Innovazione e comunità: l’amicizia come condizione della conoscenza nella filosofia

 A important factor, which seems to be present in every cultural and social innovation, is that these innovations come about through the creation of new forms of community. Human history has witnessed a succession of various types of new community and a study of their typology demonstrates that each one generates a paradigm that is progressively communicated to society at large, at times even coming to characterize an entire epoch. The study of these communities gives an insight into the characteristics of a community that seeks, today, to bring about something new. Looking at Plato’s philosophical community highlights the importance of the relationship among those who seek truth and the ways in which truth is sought: the awareness of the identity of the various interlocutors, and the mutual acceptance of their diversity, builds a bond of friendship that Plato holds necessary for obtaining that ‘supreme dialectical rigour’ which leads to the knowledge of truth.