Carlo Michelstaedter

Carlo Michelstaedter (1887–1910) was an Italian philosopher and poet from Gorizia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He is best known for his posthumously published thesis "Persuasion and Rhetoric," a radical critique of social conformity, illusion, and inauthentic life. Michelstaedter died by suicide at age 23 shortly after completing the work.