Editorial

Abstract

In introducing the project of the Rivista Italiana di Filosofia Politica (Italian Journal of Political Philosophy), launched by the Italian Society for Political Philosophy, this editorial explores the relationship between politics and philosophy. As with philosophy itself, political philosophy arises from the desire to understand what is new and to question existing reality. Political philosophy is thus political in a twofold sense: on the one hand, it is an act of freedom vis-à-vis existing power or knowledge, and, on the other, it is an attempt to establish social relations based on discursive rationality, and on open participatory mechanisms for decision-making. This dual political attitude is even more essential in the face of challenges to contemporary societies, such as climate change, migratory movements, dramatic inequalities, and the apparatus of surveillance. Avoiding the risk of a “philosophy of distraction or non-engagement”, political philosophy (and this Journal) endorses the idea of another, “more civic”, philosophy, one which is committed to the opening of new spaces of personal and collective freedom. This Journal intends to nurture the dialogue between Italian and international philosophical-political communities, showing the richness of Italian discussion, and highlighting some of the most authoritative international scholars.