Abstract

Some of the members of the editorial board of the review debate with Gennaro Sasso on the meaning of the word "Humanity" in modern political philosophy. The debate starts with the question whether western philosophical thought has succeeded in formulating a universal concept of humanity and then focuses on the contrast between the principle of humanity (as a global principle) and that of sovereignty (that is, a territorial- based principle). Towards the end, the authors address also the issues of human limits, of inhumanity, and of what, inside mankind, makes also possible the most wretched inhumanity.