I padroni del discorso. Platone e la libertà della conoscenza (Italian version only)
Pievatolo Maria Chiara

Today the problem of freedom of information, not only of political censure but also of private property, is linked not just to philosophy but also to other codes that change the world: the “software” code and the code of life. A tough battle is underway between the supporters of the extension of intellectual private property – in the form of patents, “copyright”, anti-pirating legislation, “non disclosure agreement” – and the supporters of what could be defined as a communism of knowledge. Those who agree with the latter position declare that the code can be developed for the benefit of all only if it can be shared and developed freely in environments that allow discussion; the freedom of such environments in turn depends on the freedom of the object, the community nature – public rather than private, of the code itself. “I padroni del discorso” attempts to show that the public nature of information does not derive from a new and marginal pretension, but lies at the heart of western philosophical tradition. Precisely in the same way that democracy, if we do not wish to reduce it to mere ritual, needs the greatest possible freedom in the public use of reason, philosophy, if we do not wish to reduce it to mere formula, recipe and ideology, needs a free space for discussion that is greater than the outcomes of one or other system. A targeted interpretation of some platonic texts allows for the motivation and incorporation of the sectoral demands for freedom of the code in an overall argument for the freedom of knowledge, which is corroborated by the comparison with some later classic philosophical works. The series “Methexis - Studi e Testi”, which publishes works on political philosophy and similar subjects, is linked to the Methexis project, aiming at a wider diffusion and participation in knowledge using telematic instruments. For this reason, the studies and texts published on paper are also reproduced in digital format in the telematic Bulletin of Political Philosophy (http://bfp.sp.unipi.it/ebooks) and other sites that participate in this initiative. The series makes use of a scientific committee, which is currently composed of Giuliano Marini, Roberto Gatti, Salvatore Veca, Gianluigi Palombella, Armando Rigobello, Claudio Palazzolo, Danilo Zolo, Maria Chiara Pievatolo, Michele Nicoletti and Roberto Giannetti.

Maria Chiara Pievatolo teaches History of Political Philosophy and Analysis of Political Language at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Pisa. She is also in charge of the “Bollettino telematico di filosofia politica”. Among her recent works: “La giustizia degli invisibili. L’identificazione del soggetto morale, a ripartire da Kant”, Roma, Carocci, 1999.