Finzioni a fin di bene: la persona ficta, l’inganno artistico contro la menzogna come tradimento

Abstract

After a quick illustration of Augustine’s invention of the doctrine concerning “lie”, the paper focuses on another medieval discovery, mainly dating back to 12th century Canon Law: the notion of persona ficta. Such concept, the roots of which go back to Roman Law, allows an innovative conceptualisa-tion of religious and political institutions such as the church, the university, or the state.