Translator's Introduction

In the early 1960s, publisher Il Mulino offered Augusto Del Noce the opportunity to publish a collection of his works.The result was, in 1964, his first book, Il problema dell'ateismo, which he always regarded as foundational to his whole thought and often cited (or even "cannibalized") in his subsequent writings.In Italy it remains his best known work, still in print over fifty years later, and counted as "one of the important books of the 20 th century." 1 As such, its translation into English was definitely overdue. 2 However, in presenting it to English-speaking readers two warnings seem to be in order.First, unlike Del Noce's later books, The Problem of Atheism was written before the deep cultural transformations of the mid-to late 1960s.It is rich with premonitions, and even predictions, of the new cultural landscape that was already taking shape, as one would expect from a very perceptive thinker like Del Noce.But many of its concerns come from the previous era -the great European crisis from 1917 to 1945, followed by the Cold War.Readers who appreciated Del Noce's insights into the sexual revolution, or the student protests of 1968, or the New Left, ought to be aware that, in The Problem of Atheism, these phenomena have not yet entered his radar screen (however, the rise of the Western "affluent society" is very present to his mind). 1 Armando Torno, "Ecco dove porta il rifiuto del peccato," Corriere della Sera, 18 June 2010, 43. 2 This volume follows my two previous Del Nocean translations, The Crisis of Modernity (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2015); and The Age of Secularization (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2017).So, the "apparent disorder" 8 of The Problem of Atheism is due to the fact that not only did Del Noce assemble a group of heterogeneous "compressed books," he also prefaced them with a brand new book that revisited, expanded, and corrected his whole reflection of the previous two decades.Matteucci wisely suggests that "this new book perhaps 5 Ibid.6 Page 450.This passage is followed by another interesting recapitulation of his "experience."7 Il problema dell'ateismo (Bologna, Il Mulino, 1990), XV. 8 Page 450.11 A. Del Noce, "L'umanesimo frainteso," 30 Giorni no. 4 (April 1986): 70

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