If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well. Started reading the encyclical - it’s about AI! - but I knew that I would miss a ton of the references and the deep and rich tradition it would draw on. So, I created this: Magnifica Humanitas - Glossed Edition, using AI appropriately enough 🙂

The site presents the encyclical text as glossed manuscript — the historical form for a textus, and the glossa with commentary on the margin. Now, the references are side by side and it really helps understand the text better.

I’ve started rereading the encyclical again, now with the helpful notes and still only part way through it.

A couple of points: there are many references to theological sources (obviously!) but the argument is essentially Aristotelian and grounded in natural law. You do not need much metaphysical commitments beyond Aristotelian metaphysics. This means that the view in it is intelligble to anyone irrespective of faith or belief. Reminds me of Rawls’s public reason - the encyclical appeals to universally accessible reason and not grounded in scriptural authority. This makes it more philosophy than theology.

Secondly, it dawned on me that as a document it is a form of public philosophy. Actually, historically, encyclicals have been one of the most, if not the most, influential works of public philosophy ever. Rerum Novarum is the prime example; it grounded workers dignity and directly shaped employment law and the welfare state as we know them