Francesco Soave was born in
Lugano, Switzerland, on 10 June 1743. He attended schools run by the
Order of Clerics Regular of Somasca and later joined the order. Sent to
Parma, he taught
poetry and
eloquence at the College for Noblemen and the
University of Parma, under minister
Guillaume du Tillot. Soave introduced
Locke's and
Kant's philosophy to Italy through teaching and translations. He promoted an eclectic
empiricism based on Locke,
Condillac, and
Bonnet. His translations of
Salomon Gessner's
New Idylls and
Edward Young's
The Force of Religion influenced the
preromantic movement. In 1772, he wrote ''Intorno all'istituzione naturale d'una società e d'una lingua, e all'influenza dell'una e dell'altra sulle umane cognizioni'' (On the natural formation of a society and language, and their influence on human knowledge). Appointed professor of
philosophy at the Brera Academy in
Milan in 1772, Soave reformed teaching methods, wrote and translated educational works, and established schools in
Lombardy.{{Cite book |editor-last=Brotto |editor-first=Paola |url= |title=Problemi scolastici ed educativi nella Lombardia del primo Ottocento |date=1977 |publisher=SugarCo |language=it|first=Costanza |last=Rossi-Ichino |chapter=Francesco Soave e le prime scuole elementari tra il '700 e l'800 He died in
Pavia on 17 January 1806, while serving as professor of ideology at the
university. == Works ==