Antonio Banfi

This article is about the Italian philosopher. For other uses, see Banfi.

Antonio Banfi (Vimercate, 30 September 1886 – Milano, 22 July 1957) was an Italian philosopher and senator. He is also noted for founding the Italian philosophical school called critical rationalism.^[1]

Banfi in 1957

Although influenced by the neo-Kantians in Marburg and Edmund Husserl, whom he knew personally, Banfi moved away from idealism and instead focused on Marxism, in particular historical materialism. Banfi joined the Italian Communist Party in 1947. He was elected to the Italian Senate in 1948 and again in 1953.

Banfi was a chair of the University of Milan's History of Philosophy department.^[2] Among his students were Dino Formaggio and Mario Dal Pra.^[2][3]