the temporal and conceptual presuppositions of their philosophies, the essays collected here—the outcome of one of the workshops of Zetesis research group (Pisa)—aim to outline a definition of rationality that does not relate to the movement of reality as an external and indifferent spectator but realizes itself within and through history, shaping the world and the frameworks that allow us to think about it.

Projects and research interests

L'Allée d'arbres, tableau de Chaïm Soutine, Wikimedia Commons

Hegel and German Idealism (Past and Ongoing Projects)

While environmental philosophy anchors my current and future research, I also cultivate an interest in Hegel’s philosophy and its reception within contemporary epistemological debates. I published my first book, Modalities of Cognition: Understanding, Method, and Representation in Hegel (Pisa: ETS) in 2018. Here, I challenge the common misconception that Hegel lacks a substantive theory of cognition or a philosophy of science—a misconception that arises partly due to his critique of representation, understanding, and scientific methods in the Phenomenology of Spirit. I contend that representation and scientific practices (the quintessential expression of the understanding) are not defective mental activities but systematic forms of world-building that contribute to the articulation of the Idea. I show that Hegel’s sui generis epistemology defies classification under pragmatism, post-Kantian constructivism, or conceptual realism, and that human rationality is not confined to cognitive processes but is embedded within the ontological structures that shape both nature and reality.

Because questions of imagination and nature have long guided my engagement with Hegel’s thought, I have recently begun revisiting his philosophy in conversation with contemporary environmental concerns. As first steps in this direction, I organized a panel at the 63rd meeting of the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy on “Hegel and the Anthropocene” (SPEP 63, 2025). I am also working on an article in which I argue that Hegel’s account of abiotic phenomena offers an alternative to the flat ontology of new materialism, which often conflates distinct levels of normativity. I will present a preliminary version of this argument at “Hegel, Nature, and Culture in the Anthropocene Age” (XIII International Conference of the Brazilian Hegel Society, December 1–5, 2025).

I am actively researching and publishing in two areas of philosophy: (1) environmental, social, and political thought, and (2) the post-Kantian history of philosophy, with a particular focus on Hegel and Frankfurt School Critical Theory. What unites these strands is an interest in the dialectical relationship between nature and imagination, a dimension that has faced new challenges under the pressures of the environmental crisis. Overall, I am concerned with how imagination can reorient our social practices toward a more balanced relationship with the environment, and with how thinkers in the post-Kantian tradition have developed theoretical resources that remain relevant to contemporary debates.

Book Project

After defending my dissertation in April, I will work on a book project tentatively titled, “Social Imaginaries at the End: Imagination, Nature, and Social Practices under the Environmental Crisis,” situated at the intersection of environmental philosophy, 20th-century history of philosophy, and contemporary critical theory.

My main claim is that social change in the so-called Anthropocene requires an imaginary that is simultaneously (i) anti-utopian, (ii) grounded in nature, and (iii) based in local practices. This conception addresses what I identify as a central issue in contemporary critical theory, ecological Marxism, and public discussions on the environmental crisis: the repeated call to envision alternatives for a postcapitalist future is not paired with a reflection on the nature of imagination itself. Frameworks such as degrowth or ecological democracy often present imagination as a mental faculty that relates to the environment from the outside, thereby limiting our capacity to conceive concrete alternatives to neoliberal capitalism and its capture of individual imaginations. To develop new normative criteria for the relationship between imagination and nature, I turn to Cornelius Castoriadis. His theory of the imaginary not only represents a decisive break from traditions that frame imagination as a flight from the world—such as classical phenomenology and Critical Theory—but also enables a productive dialogue with ecofeminist, Black environmentalist, and green critical theory accounts that focus on the relationship between land, imagination, and structures of oppression. By bringing these thinkers into conversation, I argue that social imaginaries are not ideal projections but rather natural ontologies encompassing objects, institutions, bodies, and ecological processes. If imaginaries are not future visions “in our heads” but structures that keep us in place, then our understanding of social change requires inverting the order between possibility and reality. A new imaginary will not be a utopian construction but something discernible in ongoing practices. My suggestion is that commoning experiments operating at the intersection of nature and society (such as land stewardship, solidarity economies, food sovereignty, peer-to-peer networks) are the paradigmatic expression of an emergent imaginary that is shaping a post-capitalist world in the here and now.