ORESTANO, FRANCESCO. - Philosopher, b. at Alia on 14 Apr. 1873, d. at Rome on 19 Aug. 1945. He taught the history of philosophy (1907–24) at the University of Palermo; he was president of the Italian Philosophical Society.
His thought, which tended toward the formation of a “superrealism,” always remained fragmentary, although it insisted on particular questions such as the theory of values and the relation between positivism and philosophy. In contrast to his relativistic and pragmatist solutions, he nevertheless possessed a lively sense of transcendence, which made possible for him the acceptance of Christian theism. Among his numerous works, the following may be recalled: Nuovi principi (Rome 1925); Verità dimostrate (Naples 1934); Il realismo, in collaboration with F. Olgiati (Milan 1936); Il nuovo realismo (ibid. 1939); of importance is the article La mia filosofia, in Riv. d'Italia e d'America (1926, IV).
