Jervis and Timpanaro have been two influential figures of the Italian culture in the second half of the Twentieth Century. They never met, although they talked to each other regularly at a distance, as they shared many interests, in particular on the topics of the scientific status of psychoanalysis and on a coherent definition of materialism. Their epistemological and ontological views are clearly connected to Italian ‘60s and ‘70s philosophical climate dominated by the discussion on Marxism, and for this reason they might seem obsolete. However, especially from Jervis’ views, one can draw important suggestions for the philosophy of human sciences, in the direction of a non-reductionist “scientism”.
