Book review: The four masters By Vito Mancuso. Ed. by Garzanti, 2020

The theologian and philosopher Mancuso wrote a text entitled The four masters, p. 509, published by Garzanti, in which he presents the lives and teachings of the four most influential figures in human history: Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, and Jesus. His book is presented as a journey in search of the human in man, which the author takes from the novel by Vasilij Grossman, Life and Destiny. Starting from the question of what is the human in man, Mancuso proposes that it is an empty space that allows us to always go beyond our tendencies. This space, characterized by indeterminacy, creates the conditions for freedom, and the human in man emerges when one chooses to direct one's freedom towards goodness and justice.