Science, Common Sense, and Philosophy. 40 Years of Transcendental Queries

There is a tension in Fano’s works, between a tendency (of positivistic descent) to think that ultimately only science provides authentic knowledge, and the classical idea (revived by phenomenology) that still philosophy, and even metaphysics, have an important role to play. Therefore, the paper explores the following questions in the light of the answers given or suggested by Fano’s writings: Can philosophy yield knowledge? If so, only in dependence of science or autonomously? Can philosophy be naturalized? Is there any non-scientific knowledge? Is there any non-scientific factual knowledge (e.g., ordinary, metaphysical, religious)? Is metaphysics possible? Is non-empirical, i.e. a priori, metaphysics possible? Is “armchair”, i.e. a priori, philosophy possible? Does common sense provide knowledge, and can it be a basis for philosophy? Should we believe the manifest image of the world or the scientific one?