Abstract

The literary works of Giorgio Prodi are examined from the viewpoint of the style and of the content. The author was a prominent scientist in the field of oncology and more generally of biology, and also a fine epistemologist. His literary endeavour, however, was not that of an amateur, in fact Giorgio Prodi was an original and outstanding writer. He investigated such themes of paramount importance as God, death, the mystery of the body, the sense of life, the structure of the world and our position in it. His style is highly poetic, powerfully evocative, and philosophically significant but on occasions it exhibits a remarkable sense of humour. Several quotations from the book are offered.