Chi può dire io credo e chi può dire io non credo? La teoria morfologica di Antonio Labriola

The essay deals with the morphologic theory of history in Antonio Labriola’s writings. It describes the unfolding of his historical view since the first essays on the history of philosophy to the essays on materialistic conception. It points out the peculiar way of connection between morphologic method and dialectic, the consistence of typological concepts (as Marxian ‘theory of value’) and of the tendential laws of historical development. In short, it clarifies the meaning of what Labriola considered a scientific approach to the study of history, and it demonstrates in which sense the morphological prevision should be considered a scientific proposition in contrast with utopian, metaphysical and empirical views.