Human dignity affected by environments created through digital tools

Abstract By focusing the discussion on human dignity and built spaces, this article is divided into two parts. In the first one, we present a philosophical analysis of the bases of the method and of digital tools, seeking to show how René Descartes’ metaphysical premises have been transformed into tools that submerge individualities and homogenize urban aesthetics. In the second part, we analyze neuroscientific research related to the human capacity to decide. We conclude that the built environment is an active element in the formation of such capacity. In view of this, the use of digital tools to create architectural spaces, without knowledge of their philosophical foundations and limits, may be contributing to mass society, manipulable and potentially diminished in its dignity.