Campanella's "Atheism Conquered"

[Dr Opinion]

In the early 1600s it was impossible to publish any books directly criticising the Holy Roman Church. Such criticism would create immediate censure and draw accusations of "heresy".

Tommaso Campanella (a Dominican Monk and radical free-thinker) completely outsmarted the Inquisition with his masterpiece of irony, "Atheism Conquered".

The book purported to support the Holy See, claiming to obliterate a variety of detailed heretical arguments using the standard Roman dogma.

In actuality, this book was unsettling to Catholics, since the dogma did not seem to achieve the task. However, Campanella could not be accused of Heresy, since these *were* the standard arguments applied by the Church.

Campanella succeeded in publishing exceptional and highly detailed heretical arguments explaining issues that the Church would rather remained obscure and unnoticed. His book was very popular with intellectuals and free-thinkers of the time.

Anyone catch the rather interesting Straits Times article concerning the American Jewish Lobby today?  

[Fresh Mint]

Perhaps you could precis it, Quako O?

Oh, no need, it goes like this: "America, Israel, Jews, conspiracy, Palestine, September 11, capitalism, Bush, Bush W. Iraq, no WMD, abuse, Berg, inane smiley face".

[Dr Opinion]

It you had understood my comment you would realize how incredibly silly your post is.  

[The Heretic]

I have written a summary of Campanella, based on the writings of Green in the 48 Laws of Power.

Originally posted here

A sixteenth century Dominican monk who happened to be also a philosopher, Giovan Domenico Campanella was a model heretic who was a daring thinker during adverse conditions, and played the game according to his rules. After becoming disgruntled with Aristotelianism, Campanella found the empiricist Bernardino Teleso to be the better alternative. The claims that knowledge is essentially sensation, that our cognitive ability was merely the collection of distinct chunks of information only gained Teleso's books a ticket to the Index of Forbidden Books. Campanella, also in the spirit of Epicurus, dismissed the supernatural concepts of miracles, heaven, hell, and declared that these were superstitions circulated by the Church to sedate the people into a rather harmless lot. By 1592 the Dominican cranked out a Philosophia Sensibus Demonstrata, Philosophy demonstrated by the Senses. Once the Spanish Inquisition caught wind of these ambiguously atheistic claims, they introduced Campanella to the slammer. After six years, he was confined to a monastery in Naples.  

Campanella became embroiled in the political controversy over the legitimacy of the Spanish domination in south Italy, and the Italian Inquisition didn't like the stench of utopia from his ideas. Consequently, they returned Campanella to prison, but this time with the attendant medieval age means of conditioning: la veglia, a unforgettable torture.  

Given the fact that heretics were executed, instead of submitting Campanella decided to feign madness. The tortures continued until the sentence was changed to lifetime, and Campanella spent the first four years chained to a wall in a dungeon. Despite this handicap he still wrote. The Hispanic Monarchy was an guidebook on how a king of Spain actualizes the divine right of Spain to control the world.

This pleased those in power that in 1626, six years after publication, the Pope 'pardoned' Campanella. Five years later, to demonstrate his gratitude, Campanella penned Atheismus triumphatus or Atheism Conquered a polemic on freethinkers such as the Machiavellians or Calvinists and other heretics. The beliefs of these sophists were presented and countered with the arguments of the supremacy of the Catholic Church. Seems like a pragmatic kiss-ass, aye?

Actually, those freethinkers were depicted with such vigor and lucidity, whereas the orthodox were characterized by cliches, tired platitudes and feeble rationalizations. The Catholics couldn't really complain because Campanella had presented their very arguments!

In time, the book became an underground favorite among the libertines and other closet atheists.

[This message has been edited by The Heretic (edited 04-04-2005).]

[Publius]

Leo Strauss is famous for believing the most important thinkers throughout the history of political thought wrote this way. They all said one thing but actually meant the opposite. You just have to read between the lines.