Abstract

Carlo Borghero, Eugenio Lecaldano and Alberto Oliverio discuss Carlo Augusto Viano's "La scintilla di Caino. Storia della coscienza e dei suoi usi" ("Cain's Sparkle. History of the Conscience and Its Uses"). The authors present the book's main theses and critically analyze them. Borghero focuses on the contingent, precarious and ambiguous character of the notion of conscience which Viano uncovers. Lecaldano retraces Viano's critical discussion of the normative plea to moral conscience as a guide to medical practice and bioethical issues. Oliverio emphasizes the value of Viano's reconstruction regarding the treatment of conscience in the neuroscience field.