- one of Italy’s leading politicalphilosophers - considers these questions and shows that startingfrom the body, rather than from the thing or the person, can helpus to reconsider the status of both.Ever since its beginnings, our civilization has been based on astrict, unequivocal distinction between persons and things, foundedon the instrumental domination of persons over things. Thisopposition arose out of ancient Roman law and persisted throughoutmodernity, to take its place in our current global market, where itcontinues to generate growing contradictions. Although thedistinction seems to appear clear and necessary to us, what we arecontinually witnessing in legal, economic, and technologicalpractice is a reversal of perspectives: some categories of personsare becoming assimilated with things, while some types of thingsare taking on a personal profile.With his customary rigour, Roberto Esposito argues that thereexists an escape route out of this paradox, constituted by a newpoint of view founded in the body. Neither a person nor a thing,the human body becomes the decisive element in rethinking theconcepts and values that govern our philosophical, legal, andpolitical lexicons.

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