Grice e Manetti

 

 Manetti’s 

De dignitate et excellentia hominis

(1452) is an original contribution to the history of philosophy because it shifts the focus from a purely spiritual or "misery-laden" medieval view of humanity toward a naturalistic and sensualist appreciation of the human being as a physical and active agent. 

His main points regarding these approaches include:

1. Rehabilitation of the Human Body

While medieval predecessors (like Pope Innocent III) often viewed the body as a "vile" vessel of decay, Manetti argues that the human body is a masterpiece of divine craftsmanship. 

• Aesthetic Perfection: He provides a detailed, almost anatomical defense of the body’s beauty and functional design, asserting that physical senses are not just sources of sin but are perfectly suited for interacting with the world.
• Incarnation as Proof: He uses the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation to argue that because God became man, the physical human form possesses inherent, "naturalistic" dignity. 

2. "Man as a Doer" (Active Naturalism)

Manetti moves away from the idea that human value is found only in passive contemplation of the divine.

• Creative Potential: He celebrates human achievement in the arts, sciences, and architecture as evidence of our excellence. This "sensualist" focus on what humans produce in the physical world validates secular life as a worthy pursuit.
• The World as a Human Product: He famously argues that everything surrounding us—cities, paintings, machines—is the work of humans, making us "co-creators" with God through our physical and intellectual labor. 

3. Integration of Body and Soul

Rather than seeing the person as a soul "trapped" in a body, Manetti defines the human as a unique union of both. 

• Psychosomatic Unity: He treats the human person as a "unique amalgam," where the soul’s excellence is expressed through the body's actions and senses.
• Originality: This was a radical break from the "misery of the human condition" tradition. It established a philosophical basis for the Renaissance ideal of the "artist as creative genius" and the "man of action". 

4. Challenge to Medieval Asceticism

The work is a direct refutation of De miseria humanae conditionis. 

• Refusal of "Vilitas": Manetti rejects the medieval concept of vilitas (worthlessness), replacing it with a positive valuation of human nature that includes our natural desires and sensory experiences.
• Naturalistic Purpose: He suggests that the purpose of being human is to "act and understand," placing the weight of personhood on the exercise of natural faculties in the here-and-now.