The participants at this roundtable session noted that Pope Benedict XVI, in his recent encyclical entitled Caritas in veritate, reiterates that “the world is in trouble because of the lack of thinking”. It would seem that modern life, with its daily challenges, is focusing minds on more immediate and direct concerns. Today’s cultural impoverishment and loss of ideals has generated a fear of living, thought and reflection. Yet, it was observed, the much-maligned international crisis we are currently facing could, in this regard, provide an extraordinary opportunity to rethink the prevailing social model. The financial and social difficulties that the world has experienced in recent months stem primarily from a crisis of values. The sense of cohesion and sharing that is necessary for living together has been lost and the lack of fixed reference points has resulted in the mistrust of others that is so evident in our society. The financial crisis, caused by economic actors losing confidence in established institutions such as banks and stock exchanges, is only a secondary symptom of what is actually taking place.
Humanity is once again feeling the need for an incontrovertible value, namely: Truth. Yet this notion continues to divide opinion, with essentially two opposing approaches being proposed. The first consists of a relativistic subjectivist view, which sees Truth as a sort of Medusa-like figure, that from time to time changes its appearance according to the circumstances. This approach is encapsulated in the maxim “Auctoritas, non veritas facit legem” in Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, and forms the basis of social contract theory. In order to fully appreciate the scope of this approach, the participants referred to the conflict depicted in Sophocles’ Antigone. On the other hand, the second approach is the classical view, which holds that there is an objective – or rather, transcendent – Truth, of which the emblematic image is that given in Plato’s Phaedrus, which likens the soul to a chariot that flies across the plain of Truth. Here, knowledge is acquired in an objective and already circumscribed sphere. Adorno, in interpreting one of the aphorisms of Truth, maintained that “one does not have [the Truth], but is in it”.
Reflecting on the nature of Truth, it was observed, is beneficial in that it calls for a redrawing of the boundaries and the removal of the veil of opacity and deceit that seems to drive economic interests today. The pursuit of Truth creates a positive tension which the market also needs, as any activity that is not pursued for the Common Good loses its way. A new impetus for thought is needed, which genuinely seeks to understand the realm of the Other. Today, the Self is built on possession, gain and action aimed at acquisition. This is positive insofar as it stimulates industriousness, but it risks breaking down when enrichment becomes the sole goal. The most striking depiction of this is provided in Giovanni Verga’s short story, La roba (or Property), which shows how the worship of possession turns individuals into something similar to objects, or “objectifies” them. In this regard, the concept of Charity is the opposite, as it envisages the construction of the Self through loss. Paradoxically, it involves undergoing loss in order to gain, and true possession, which entails freely giving up what is possessed. In the final analysis, it is the rationale which underpins Love, as “lovers, by their very nature, give without holding back“. This offering to the Other is the noblest and most creative facet of the individual. The gratuitous, spiritual and personal aspect, unrestricted by the expectation of reciprocation, has been a constant feature of human nature. Thus, economics and humanity complement each other. Those who disagree, it was stressed, are not being realistic. The participants thus concluded that it is worthwhile considering these two aspects in tandem, to ensure we reflect on the future in a more rigorous as well as more sound and realistic manner.