Short CV
My area of specialisation is the intellectual history of the Enlightenment., In particular, I have worked on the Radical Enlightenment, atheism and deism in the eighteenth century, Calvinist theology, freethinking, necessitarianism, cultural transfer between different countries, and the translation and reception of radical works.
I hold a PhD in the History of Philosophy from the University of Eastern Piedmont (2013). I was formerly a postdoctoral researcher at Sapienza University of Rome, the Society of Waldensian Studies, and the University of Eastern Piedmont.
I have given papers at various universities in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, and Poland.
Latest Book
The publication of Bayle and the origins of Hume's philosophy: The Mackie-Johnson correspondence, Oxford University Studies in the Enlightenment, Liverpool, LUP, 2026.
This volume explores the intellectual, cultural, and commercial intersections between Scotland and the Netherlands during the early Enlightenment, centring on the figure of Charles Mackie (1688-1770), first professor of Universal History at the University of Edinburgh. Drawing on a rich selection of primary sources – including unpublished correspondence between Mackie and the expatriate bookseller-publisher Thomas Johnson – Jacopo Agnesina reconstructs a vibrant network of scholarly exchange and transnational book trade that shaped the Scottish Enlightenment.
The book situates Mackie within the broader “Republic of Letters”, examining his education in Holland, his ties to Dutch and Scottish booksellers, and his role in disseminating radical Enlightenment literature, especially the works of John Toland, Anthony Collins and Pierre Bayle. A detailed biographical account is given of both Mackie and Johnson, highlighting their respective careers, their collaboration in circumventing censorship and copyright laws, and their joint efforts to introduce continental thought into Scotland. Through meticulous archival research, the study sheds light on Mackie’s influence on Scottish intellectual life, his possible early connections to David Hume, and his participation in key Enlightenment institutions such as the Rankenian Club and the Edinburgh Philosophical Society. The volume includes a critical edition of twenty-one letters, primarily from Johnson to Mackie – along with related correspondence by Des Maizeaux – concerning the publication of Bayle’s Œuvres diverses.
This work offers valuable insights into early modern intellectual history, the material culture of books, and the channels through which Enlightenment ideas crossed national and linguistic boundaries.
Short Publication Record
- The publication of Bayle and the origins of Hume's philosophy: The Mackie-Johnson correspondence, Oxford University Studies in the Enlightenment, Liverpool, LUP, 2026
- The Philosophy of Anthony Collins: Free-Thought and Atheism, Honoré Champion, Paris, 2018
- Anthony Collins, Ricerca filosofica sulla libertà umana (translation, introduction and notes by J. Agnesina), Bompiani, Milano, 2015
- «When the Freethinkers Unveil the Unwritable. Some Historiographical Reflection on Radical Enlightenment» in Libertinage et philosophie à l’époque classique (XVIe-XVIIIe siècle) – Athéisme, Modernité et Sécularisation, n. 23-2026
- «Echi razionalistici nella Valli Valdesi» in Storia del Valdesi (eds. F. Tasca, S. Peyronel-Rambaldi, G.P. Romagnani, P. Naso), Claudiana, Torino, 2023
- «Abauzit lecteur des Droits de l'Église Chrétienne (1706) de Matthew Tindal» in Firmin Abauzit (1679-1767). Production et transmission des savoirs d'un intellectuel au siècle des Lumières (edited by M.-C. Pitassi), Honoré Champion, Paris, 2022
- «The role of Prophecies: Baron d’Holbach as a Translator of Anthony» in The Great Protector of Wits. Baron d’Holbach and His Time (edited by L. Nicolì), Brill, Leiden-Boston, 2022
- «La ricezione del pensiero di Berkeley nel Rankenian Club di Edimburgo» in Giornale Critico della Filosofia Italiana, XV, 3/2019.
- «Lettere di David Hume conservate presso la “Princess Czartoryski Library” di Cracovia» in Giornale Critico della Filosofia Italiana, XV, 1/2019
- «Collins, Hume e i miracoli: il caso Saragozza» in Etica e Politica, XX, 3/2018
Contacts
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