This paper proposes a critical reconstruction of intellectual relationships between the Italian pragmatists Vailati and Calderoni on one hand, and the Hungarian philosopher Julius Pikler on the other hand, from 1892 to 1910. Their debate was reconstructed by identifying its main philosophical issues: some controversial perspectives in Mach's thought; the concepts of 'volition' and 'objectivity'; the latest developments in Pikler's theory of consciousness. The examination of works and correspondence has showed Pikler's influence on Vailati and Calderoni's philosophical tendencies and on their interpretation of the pragmatic maxim, justifying the result that Pikler is to be considered, at least as Peirce and James, a true forefather for the italian logical pragmatism.
