The article aims to analyze, through a specific sociological perspective known as “paradigm of Gift” (M. Mauss, A. Caillé, J. T. Godbout), the importance, for the creation of social bonds and the construction of society, of the possibility of crossing limits, specifically in the conditionality of action: for example, exploring the conditional terms that affect the protagonist, whose actions depend on the previous existence of guaranteed results.

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The limit is a quaestio, a “why?” that inhabits the human person and makes one such: a person. For the ancient ones, it was a question of religious, metaphysical and ethical nature, but it is also – as discovered mostly by authors of modern times – a question of anthropological nature: and thus a question that touches upon knowledge and science, the psyche, society, politics and economics. A question which in the end pervades all that is human, and is intersected by one’s relationship with God, identifying one’s being and actions. A question, therefore, that is not exactly: what is the limit? But rather: what does the limit say about mankind, or, better yet, to what is mankind called by the limit? In Jesus, the limit is redefined in its originating vocation, according to the grammar of gift and love, which opens to the recognition of myself and of others and to sharing what/who we are and have.

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Beginning with the Pauline affirmation of Gal 4:4 – the Son “born under the Law” – the author presents some examples of the life of Jesus that show its tangible implications: the reaction of Jesus to “pagans” (the Canaanite woman, the centurion of Capernaum). Faithful to the Law of Moses, Jesus submits himself to a religion that limits him. On the other hand, he is accustomed to a reality that makes him overcome these limits: his pro-existence and the force that comes from his announcing the proximity of the Kingdom of God. But it is in his death, as especially signified by the cry of forsakenness, that Jesus overcomes every limit, even ceasing to be a Jew in order to become “man”.

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The notion of “limit” present among the characteristics of modern scientific rationality can be traced back to its emergence and development in the 1600’s within the context of the philosophy of nature. This study shows how such a notion was present and active in those metascientific premises that characterize the foundational moment, the delineation of the method and the development of the figure of modern science. Moreover, the notion of limit, understood as an intrinsic quality of scientific knowledge, was identified and underscored by the philosophy of science in the 1900’s both when it affirmed the irrevocable theoretical nature of observation and when it presented the important question of the demarcation between scientific and metascientific propositions.

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This article addresses the topic of “limits” both as a formal content of mathematics and, on a meta-theoretical level, as a cognitive boundary inherent in mathematics.

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It can be equally affirmed that a boundary is not only division but at the same time also relation. Borders mark a limit, but also the desire of surpassing it. The “classical” boundary is a point of disjunction, and it is of a nature that is sacred as well as functional; it is difficult to conceive it as definitive and unchangeable. At the dawn of the modern world, however, a “new” idea of boundary appears, which is no longer understood in terms of the ancient empire tradition as “defense” or delimitation of a conquered space, but as a structural element of division. This kind of border (spatial, mental, cultural, ideological) is what makes someone a foreigner. Nonetheless, a noncritical perspective of overriding borders could be just as insidious; for example, a hypothetical world State would risk presenting itself as Cosmopolis, as a totalizing maxima civitas. Today, the possibility of a political theory without spatial fractures is being explored. But what condition makes such a connection possible? A solution can be perceived on the level of a “symbolic” reconceptualization of boundaries. The subdivision of the world makes sense only if it is understood as the pre-condition for its being shared.

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This article focuses on the relational aspectsof strategic interactions. First, we highlight how some of the limitations of the classical theory of games can hinder a deeper understanding of two fundamental dimensions of interpersonal relations, which are essential to our social epistemology: the mentalizing and empathizing processes. Secondly, we present the results of a series of experiments that stress the role of these two elements in the realm of strategic interactions. Finally, we argue that, by conceptualizing a hierarchy of higher order beliefs, psychological game theory seems to constitute a promising step forward towards the introduction of relational elements in the motivational structure of social agents and in the understanding of the intersubjective space we build and share when interacting with others.

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The cultural elaboration of the charism of Chiara Lubich in the thoughts of  Giuseppe Maria Zanghi provides a premise to develop philosophical, theological, sociological and political reflection. Reading history in light of the cry of Jesus on the cross offers a key to further elaborate this new charism. Zanghì views the parable of the western culture as a progressive loss of the perspectives offered by the Trinitarian paradigm, beginning with Jesus’ cry of forsakenness. The article intends to present some of Zanghì’s challenging questions about mankind and human thought within the horizon of the Trinity as the model of all human relations.

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This article seeks to contribute to the analysis of the philosophical excursus of Plato’s Seventh Letter and, in particular, to the conditions and assumptions that the author of the Letter considers necessary for the attainment of intellectual knowledge; knowledge, which is metaphorically presented with the famous image of the spark (ἐξαφθέν φῶς), like a sudden light springing forth from within the soul and feeding upon itself. Some introductory questions are examined in the first part of the study, while the problem of the conditions of intellectual knowledge is addressed in the second part. The article concludes by exploring the question of the objective dimension of knowledge: what does Plato propose in the Seventh Letter?

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CODA Piero, Città Nuova, Roma 2011, pp. 624

The latest book of Piero Coda, Dalla Trinità. L’avvento di Dio tra storia e profezia (From the Trinity. The advent of God between history and prophecy), is the first volume of the series “Per-corsi di Sophia” (Per- courses of Sophia), which seeks to present, in accord with the academic project of the Sophia University Institute, the interdisciplinary research and lessons programmatically achieved in dialogue between professors and students. In its second edition after only a few months, this book is already finding a prominent place in the cultural debate, showing its validity, as intended by the Author, in creating and connecting occasions of dialogue, even within the various fields of study. A sampling is offered here in the reviews of an urbanist, a theologian and three philosophers: Elena Granata, Roberto Repole, Massimo Donà, Adriano Fabris and Vincenzo Vitiello.

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The article discusses the theme of common goods, in relation to the common good and its ethical dilemmas. With the help of the games theory, the author shows the logic of the tragedy of common goods, and also indicates some ways of overcoming the tragedy, which have to do with the relational dimension and with that of limit.

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