Lecture of Dr. Fiammetta Cioè (Sapienza University, Rome, Italy)

[8.11.2023] We are pleased to inform about the visit to our Faculty of Dr. Fiammetta Cioè of Sapienza University in Rome (Italy). Dr. Cioè is a member of the Italian branch of the Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy.  

As part of the meeting of the Department of Theory and Philosophy of State and Law and the Philosophy of Law Students' Club, we listened to a guest lecture by Dr. Cioè on "Legalism versus justice in the era of digital revolution". 

The presentation explored the emergence and subsequent establishment of nihilist philosophy in the post-modern context, emphasizing the themes that have fueled the technological momentum influencing various aspects of our lives, effectively turning society into a technical system. It began by examining the concept of nihilism within the legal domain, often referring to Bruno Romano's speculative works. Romano deliberates on the pointlessness of discussing justice within a technocratic system that operates 'beyond good and evil.' His phenomenological analysis of law, starting with "Technique and Justice in the Thought of Martin Heidegger" through to "Civilization of Data," probes the pervasive engineering process that influences legal phenomena from legislation to court rulings. 

Then lecture turned to Jacques Ellul's perspectives, which, despite their profound implications, have been understudied in national academic circles—a situation deemed urgent to correct. Ellul's insights into technology are sometimes seen as prophetic, linking directly to the philosophical and legal framework. For Ellul, technology's omnipresence is overwhelming, to the extent that he perceives legal science and the totalitarian state as the natural progression of technological dominion. The speech aimed to spotlight these intellectual contributions and urged for a deeper engagement with them within the scholarly community. 

The lecture was followed by a discussion section which itself took almost an hour. The main topic of discussion was issues related to the so-called surveillance capitalism and the possibility of avoiding its dangers with the help of appropriate legal regulations.