PRIMO LEVI DI FRONTE ALL’IMPERFEZIONE GALILEIANA

Abstract

This paper illustrates the presence of Galileo Galilei in the theoretical
evolution of Primo Levi with a particular focus on the poem ‘Sidereus
Nuncius’ published in 1984. The poem puts the greatness of man, as
represented by the figure of the astronomer, in problematic opposition to the
pettiness of man as represented by the figures of the inquisitors. Alongside
the “promethean” aspect of Galileo, which pushed knowledge forward, Levi
acknowledges the Galilean message of the acceptance of imperfection as a
primordial epistemological formula. Starting with Se questo è un uomo, Levi
juxtaposes fixed knowledge systems, whether scientific, philosophical or
political, with the usefulness of flexibility and adaptability.