Festivalfilosofia 2023: Lessons learned on contemporary Italy

Despite the adaptable temperatures and the annoying gnats, this year's Festivalfilosofia was a success, with philosophy enthusiasts gathered successful the Italian squares of Carpi, Modena, and Sassuolo to prosecute successful corporate existential reflections.

Fuelling their determination was a afloat packed and wholly escaped program: 200 events, including creation exhibitions, debates, conferences, movies, and theatre gigs; and much than 50 philosophers coming from each implicit the world. Among them, determination was a balanced premix of the festival's established stars specified arsenic Massimo Recalcati and Umberto Galimberti, and immoderate caller faces, similar David Le Breton and Maryanne Wolf.

The cardinal constituent that held everything unneurotic was the word, the cardinal taxable of the 2023 festival. 

From Aristotle to Martin Heidegger, but besides Jean-Paul Sartre, Hanna Arendt and Rebecca Solnit, philosophers person ever focused their attraction connected languages and connection to summation a deeper knowing of quality beings and the nine they unrecorded in.

As usual, immoderate of this year’s guests remained rooted successful classical world explanations, portion others tried to span the spread betwixt mentation and reality.

But what are the lessons learned from this year’s Festivalfilosofia? 

Words: Drivers of inclusion and discrimination

It has been astir a twelvemonth since the constitution of the Italian far-right authorities led by Giorgia Meloni. Soon aft assuming her position, the archetypal pistillate Prime Minister declined to beryllium referred to arsenic La presidente, the feminine signifier of the president and alternatively preferred Il presidente, the masculine mentation of her role. 

This determination sparked statement among Italians. Does the masculine mentation of a noun adhd authority? Does it undermine women’s relation successful society?

In her league connected sex, sex and languages, prof Cecilia Robustelli emphasized that words clasp governmental value and tin either foster inclusion oregon perpetuate exclusion. 

“Our nine is founded connected sex models that are socially constructed, and connection tin inadvertently fortify them done the sexist usage of words”, she affirmed. “If a pistillate is not referred to with her feminine title, past it means she is not recognized arsenic morganatic successful her role”.

The intricate ties betwixt sex and connection were besides explored by Michela Marzano who investigated the quality betwixt consent and concession successful Piazza delle Rose successful Sassuolo. 

“Rapists beryllium successful cultures that fto them exist,” she firmly stated during her lesson. “It is hard to deconstruct rape culture. We request to measurement our words”, she continued.

This reflection comes astatine a fragile clip for Italian society. Since the opening of 2023, the femicide complaint has reached 75 victims. The authorities refuses to instrumentality enactment against the patriarchal strategy and 2 weeks ago, aft a pack rape successful Naples, Giorgia Meloni affirmed: “Eyes unfastened and caput connected your shoulders. Rapists exist, and we indispensable not fto our defender down”.  

Words: Hate code and state of speech

Supporters of erstwhile US president Donald Trump, the Brexit person Nigel Farage and the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the close conjugation represented by Giorgia Meloni has been spreading hatred code against migrants, LGBTQA+ radical and susceptible groups.

In 2022, the video displaying Italian politicians celebrating the nonaccomplishment of DDL Zan, a measure holding hatred speakers accountable for their actions, became viral successful Italy. Consequently, radical started questioning the quality rights concern wrong the state and successful different occidental wide democracies. 

Is determination a bounds to code freedom? In antiauthoritarian systems, is hatred a close oregon a crime?

The sociologist Gisèle Sapiro traced the communicative of French intellectuals’ engagement successful governmental challenges from the Middle Ages to the contiguous day. According to her, hatred code should not beryllium justified arsenic a signifier of freedom, not adjacent successful wide countries.

A presumption shared by different guests of the Festival, similar prof Claudia Bianchi, who thoroughly analysed the characteristics of convulsive words successful modern society; and Saverio Raimondo, a comedian who investigated the limits of satire and questioned the exaggerated fearfulness of the politically close successful his witty show for Carpi's audience.

Festivalfilosofia: Mirroring nine and sparking questions

At the extremity of Cecilia Robustelli's lesson, I engaged successful an animated treatment with an aged antheral seated adjacent to me. According to him, the league was “too feminist, since today, women person nary reasons to complain”. 

I usually bash not springiness successful to provocations. Yet, during past weekend, nationalist squares looked similar the cleanable places to physique constructive dialogues. Eventually, I turned my caput and shared my opinion. For 15 minutes, my arguments were wholly ignored, and I ended up leaving Modena frustrated. 

The festival does not marque miracles. Listening to a league does not lick our society's problems and cannot wide our doubts.  

Yet, Festivalfilosofia succeeds successful mirroring the fractures defining our times and tries to supply america with the tools to amended recognize them.