Rosmini e il diritto di famiglia. Appunti di un giurista del XXI secolo

The Author describes the main contributions of the philosopher Antonio Rosmini to the development of family law in the Modern Age. Antonio Rosmini interacts with the most important philosophical perspectives of his time, particularly English and German philosophers. He seems to follow a liberal framework, in which the key formulas are ownership and marriage, but also the dignity of man. The Author describes the achievements of Rosmini’s thinking, but also its limitations that derive from the very concept of ownership. Ownership is crucial to the idea of liberty (freedom), but is silent when it comes to non negotiable rights. Rosmini’s position on the heated debated about the secularisation of marriage is very interesting. He criticises the famous pronouncement of Portalis, who presented the issue as a question of equality. According to Rosmini, this point of view was too abstract and refutes the religious root of marriage. Moreover, it creates a moral conflict, on one hand, loyalty to the state law governing marriage and on the other hand, loyalty to religious rules of marriage. Since the two frameworks of rules can be different and, in fact, are different concerning important aspects, spouses experience a divided conscience. This observation may have relevance today when the state law of marriage tends to conceive of marriage in a way that creates a significant divide from the religious concept of marriage.