Le direzioni di significato antropologiche dell'orizzontalità e della verticalità

Abstract

Horizontal; vertical; anthropological coordinates

In this article we will consider “horizontal” and “vertical” not as given topographic references, but as anthropological co-ordinates that are capable to shape the existence of human beings. Whenever we “climb up”, i.e. whenever we raise ourselves to such a height that we are finally capable to broaden our horizons, as a matter of fact we invariably fall into the danger of considering such rising to the top as a sort of conquest. As a consequence, in this rise we are often followed and haunted by the fear of ruin because of our misplaced ambitions, or to be dispossessed of our achievements by someone else who aspires to that same position and dignity. Therefore, when considering these important anthropological dimensions of “horizontal” and “vertical”, it comes out that our main worry should be to keep the “top” and the “base” constantly in touch: in this way, the weakening of our trust in decisional power would become a way to solve existential challenges and to favor a different way of acting and enacting, centered around the power-free criteria of a hesitant contemplative mood.