"Is There Any Logic?": Groundlessness, the Possible, and Empathy in Luigi Pirandello's "The Tragedy of a Character" (1911).

The article analyzes Luigi Pirandello’s short story "Is There Any Logic?" focusing on themes of alienation, groundlessness, and the fluid nature of consciousness as explored through literary and neuroscientific perspectives. It interprets Pirandello’s work as dramatizing the brain’s dynamic, selectionist processes—where thoughts and characters emerge from a chaotic background to form coherent narratives—reflecting the human struggle to find meaning amid uncertainty. The discussion highlights how Pirandello’s characters seek validation and identity within society despite the absence of absolute foundations, linking creativity and alienation to a Darwinian framework of survival and exclusion. The article situates Pirandello’s exploration of consciousness and identity within broader ethical and philosophical questions about truth, virtue, and the human condition.