Dualismi nell’“io” religioso, costruzione della psiche sociale e condotte di vita in Max Weber

In a well-known passage of the The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber declares his interest in analyzing the influence of those psychological sanctions which, originating in religious belief and the practice of religion, give a direction to practical conduct and held the individual to it. This paper investigates Max Weber’s vision of the psychology (and sociology) of worldviews, focusing on two related problems: (1) how religious beliefs and the practice of religion originate psychological sanctions and impulses that motivate people to act in certain ways, and (2) how such psychological sanctions and impulses can become organized in a more or less rationalized conduct of life. The paper suggests that the centrality of the sociology of religion in Weber’s thought is in part a consequence of the fact that the religious sphere makes it particularly evident that there is a deep interconnection among the human need for ordering empirical reality, the emergence of social and life-orders, and the formation of personality (through dualistic self-representations)

Max Weber e il carisma tra elezione popolare e lavoro parlamentare

In his last political writings, Max Weber developed his concept of leader democracy (Führerdemokratie) while observing the plebiscitarian and Caesarist trends in the context of early twentieth-century mass democracy. There is an extensive secondary literature on the topic, and a number of critics have emphasized a problematic overlap in Weber’s account of the two figures of President-elect and charismatic-plebiscitarian leader. This article argues that the tensions within Weber’s account of plebiscitary leadership must be reconsidered against the background of the evolution of mass democracy. Masses contribute to the legitimacy of government by voting, but they are exposed to many potential sources of emotional influence: as a consequence, the modern politician has to use the means of mass demagogy to gain their confidence. Max Weber investigates the conditions to maintain a some sort of dynamic equilibrium between the charismatic leaders (with their party machine), and the opposing forces of state bureaucracies and of a “strong” parliament composed of responsible parties. Whereas the domination of charismatic leaders rests on the confidence of the masses – that they evoke through the use of demagogy – a well-organized parliamentary democracy requires frames and mechanisms for the systematic selection, testing, and accountability of leaders under institutional constraints, in order to be able to implement continuous and consistent policies. The blind spot of Weber’s discourse on leadership remains the internal consistency of a politician who is called to be mass leader, party leader, and responsible statesman

I limiti del consenso tra sfere valoriali alternative

The aim of this paper is to discuss the possibility to find a shared basis of agreement among comprehensive religious doctrines, when actors neither agree about which goals are reasonable nor think that a cooperative behaviour is worthy. Taking into account recent case studies, I will compare two of the most influential theories about consensus: Habermas’s position about “reaching understanding” and Rawls’s model of “overlapping consensus”. Whereas several well known political theories about consensus seem to reside at a distance from the world, failing to place normative claims within historical contexts, Max Weber argues that opposed value’s spheres interlace because of the “superficiality” of quotidian life. The still open problem pertains to conditions for political consensus and justice when there is no reason to expect that religious individuals and organizations will converge in their views on what constitutes a just way of life and on where are the reasonable limits of reciprocity to be drawn

L’immaginazione politica tra la caverna platonica e il Paese di Cuccagna: la lezione di Max Weber sulla possibilità di critica delle azioni politiche

Not everyone would agree with Norberto Bobbio that Max Weber is a classic in political philosophy. Assuming that the “ethical neutrality” in sociology and economics involves Weber’s dismissal of classical philosophical questions concerning the good society and the best form of government, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate that Weber’s call for coherence and decency – beyond the distinction of the ethic of conviction (Gesinnungsethik) and the ethic of responsibility (Verantwortungsethik) – is still relevant for political philosophy and philosophers who reflect on the relations between ethics and politics

Correlators of Hopf Wilson loops in the AdS/CFT correspondence

We study at quantum level correlators of supersymmetric Wilson loops with contours lying on Hopf fibers of $S^3$. In $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory the strong coupling analysis can be performed using the AdS/CFT correspondence and a connected classical string surface, linking two different fibers, is presented. More precisely, the string solution describes oppositely oriented fibers with the same scalar coupling and depends on an angular parameter, interpolating between a non-BPS configuration and a BPS one. The system can be thought as an alternative deformation of the ordinary antiparallel lines giving the static quark-antiquark potential, that is indeed correctly reproduced, at weak and strong coupling, as the fibers approach one another.Comment: 38 pages, 5 figure

Il concetto di «complessità». Contributo alla chiarificazione delle implicazioni filosofiche

Il concetto di complessità ha uno statuto peculiare all’interno del discorso scientifico: poiché viene utilizzato con riferimento a fenomeni e processi molto diversi – che vanno dal mondo prebiotico fino ai mondi simbolici mentali e sociali – non sembra possibile darne una sola definizione, né un criterio univoco di misurabilità. La rilevanza scientifica e filosofica del concetto, inoltre, dev’essere studiata in relazione ad altri temi interdisciplinari: auto-organizzazione e sistemi auto-organizzanti, evoluzione dei sistemi e proprietà emergenti, linearità e non linearità, varietà del riduzionismo scientifico, rapporti tra mappa e territorio (o rappresentazione e realtà), ruolo dell’osservatore. Nello scenario così delineato, l’articolo intende contribuire ad una chiarificazione filosofica del concetto, ripercorrendo alcuni momenti cruciali della sua storia a partire dall’articolo di Warren Weaver “Science and Complexity” fino al dibattito attuale.The concept of complexity has a special status within the scientific discourse: because it is used with reference to very different phenomena and processes – ranging from the prebiotic world to the symbolic, mental, and social worlds – it does not seem possible to give a single definition or an unambiguous criterion of measurability. The scientific and philosophical significance of the concept also must be studied in relation to other interdisciplinary issues: self-organization and self-organizing systems, evolution of systems and emergent properties, linearity and non-linearity, scientific reductionism, the relation between map and territory (or representation and reality), the role of the observer. Given the scenario delineated above, the article aims to contribute to a philosophical clarification of the concept of complexity, retracing some key moments in its history from the article by Warren Weaver, “Science and Complexity”, up to the current debate

I numeri dell’Io Immaginario neoliberale e quantificazione del sé.

Numbers of the Ego. Neoliberal imaginary and quantified self. After having recognized competition as the “hidden king” of contemporary neoliberal imaginaries, the paper will try to focus on the impact this specific cultural order is having on the lives of individuals. To narrow down the field, a small but representative empirical phenomenon will be taken into consideration: that is the so-called quantified self (hereafter QS). This expression refers to the use of different kinds of technologies to collect and resemble quantitative data flows on individual physical and psychological states and behavioural activities. One could think of QS as a way to increase individual awareness of personal potential and limitations in order to be better competitors in the neoliberal society. But this is just one part of the story. What is argued is that QS implies a radically different kind of subjectivation process, one that basically dispenses with the social relations, and finds its relational pole in the self image produced by the flows of data

Enhanced osteogenic differentiation in zoledronate-treated osteoporotic patients

Bisphosphonates are well known inhibitors of osteoclast activity and thus may be employed to influence osteoblast activity. The present study was designed to evaluate the in vivo effects of zoledronic acid (ZA) on the proliferation and osteoblastic commitment of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in osteoporotic patients. We studied 22 postmenopausal osteoporotic patients. Densitometric, biochemical, cellular and molecular data were collected before as well as after 6 and 12 months of ZA treatment. Peripheral blood MSC-like cells were quantified by colony-forming unit fibroblastic assay; their osteogenic differentiation potential was evaluated after 3 and 7 days of induction, respectively. Circulating MSCs showed significantly increased expression levels of osteoblastic marker genes such as Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), and Osteonectin (SPARC) during the 12 months of monitoring time. Lumbar bone mineral density (BMD) variation and SPARC gene expression correlated positively. Bone turnover marker levels were significantly lowered after ZA treatment; the effect was more pronounced for C terminal telopeptide (CTX) than for Procollagen Type 1 N-Terminal Propeptide (P1NP) and bone alkaline phosphatase (bALP). Our findings suggest a discrete anabolic activity supported by osteogenic commitment of MSCs, consequent to ZA treatment. We confirm its anabolic effects in vivo on osteogenic precursors

A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Neoliberal Subjectivity and Recreational Drug Use

As suggested by M. Foucault, neoliberal governamental form of power is a very effective pedagogical tool able to produce a specific form of subjectivity. This paper is aimed at empirically investigating this kind of identity from the particular viewpoint of drug consumption. Through an analysis of the empirical material gathered through the qualitative techniques of the in-depth interview, the group interview and participant observation, the article will explore the individual subjectivities of a number of young drug users. The focus of the analysis will be prevalently on the way in which the interviewees handle their own and their peers\u2019 consumption, as well as the criteria they adopt to decide where the line lies between recreational drug-taking and drug abuse. The issue of drug use was not chosen at random. As it stands on the crossroads between freedom and addiction, pleasure and pain, autonomous action and neurochemical conditioning, it constitutes (as we shall argue below) probably one of the most controversial elements of the governmental culture, one that can shed light on many of the characteristics of subjectivity that it produces

Il “ridere” come rottura nelle cornici di senso: esplorazione filosofica a partire da un chiasma platonico

The chiastic nexus between Socrates’ irony and its ridiculousness in the eyes of Thrasymachus permits to reformulate the importance of laughter as an ambiguity-laden philosophical subject. Taking into account the functions attributed to laughter by many authors – particularly Plato, Bergson, Kant, and Plessner – this paper investigates the relationship among laughter, approval, and displeasure, suggesting that the ambiguity of laughter comes out from a temporary breakdown either in the consolidated frames of meaning, or in the attempts to suggest new ones