Vincenzo Ferrone Books

This comparative history explores the evolution of human rights across Europe, focusing on France, England, Italy, and Germany, while also examining the influence of freemasonry. It stands out as the first comprehensive study on the subject from the perspective of an Enlightenment historian, offering unique insights into the development of rights and liberties during this transformative period.

Focusing on Gaetano Filangieri, a prominent Neapolitan nobleman, this work delves into his influential seven-volume 'Science of Legislation.' It examines Filangieri's contributions to constitutional republicanism, liberalism, and political economy, highlighting his enduring impact within these historical frameworks. The analysis provides a rich context for understanding his legacy in shaping modern political thought.

Ferrone's familiarity with the primary literature is impressive, covering thinkers from France and Italy to Germany and Scotland. His grasp of the historiography is just as sure, encompassing both Anglophone and European research. This makes for a book that is far more than just a synthesis.-- Richard Bourke, Times Literary Supplement

Vincenzo Ferrone sees the phenomenon of the Enlightenment in terms of the philosophical and cultural development of a new idea of humanity on the one hand, and the political realisation of this revolutionary concept on the other, culminating in the drawing up and formulation of human rights – the most precious legacy of the Enlightenment. Ferrone’s brilliant study is the result of a lecture series at the Collège de France in which the complex, contradictory trajectory of the European Enlightenment was traced without ever losing sight of the real achievement of this unparalleled ideological trend. This was nothing nothing less than the emancipation of the people through the people – the actual implementation of a just society of free and equal citizens, and the ideal of the people taking and shaping their lifeworlds on their own responsibility.