FERRUCCIO FOCHER
Sul giudizio politico
N. 1/1986
Summary
— This essay takes as its starting point a Cassirer’s disheartened reflection at the beginning of his last work The Myth of the State: reason rules in theoretical thought, specially in scientific thought, but is rejected in political actions. Therefore human political doing seems to be condemned to irrationality. Yet, on the other hand, political theories, founded on scientific reason, that is on necessity (Hobbes, Comte), do not save freedom. How is it possible to extend reason to political sphere, without sacrificing freedom? It is needful, today, to revisit some humanistic guide-notions, rejected by scientific culture. In other words, rationality must become reasonableness through prudence, judging, taste, common sense.The essay reviews, in this regard, some philosophical and political reflections of Aristotle, Guicciardini, Gracian, Vico, Shaftesbury, Kant, H. Arendt, and availing itself of some Arendt’s and E. Vollrath’s ideas on political judging (that is capacity of distinguishing Ur-teil), investigates the question of the connection between judging and doing, judging and thinking, in reference to political freedom, which can live where political ideas of union, not of unity, rule.