Genovesi, Antonio

Genovesi, Antonio (äntô`nyō jānōvĕ`zē), 1712–69, Italian philosopher and economist, a pioneer in writing philosophy in Italian instead of in Latin. Genovesi introduced new ideas, particularly those of Locke, Leibniz, and Hume into Italy, and this introduction was bitterly opposed by the scholastics. In his works he strove for a balancing of idealism and sensualism. His book Lezioni di commercio (1765), the first inclusive work on Italian economics, stressed human wants as the basis of economic theory.