Last Saturday, 29 November, the ACLI in the Principality of Monaco, led by President Ginevra De Masi, celebrated World Philosophy Day.
The event, held in the auditorium of the Agora Diocesana del Principato, was an opportunity to discuss very topical issues thanks to the intervention of two special guests: Professor Flavia Silli, lecturer in Introduction to the History of Philosophy and Philosophy of Knowledge at the Pontifical Lateran University, and Gerardo De Vivo, journalist for the Area agency, writer, author of the book Glory quarters. Stories one step away from the podium.
Among the themes that most animated collective reflection was that of the value of the philosophy of the individual in a society where rhythms are often dictated by digital technologies.
“The human being is endowed with a dignity that does not derive from what he does, but from his being a person”, with this quote taken from the declaration Dignitas Infinita, published by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith last year, Professor Silli laid the foundation for her speech. The professor went on to emphasise how today's man is ‘hyper-connected’ but at the same time finds himself ‘profoundly alone’, and the victim of judgements on his person centred exclusively on performance and results. The latter is the main idea behind Gerardo De Vivo's book Glory quarters. Stories one step away from the podium.
The work includes sixteen stories of professional athletes who failed to reach the podium and how they dealt with this failure on a personal and professional level.
The theme of failure and the merciless judgement it unleashes underlines precisely the need for a return to the value of the philosophy of the person in order to give it back the leading role it deserves in this hyper-digital society.
