§ 1. The main idea expressed in Tiziana Andina’s Ontologia sociale. Transgenerazionalità, potere, giustizia is that some social actions are identified and structured by the fundamental property of transgenerationality, i.e. the ability to significantly affect the interests not only of the present generation, but also of future ones (p. 85, Eng. tr. pp. 77-78). From an ontological point of view – which the author addresses in the first two chapters of the four that make up the book – (...) transgene... (shrink)

In international social science’s debate on power and rulership, Max Weber occupies a dominant position. There is hardly a study on power or rulership that does not refer to him, be it critical or affirmative. The sustainable success of Weber’s concept of power is based not least on the fact that he took up contemporary Nietzschean voluntaristic ideas and combined them with an action-related perspective. In doing so, he revolutionized the theory of power. This goes particularly for his category of (...) “chance”, with which he indicated power as a gradual and quantifiable phenomenon. The effect of this approach was so striking that it is still the most influential concept of power, shaping theorists like Hannah Arendt, Raymond Aron, and Heinrich Popitz. Furthermore, Weber moved the concept of rulership, as an institutionalised and reinforced form of power, into the focus of social sciences, providing a large-scale sociology of rule, which exposes the various types and motives of obedience. At the same time, however, the reception of the conceptual pair of power and rulership reveals a paradoxical phenomenon, since the two concepts are received worldwide, while they are still often used arbitrarily and regularly mixed up. (shrink)

Though hardly more than blown-up lectures, the three essays contained in this volume show a unity which might be a clue to future, larger scale investigations. Departing from the present confrontation between positive sociometrical and phenomenological definitions of power, Bagolini examines the conditions for objectivity in the determination of power in both schools. He concludes that it is impossible to define power at all without the cohesive element of interaction and dialogue among the various interests, goals, and ideologies in a (...) society. The interference of ideology and myths with this dialogue points to the communication problem as central to the core of power in present social life, and to the need for equality as a condition of communication. The final essay deals with temporality as an ingredient in the definition of liberty, and thereby of responsibility. The common intention of these essays is to find a passage from empirical to eidetic research concerning social facts. The perspicacity of the strategy and the ease in handling of sources of the most diverse extraction exhibits the agility of Bagolini's mind.--A. M. (shrink)

Though hardly more than blown-up lectures, the three essays contained in this volume show a unity which might be a clue to future, larger scale investigations. Departing from the present confrontation between positive sociometrical and phenomenological definitions of power, Bagolini examines the conditions for objectivity in the determination of power in both schools. He concludes that it is impossible to define power at all without the cohesive element of interaction and dialogue among the various interests, goals, and ideologies in a (...) society. The interference of ideology and myths with this dialogue points to the communication problem as central to the core of power in present social life, and to the need for equality as a condition of communication. The final essay deals with temporality as an ingredient in the definition of liberty, and thereby of responsibility. The common intention of these essays is to find a passage from empirical to eidetic research concerning social facts. The perspicacity of the strategy and the ease in handling of sources of the most diverse extraction exhibits the agility of Bagolini's mind.--A. M. (shrink)

Surveillance, understood as the collection of information about populations for supervision purposes, is a critical technique of social control. As such, it can reveal important features of the power that exercises it. The article analyses two contemporary surveillance measures in Europe: the Schengen Information System and the Directive 2006/24/EC on data retention. The analysis aims to identify the structural characteristics of the changing power of the EU and the role security plays in it. The main thesis is that security is (...) a key element of the legitimacy claim of the expanding power of the EU. (shrink)

Per meglio comprendere la rilevanza della posta in gioco – le condizioni effettive di democratizzazione delle nostre democrazie – è opportuno svolgere alcune considerazioni sul problema generale della legittimità del potere politico, che possiamo ricapitolare in tre punti: ciò che viene reputato legittimo (l’oggetto), 2. chi decide della legittimità (il soggetto) e 3. il criterio che la definisce (l’argomento) . A seconda delle risposte ne discendono diverse visioni della politica. Nel ricostruire il tema introdurremo dei concetti fondamentali – politica, (...) potere, effettività, legittimità, legalità, giustizia, libertà, etc. – e ci avvarremo del contributo di alcuni autori che Norberto Bobbio identificava come “classici”, non secondariamente, per la capacità di elaborare delle categorie generali di cui non si possa fare a meno per interpretare la realtà storico-sociale, anche quella differente dal contesto di genesi e d’uso della loro opera (I). Da ultimo, in maniera assai provvisoria, dovremo chiarire la prospettiva storico-evolutiva, di matrice habermasiana, che orienta l’analisi di Ampola sui modelli di legittimazione degli odierni stati democratici di diritto. Le diverse giustificazioni del potere politico possono essere non solo esaminate e comparate dal punto di vista dei concetti fondamentali e della logica argomentativa e neppure solo documentate storiograficamente nelle loro forme compiute o distorte di istituzionalizzazione. Sullo sfondo della riflessione sulla democratizzazione c’è l’assunto che la costellazione dei problemi si collochi nel quadro di uno sviluppo normativo discontinuo delle società umane di cui la teoria dell’evoluzione sociale può ricostruire la logica e la dinamica (II). (shrink)

Historically the plan has been about much more than economic planning. By plan-based thought I mean a concept of social governance that requires a multiple but structured articulation of social, economic, administrative and political forces and institutions and aims at shaping new forms of integration and social control using a specific scientific discourse.The following essays provide an analysis of global planning starting from different historical and geographical situations and different disciplinary perspectives. The broad picture that emerges shows points of continuity (...) and discontinuity between different contexts and theories but also reveals a common theme: the conflictual relationship between economics and politics which not only reflects the hierarchies between state and society but also shows the dialectic between different forms and conceptions of power and their social reproduction. Plan-based thought does not only concern temporary institutional transformations, but reacts and is connected to the management of social conflicts over time. (shrink)

_Abstract_: In philosophy and cognitive science, the tension between cognitivism and the 4E-Cognition approach is both deep and polarizing. A lack of serious engagement with the theoretical and empirical work generated by the opposing framework seems problematic on both sides. In this paper, we closely discuss data on early socio-cognitive development produced by an influential nativist current of thought in the cognitivist paradigm. We consider these data from the point of view of a 4E-Cognition perspective called “the pairing hypothesis”, which (...) originates in phenomenological philosophy. We show that a close examination of these cognitivist-nativist data strengthens the phenomenological 4E-Cognition perspective by significantly expanding the range of findings it can account for. By addressing the debate between rich and lean explanations in early social cognition, we corroborate the idea that careful interaction between cognitivism and the 4E-Cognition approach can lead to progress in cognitive science. _Keywords_: Development of Social Cognition; Cognitivist Nativism; Direct Social Perception; Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences; Action Production and Perception _Spiegazioni ricche o parsimoniose? Un’alternativa fenomenologica per lo sviluppo della prima cognizione sociale_ _Riassunto_: Un’accesa e radicale tensione nelle scienze cognitive è quella tra il cognitivismo e il cosiddetto approccio delle quattro E (_Embodied, Enactive, Embedded_ e _Extended_). La mancanza di una riflessione aperta e sostanziale sul lavoro teorico ed empirico proposto dall’approccio opposto appare problematica da entrambe le parti. Il presente contributo analizza a fondo le evidenze empiriche presentate da una delle maggiori correnti innatiste del paradigma cognitivista nello studio dello sviluppo socio-cognitivo. Queste evidenze sperimentali vengono esaminate dal punto di vista della “ipotesi dell’appaiamento”, ipotesi inserita nel quadro della prospettiva teorica 4E e che proviene dalla filosofia fenomenologica. Il presente contributo mostra come una considerazione approfondita dei dati generati dal cognitivismo innatista può rafforzare il potere esplicativo della prospettiva fenomenologica 4E, ampliandone in misura significativa la gamma di evidenze scientifiche che essa può contribuire a spiegare. Affrontando il dibattito sullo sviluppo della prima cognizione sociale tra spiegazioni ricche e parsimoniose, viene corroborata l’idea che un’attenta interazione tra cognitivismo e approccio 4E può essere un modo per far progredire le scienze cognitive. _Parole chiave_: Sviluppo della cognizione sociale; Innatismo cognitivo; Percezione sociale diretta; Fenomenologia e scienze cognitive; Produzione e percezione di azioni. (shrink)

Questo saggio affronta la dottrina politica di S.N.H. Linguet, analizzando l’uso sistematico dei paradossi al suo interno. La critica dell’ideologia fisiocratica consente a Linguet di individuare il nesso tra scienza e politica quale fondamento dell’ideologia della società e della sua critica. La costellazione concettuale formata da proprietà, appropriazione, patrimonialismo e patriarcato stabilisce le coordinate della sua teoria politica dei concetti sociali. La categoria di rapporto sociale non esprime la coordinazione tra soggetti indifferenti, ma la subordinazione di alcuni individui al (...) potere sociale dei proprietari. La critica di Montesquieu, del suo concetto di legge e di dispotismo asiatico, conduce Linguet ad affermare la necessità di uno Stato burocratico che, grazie al suo diritto positivo sia in grado di governare i movimenti della proprietà che per Linguet è il centro reale del sistema politico. (shrink)