Silvia Benso Headshot

Silvia Benso

Professor

Department of Philosophy
College of Liberal Arts
Director, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program
sxbgsl@rit.edu
Office Location
LBR-1305

Silvia Benso

Professor

Department of Philosophy
College of Liberal Arts
Director, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program

Education

Laurea, University of Torino (Italy); MA, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University

Bio

Silvia Benso has been Professor of Philosophy at RIT since Winter 2008. After completing her undergraduate work in philosophy at the University of Torino, Italy, and studying in Germany for almost two years, she graduated with a Ph.D. in philosophy from Penn State University, USA. Among her areas of interest and specialization are ancient philosophy, contemporary European philosophy, the history of philosophy, and feminist theories. Besides having published articles on Nietzsche, Heidegger, Levinas, and ancient philosophy (especially Plato), she is the author of Thinking After Auschwitz: Philosophical Ethics and Jewish Theodicy (in Italian); The Face of Things: A Different Side of Ethics; Viva Voce: Conversations with Italian Philosophers, and the co-author of the volume Environmental Thinking: Between Philosophy and Ecology (in Italian). She has also co-edited the volumes Contemporary Italian Philosophy: Between Ethics, Politics and Religion; Levinas and the Ancients; Between Nihilism and Politics: The Hermeneutics of Gianni Vattimo; Thinking the Inexhaustible: Art, Interpretation, and Freedom in the Philosophy of Luigi Pareyson; Open Borders: Encounters between Italian Philosophy and Continental Thought; Contemporary Italian Women Philosophers: Stretching the Art of Thinking; and Rethinking Life: Italian Philosophy in Precarious Times. She is the general co-editor for the series Contemporary Italian Philosophy published by SUNY Press and the co-director for SIP—Society for Italian Philosophy. 

sxbgsl@rit.edu
Personal Links
Curriculum Vitae

Select Scholarship

Full Length Book
Benso, Silvia and Antonio Calcagno, edts. Open Borders: Encounters between Italian Philosophy and Continental Thought. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2021. Print.
Benso, Silvia and Elvira Roncalli, edts. Contemporary Italian Women Philosophers: Stretching the Art of Thinking. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2021. Print.
Benso, Silvia and Brian Schroeder, eds. Thinking the Inexhaustible: Art, Interpretation, and Freedom in the Philosophy of Luigi Pareyson. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2018. Print.
Benso, Silvia. Viva Voce: Conversations with Italian Philosophers. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2017. Print.
Benso, Silvia. Truth and Interpretation by Luigi Pareyson. Albany, NY: SUNY, 2013. Print.
Book Chapter
Benso, Silvia. "Gianni Vattimo’s Encounter with Gadamer: Hermeneutic Ontology from Dialogue to Conflict." The Gadamerian Mind. Ed. Theodor George and Gert-Jan van der Heiden. New York, NY: Routledge, 2021. 333-346. Print.
Benso, Silvia. "Tra Diotima e Maria. Figure della maternità per un’idea di spazio condiviso [Between Diotima and Mary: Figures of Maternity for a Notion of Shared Space]." Ragioni comuni. Culture e religioni in trasformazione. Ed. Alessandra Cislaghi. Turin, Italy: Rosenberg & Sellier, 2021. 36-54. Print.
Benso, Silvia and Elvira Roncalli. "Introduction: Contemporary Italian Women Thinkers: Attending to Thinking, Extending the Art." Contemporary Italian Women Philosophers: Stretching the Art of Thinking. Ed. Silvia Benso and Elvira Roncalli. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2021. 1-16. Print.
Benso, Silvia and Antonio Calcagno. "Open Borders: Introduction." Open Borders: Encounters Between Italian Philosophy and Continental Thought. Ed. Silvia Benso and Antonio Calcagno. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2021. 1-19. Print.
Benso, Silvia. "Come corpo materno. Universalità, relazionalità, ospitalità [Like a Maternal Body: Universality, Relationality, Hospitality]." La filosofia attraverso il prisma delle culture. Dialoghi con Maurizio Pagano. Ed. Gianluca Garelli and Graziano Lingua. Pisa, Italy: ETS, 2019. 267-279. Print.
Benso, Silvia and Brian Schroeder. "Introduction: Thinking the Inexhaustible." Thinking the Inexhaustible: Art, Interpretation, and Freedom in the Philosophy of Luigi Pareyson. Ed. Silvia Benso and Brian Schroeder. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2018. 1-9. Print.
Benso, Silvia. "Luigi Pareyson: A Master in Italian Hermeneutics." Thinking the Inexhaustible: Art, Interpretation, and Freedom in the Philosophy of Luigi Pareyson. Ed. Silvia Benso and Brian Schroeder. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2018. 11-28. Print.
Benso, Silvia. "The Breathing of the Air: Pre-Socratic Echoes in Levinas." Atmospheres of Breathing. Ed. Lenart Škof and Petri Berndtson. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2018. 83-98. Print.
Benso, Silvia. "Lost in Translation: Luigi Pareyson e gli studi pareysoniani in ambito anglosassone [Luigi Pareyson and Pareyson Scholarship in the Anglophone World]." Annuario Filosofico 33 (2017). Milan, Italy: Mursia, 2018. 195-207. Print.
Benso, Silvia. "Castelli e giardini, luoghi del filosofare [Castles and Gardens as Sites of Philosophizing]." Trovarsi Accanto. Ed. M. Adinolfi and M. Doní . Rome, Italy: InSchibboleth Edizioni, 2017. 51-66. Print.
Benso, Silvia. "Earthly Morality and the Other: From Levinas to Economic Sustainability." Faces of Nature: Levinasian Ethics and Enviromental Philosophy. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press, 2012. 11-28. Print.
Benso, Silvia. "Parchi e Giardini Urbani Ovvero La Natura Resa Pubblica (A Partire da Hannah Arendt) [Urban Parks and Gardens, Or Nature Made Public (Following Up on Hannah Arendt)]." Filosofia e Spazio Pubblico [Philosophy and Public Space]. Bologna, Italy: II Mulino, 2012. 243-258. Print.
Benso, Silvia. "Joy Beyond Boredom: Totality and Infinity as a Work of Wonder." Totality and Infinity at 50. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press, 2012. 11-28. Print.
Benso, Silvia. "Introduction: Struggling with the Angel:Time, Finitude, and Metaphysical Sentiment." The Possible Present. Ed. Ugo Perone. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2011. IX-XVIII. Print.
Invited Keynote/Presentation
Benso, Silvia. "A Response to Paul Stern, ‘Dante’s Critique of Aquinas’." Dante Politico at the Crossroad of Arts and Sciences: An International Symposium on Dante’s Political Thought. University of Rochester. Rochester, NY. 17 Apr. 2021. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Concluding Remarks on Dante as Poet and Thinker." Dante: Poesia e Pensiero/Poetry and Thought (On the 700th Anniversary of His Death, 1321). Consulate General of Italy in Houston, the Department of Modern and Classical Languages at the University of Houston, and the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles. Houston, TX. 20 Oct. 2021. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Subjects, Passions, and Care in Ugo Perone and Elena Pulcini’s Thinking." SIP--Society for Italian Philosophy. Rochester Institute of Technology. Rochester, NY. 7 Nov. 2021. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Resisting Reality: Political Implications of Vattimo’s Hermeneutic Realism." Departmental Colloquium Series. Department of Philosophy, Salzburg Universität. Salzburg, Austria. 29 Jan. 2020. Lecture.
Benso, Silvia. "Vattimo’s Hermeneutic Realism as an Act of Political Resistance." Departmental Colloquium Series. Department of Philosophy, Klagenfurt Universität. Klagenfurt, Austria. 22 Jan. 2020. Lecture.
Benso, Silvia. "Resisting Reality: Vattimo’s Weak Thought and the Dangerousness of Hermeneutics." Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy Annual Meeting. Duquesne University. Pittsburgh, PA. 1 Nov. 2019. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Problematizing Italian Philosophy: A Response to Peter Carravetta’s ‘The Italian Differentia: Can There Be Philosophy without History?’." Columbia University Seminars on Modern Italian Studies. Columbia University’s Italian Academy for Advanced Studies. New York, NY. 3 May 2019. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Heidegger, Technology, and RIT." Heidegger Circle Annual Meeting. Nazareth College. Rochester, NY. 19 May 2019. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Affirmative Biopolitics: Life, Love, and Politics in Lea Melandri." SIP—Society for Italian Philosophy Annual Meeting. Stony Brook University. Stony Brook, NY. 29 Mar. 2019. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "On the Challenges, Futures, and Tasks of Academic Life Today: Publishing." Roundtable discussion, College of Fellows. University of Western Sydney. Sydney, AUS. 27 Nov. 2019. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Lost in Translation: Luigi Pareyson nel mondo anglosassone." Luigi Pareyson: Philosophie und Religiöse Erfahrung. Katholische Akademie. Berlin, Germany. 2 Feb. 2018. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Perplexing Beauty: A Short Commentary on Jonathan Fine’s ‘The Guise of the Beautiful’." Ancient Philosophy Society. Emory University. Emory, GA. 27 Apr. 2018. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Resisting Reality: Vattimo’s Ontology of Actuality as a Political Act." Canadian Society for Italian Studies. University of Ottawa. Ottawa, Canada. 11 May 2018. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "The Death of the Author: On Mario Perniola and Italian Aesthetics." Society for Italian Philosophy at SPEP. Penn State University. State College, PA. 19 Oct. 2018. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Reality, Realism, Resistance: On Vattimo’s Ontology of Actuality." Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy. Western Sydney University. Sydney, Australia. 23 Nov. 2018. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "The Alchemist’s Lab: Considerations on Italian Philosophy." International Conference on “New Italian Thought: Challenges and Responses,”. King’s College at Western University. London, ON. 26 Mar. 2017. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Imagining Nature and Art in Plato’s Phaedrus." Annual Meeting of the Ancient Philosophy Society. Baylor University. Waco, TX. 27 Apr. 2017. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Apple, Pear, and Fig Trees: Pleasure and Joy in Augustine’s Gardens." Annual Meeting of the History of Philosophy Society. Emory University. Atlanta, GA. 19 May 2017. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Cultivating Things with Heidegger." Humanities Colloquium. Malmo University. Malmo, Sweden. 29 May 2017. Lecture.
Benso, Silvia. "Waterworks in Levinas’s Philosophy." Philosophy Colloquium. Vilnius University. Vilnius, Lithuania. 30 May 2017. Lecture.
Benso, Silvia. "Bodies of Water: Levinas’s Hydrodynamic Ethics." Workshop: The Ethics of Things. Centre for Advanced Studies at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Oslo, Norway. 2 Jun. 2017. Lecture.
Benso, Silvia. "The Saying of the Oak Tree: Cultivating Dwelling Places." Spaces of Nature, Natures of Space. Collegium Phaenomenologicum. Cittí  di Castello, Italy. 18 Jul. 2017. Lecture.
Benso, Silvia. "Open Borders: Italian Philosophy Between Nationalism and Globalization." Annual Meeting of the College of Fellows. Western Sydney University. Sydney, Australia. 23 Nov. 2017. Lecture.
Benso, Silvia. "“Gardening with Martin while Interpreting Greek Poiesis”." Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy. Utah Valley University. Salt Lake City, UT. 21 Oct. 2016. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Il luogo della filosofia: Tra arte tecnica e natura [The Place of Philosophy: Between Art, Technology, and Nature]." Dipartimento di Filosofia e Scienze dell’Educazione. Universití  degli Studi di Torino. Turin, Italy. 10 Oct. 2016. Guest Lecture.
Benso, Silvia. "Urban Parks and Gardens as Places of Appearance: The Body as a Common Good After Hannah Arendt." Sitka Institute. Pacific Association for the Continental Tradition. Sitka, AK. 5 Aug. 2016. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Fluid Ethics: Images of Water in Levinas." Levinas Research Seminar. University of Toronto. Toronto, Canada. 20 Jun. 2016. Keynote Speech.
Benso, Silvia. "What if Martin Were a Gardener? Moving Beyond Heidegger by Interpreting Greek Poiesis." History of Philosophy Society. Texas A&M. College Station, TX. 23 Apr. 2016. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Pareyson, Heidegger, and the Ontology of Freedom." Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy. Emory University. Atlanta, GA. 10 Oct. 2015. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "The Eternal Return of the Will in Levinas' Totality and Infinity." Levinas Research Seminar. Stonybrook University-Manhattan Campus. New York, NY. 28 Apr. 2013. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Thresholds of Time: The Present Between Narration and Translation." Theologische Fakultat. Humboldt Universitat. Berlin, Germany. 4 Jul. 2013. Lecture.
Benso, Silvia. "When Heidegger's Tower Dweller Takes a Walk: On Thinkers, Poets, and Mysterious Guests." Collegium Phenomenologicum. Collegium Phenomenologicum. Citta' di Castello, Italy. 9 Jul. 2013. Lecture.
Benso, Silvia. "The Faces of Responsibility: On Francois Raffoul's The Origins of Responsibility." Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy. University of Oregon. Eugene, OR. 26 Oct. 2013. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Stoic Cosmopolitanism Between Now and Then: Embodied Citizens of the World." Ancient Philosophy Society. Utah Valley University. Sundance Resort, Salt Lake City, UT. 13 Apr. 2011. Keynote Speech.
Benso, Silvia. "Hermeneutic Communism Between Archeology and Eschatology: Is Anything Missing?" Hermeneutic Communism Conference. Stony Brook University. Manhattan Campus, New York, NY. 19 Oct. 2011. Conference Presentation.
Benso, Silvia. "Gianni Vattimo's Politics Between Reformism and Revolution." Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy. Villanova University/Penn State University. Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. 21 Oct. 2011. Conference Presentation.
Journal Paper
Benso, Silvia and Antonio Calcagno. "Introduction. Italian Philosophy from Abroad." Italian Philosophy from Abroad, special issue of Trópos: Rivista di Ermeneutica e Critica Filosofica 22. 1 (2019): 5-8. Print.
Benso, Silvia. "Affirmative Biopolitics: Love, Life, and Politics in Lea Melandri." Italian Philosophy from Abroad, special issue of Trópos: Rivista di Ermeneutica e Critica Filosofica 22. 1 (2019): 9-20. Print.
Guglielminetti, Enrico, et al. "Thinking of Work." SpazioFilosofico. 1 (2011) Web.
Journal Editor
Benso, Silvia and Antonio Calcagno, ed. Italian Philosophy from Abroad, special issue of Trópos: Rivista di Ermeneutica e Critica Filosofica. Rome: n.p., 2019. Print.
Benso, Silvia, ed. Aesthetics of the Virtual. Albany: SUNY Press, 2012. Print.
Editor (book or journal)
Benso, Silviaand Brian Schroeder, eds. Between Nihilism and Politics: The Hermeneutics of Gianni Vattimo. Albany: SUNY Press, 2010. Print.
Published Article
Benso, Silvia and Brian Schroeder. “Italian Philosophy Between 1980-1995.” The History of Continental Philosophy. Vol. 7: Post-Poststructuralism. Ed. Alan Schrift and Rosi Braidotti. Chesham, UK: Acumen Publishing, 2010. 83-110. Print.
Benso, Silvia.“Emancipation and the Future of the Utopian: On Vattimo’s Philosophy of History.” Between Nihilism and Politics: The Hermeneutics of Gianni Vattimo. Ed. Silvio Benso and Brian Schroeder. Albany: SUNY Press, 2010. 203-219. Print.
Published Review
Benso, Silvia. Rev. ofPlato and Levinas: The AmbiguousOut-side of Ethics, by Tanja Straehler. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, October 2010. Web.

Currently Teaching

PHIL-201
Ancient Philosophy
3 Credits
This course examines the origin and development of Western philosophy in ancient Greece from Thales in the 6th century down to at least the 4th century B.C.E., concentrating on the central ideas of the pre-Socratics, the Sophists, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Some attention might also be given to the Hellenistic philosophers (Epicureans, Stoics, and Sceptics). This was a period of remarkable intellectual creativity in philosophy, mathematics, medicine, rhetorical theory, ethics, aesthetics and cosmology. Questions to be considered in this course will include: What are the nature and limits of knowledge? Is knowledge even possible? What is the nature of language? How reliable is perception? What is the true nature of reality? What is the origin and nature of the material world? Is moral knowledge possible? What is the nature of happiness, and what sort of life would make people happy?
PHIL-318
Philosophies of Love,Sex, and Gender
3 Credits
Love is indeed one of the most central concerns in everyone’s life; yet, we spend very little time thinking conceptually about love in its various forms, aspects, implications, nuances, benefits, detriments, and harms. In this course, we will examine views from classical, medieval, modern, and contemporary thinkers on various kinds of love, including some controversial versions of it; we will consider the relation of love in its various forms to desire, emotions, physical intimacy, seduction, sex, sexuality, sexual orientation, and the construction of personal identity; and we will analyze how the various forms of love affect and are affected by gender norms, roles, and images.
PHIL-416
Seminar in Philosophy
3 Credits
This course is a discussion-oriented, small group exploration of a targeted philosophical topic. The topic varies depending on the current research interests of the instructor. The seminar is an opportunity to do cutting-edge philosophy alongside other students. It is open to both majors and non-majors and may be retaken for credit.
WGST-318
Philosophies of Love,Sex, and Gender
3 Credits
Love is indeed one of the most central concerns in everyone’s life; yet, we spend very little time thinking conceptually about love in its various forms, aspects, implications, nuances, benefits, detriments, and harms. In this course, we will examine views from classical, medieval, modern, and contemporary thinkers on various kinds of love, including some controversial versions of it; we will consider the relation of love in its various forms to desire, emotions, physical intimacy, seduction, sex, sexuality, sexual orientation, and the construction of personal identity; and we will analyze how the various forms of love affect and are affected by gender norms, roles, and images.

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