In the Light of Darkness
6 June 2025, 21.30 – Villa Arrighi
Dialogue with Francesca Rigotti (philosopher), Paolo Ochner (astronomer) and Gianluca Campana (psychologist).
What is lurking in the dark? The title “In the light of darkness” invites us to a fascinating journey to the borders between darkness and revelation, exploring how these two concepts are intertwined in a surprising fashion through different perspectives. Philosophy will guide us in a reflection on darkness, breaking down prejudices and clichés to rediscover its hidden value. We will see how darkness is not only absence, but also a space rich with cultural and inner meanings, a cradle of quietness and introspection. Psychology will accompany us in the surprising world of our vision, revealing how our eyes adapt to the variation of light, from day to night. We will discover the secrets of the colours we perceive, and how our brain processes light information, thius opening new windows on plasticity of our visual system. Finally, astronomy will lead us among the stars, showing how, even in the apparent darkness of the cosmos, light is a protagonist. We will discover how astronomers “read” the colors of stars in order to unveil their composition and history, a real celestial “rainbow” rich in information. A meeting which illuminates the dark from different angles, thus revealing how light and darkness are inextricably linked, and how understanding one enriches the perception of the other.
Senses involved
Biographies
Francesca Rigotti, philosopher and essayist, taught in the universities of Göttingen, Princeton and Zurich and, from 1996 to 2021, at the University of Italian Switzerland. Francesca studies the metaphorical and symbolic procedures in philosophical and political thought and in daily life, and collaborates with various Italian and Swiss media. Among her most recent books, translated in thirteen languages: Giacomo Matteotti, “Il consenso e la forza”, with an essay by Francesca Rigotti (2024); “Clemenza” (2023): “L’era del singolo” (2021), “Buio” (2020); “Migranti per caso”. “Una vita da Expat” (2019); “De senectute” (2018); “Una donna per amico”, with Anna Longo (2016); “Manifesto del cibo liscio” (2015); “Onestà” (2014); “Nuova filosofia delle piccole cose” (2013)…. Francesca has been awarded several prizes, among which the «Standout Woman Award International» 2016, and in 2020 the Prize of the “Fondazione del Centenario della BSI”.
Paolo Ochner obtained a degree in Astronomy at the University of Padova: responsible for the Astronomical Observatory of Monte Zugna (Rovereto), Paolo Ochner is currently working at the Astronomical Observatory of Asiago, where he organizes astronomical outreach activity and themed workshops. In 2009-2010 he was in charge of the exhibition “Comete nella scienza e nell’arte: da Giotto a Giotto e Galileo, Venezia e la Luna” (Comets in science and art: from Giotto and Galileo, Venice and the Moon).
Gianluca Campana is Full Professor at the Department of General Psychology of the University of Padova, where he teaches Psychology of Perception and Psychology of Sensory Processes.
His research activity is focussed upon neural mechanisms which mediate visual perception, with particular reference to coding the motion, plasticity of the visual system, and integration between form and movement, by using psycho-physical methods and non-invasive (magnetic or electric transcranial) stimulation of the brain.
He has a significant international experience, since he has carried out research and teaching activity in institutes such as the University of Oxford, University College of London and Boston University. Gianluca is the author of several International scientific publications, and is a member of the editorial board of specialized magazines, and regularly takes part as a speaker in International meetings. He currently coordinates interdisciplinary projects, which combine cognitive neuroscience, psychophysics and techniques of non-invasive brain stimulation, to study in depth the processes of neural plasticity of the visual system.