1. Older People, Technologies,
and “Cortesia”
EMILIO MORDINI - CSSC
VALUE AGEING SEMINAR
BELFAST , 20 MARCH 2012

2. The Human Right Sublime Architecture

3. Little, humble, grain of sand
Life is made by small things,
bricks that day by day create
the architecture of one’s life.
Quality of life relies more on
those small, humble, stones,
grains of sand, than on
flamboyant arches and vaults
Truly these stones are the
scandal, the stumbling blocks,
which unmask all tonitruant
statements about human
dignity

4. Cortesia – Courtoisie
There is word which is
hardly translatable in
English, which is the
French word “courtoisie”.
(Ital. and Span. “cortesia”)
It is not courtesy, but it
includes several different
notions.
It comes from court,
literally it means the
quality of living in a court

5. Langue d’Oc
An ideal of aristocratic
life, a theory about love,
a code of social conduct
Mizura (measure, ratio,
harmony, timing,
opportunity, sense of
limit)

6. Cortezia
A lifestyle and a moral
elegance, politeness of
conduct and spirit based on
generosity, loyalty,
hospitality, discretion,
which manifests itself in
kindness, well ordered life,
wisdom, graciousness,
humility, but also by desire
for fame, liberality, refusal
of lies, of envy, of
cowardice.

7. Cortesia as,
SOCIAL NORM - rules about
social roles and relationships
among them, code of social
conduct, “instruction” about
the tribute to provide to
individuals
RESPECT FOR PEOPLE –
how one can be kind, warm,
welcoming in an actual
context with actual people
COMMUNICATION CODE -
politeness, etiquette,
pragmatic code, in essence
linguistic

8. Why older people are to be treated by “cortesia”?
BECAUSE THEY ARE HUMANS
– cortesia is the essential quality
that should rule all human
relations, quite independently
from any further distinction –
also enemies should be always
treated with cortesia (which is
not love)
BECAUSE THEY ARE FRAIL –
the more someone is weak the
more one should be protected by
cortesia rules. Cortesia aims to
prevent harm, offenses. The
more one is easy to be harmed,
the more she should be treated
with cortesia

9. “Cortesi” Technologies (cortesia by design)
1. Technology is not just
the devise or the
system, technology is
the devise + its
operational procedures.
One can understand
the social impact of a
given technology only
to the extent one
understand technology
and operational
procedures as a whole

10. “Cortesi” Technologies (cortesia by design)
1. Technology is not just
the devise or the
system, technology is
the devise + its
operational procedures.
One can understand
the social impact of a
given technology only
to the extent one
understand technology
and operational
procedures as a whole

11. “Cortesi” Technologies (cortesia by design)
2. Technology should be
harmonic, and should
imply harmonic
operational procedures.
Ugly objects which
oblige to bad manners,
disharmonic, vulgar,
violent, or rude
gestures, are hardly
“cortesi” . Liberal arts
are essential to
technologists.

12. “Cortesi” Technologies (cortesia by design)
3. Technology should be
welcoming, one should
never feel himself
stupid, ridiculous,
unable, handicapped
because of a technology

13. “Cortesi” Technologies (cortesia by design)
4. Technology should be
respect social roles,
paying the right tribute to
each one. Yet the more
the expected user is weak,
the more a given
technology should
deserve her careful
attention, like a “cortese”
house owner who
deserves most attention
to the most humble guest.
Vulgar people deserve
their attention only to the
king and despise the poor.

14. “Cortesi” Technologies (cortesia by design)
5. Technology is cortese as
far as respect intimacy,
confidentiality, social,
personal, and physical
distances and
boundaries. It is
cortese as far as it does
not betray trust

15. Conclusions