Giovanni Ventimiglia is Professor ("ordentlicher Professor") for Philosophy at the University of Lucerne (Switzerland). He is part time Professor for Theoretical Philosophy at the Faculty of Theology Lugano (Switzerland), where he is the founder and director of the Institute for Philosophical Studies (ISFI). He is the main editor of the book series “Thomistic Metaphysics and Analytical Metaphysics”, published by Carocci, Rome. He is founder and director of the Aristotle College Lugano (Switzerland) and a regular contributor to the Corriere della Sera (Italy).

Research Areas: 

Giovanni Ventimiglia works primarily on Thomas Aquinas, Thomism, often at the intersections of the continental and analytical traditions of philosophy (Analytical Thomism). His main interests lie within classical ontology (analogy and senses of being, reception of Plato’s “non-written” doctrines in the thought of Thomas Aquinas and in some medieval Commentaries on Aristotle’s Metaphysics, transcendentals, transcendental multiplicity), also with regard to their relevance in contemporary debates related to analytic ontology. He has also worked on the ontology of material digital objects and of the so-called cyberspace. He has put some work into the analysis of ‘borderline topics’ such as the relation between philosophy and psychoanalysis, and philosophy and cinema.

He has been involved, among others, as responsable of a research unity of the consortium "Ethicbots" in the field of roboethics and is director of the research project Metaphysik und Ontologie in der Schweiz im Zeitalter der Reformation (1519-1648) funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Curriculum: 
Giovanni Ventimiglia received his Master Degree (magna cum laude) in philosophy from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan (Italy) in 1988. After succeeding a National Public Selection promoted by the Italian Ministry for the University, he studied in Germany, where he specialised in medieval philosophy at the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich (Germany) in 1995. He earned his PhD in philosophy from the Catholic University in Milan (Italy) in1996. After winning a competition, he completed his post-doc studies at the Catholic University Milan from 1997 to 1999. Moreover, he passed the Italian National Public Competition for Researcher in Theoretical Philosophy in 1999. He obtained the title of Associate Professor in 2001 at the Faculty of Theology in Lugano (Switzerland), the title of Professor Extraordinarius in 2003 and of Professor Ordinarius in 2004. For many years, he has been ”ricercatore” and "professore aggregato" at the Catholic University in Piacenza (I) and visiting professor at the University of Pisa (I). He also earned his Italian National Academic Qualification (Habilitation) as Professor Ordinarius of Theoretical Philosophy in 2013. In 2015 he was Visiting Senior Research Fellow at Kings’s College London, Academic Visitor at the University of Oxford. After succeeding an international public selection at the University of Lucerne, he was appointed Professor for Philosophy.

He was Deputy Headmaster of the Augustinianum College at the Catholic University Milan (Italy) from 1988 to 1990 and from 1994 to 1998, Academic Secretary of the Faculty of Theology of Lugano (Switzerland) from 1999 to 2004, and member of the Commission of Culture of the City of Lugano from 2004 to 2008. He was founder and chairman of the non-profit Organization “Pro-filo umano”, whose main purpose was to promote philosophy as a form of social service in prisons and drug rehabilitation centres, etc. In 2012 he took part regularly in a weekly TV programme on the Italian national channel La7.

Bibliography