Symbols, conditions, causes and effects: the cost of principles is a series of video conversations in collaboration with the School of Complexity, conceived and conducted by Michele Gerace. An invitation to reflect on what it means to have a principle, defend it and pay the price: from its most concrete meaning in the laws of nature to its political, cultural and spiritual value.
Every principle manifests itself as a symbol, is rooted in historical and social conditions, produces causes and leaves effects. It is never abstract or gratuitous: preserving, betraying or transforming it always has a price, both individual and collective: money, freedom, time, health, relationships, even human lives.
From the physical to the biological world, from the human mind to politics, from art to faith, through law and music, this series explores what it means to remain faithful to a principle and what debt this leaves open with reality.
A “principle” is first and foremost a beginning: the moment when a line is drawn, a direction is chosen and a word is uttered that gives things their name. It is a political act because it guides relationships and collective choices; and it is a poetic act because it interprets the world and, at the same time, creates it.
A transdisciplinary journey through science, culture and values, questioning when a principle remains a beacon and when, instead, it becomes a cage or a flag to be held high at all costs.