Rivista di Estetica 90. Human Beings. By Nature or by Technology?

What, if anything, distinguishes Homo sapiens? Philosophy has offered many answers, including consciousness, language, and rational or symbolic thought. Recently, however, increasing attention has turned to the uniquely human relationship with technology, especially in light of the profound transformations brought about by the Web and artificial intelligence. While humans are not the only beings capable of using tools, in humans technical abilities reach an unparalleled level of sophistication, speed of development, and cumulative complexity.
As Maurizio Ferraris argues in Dochumanity, the most decisive revolutions in history are technological ones, reflecting the fact that human beings are fundamentally defined by their relationship with technology. From this perspective, technology is not merely an external aid but a constitutive feature of humanity. On this basis, this issue of Rivista di Estetica explores the deep connections between humans and technology, as well as the evolving relationship between natural and artificial intelligence.