Private: Look Into the Soul – Rüdiger Safranski on the State of Europe

The European character has never quite been analysed with the same care and vigour as shown by the renowned German philosopher and writer Rüdiger Safranski. Even though Safranski’s work is full of the beauty and knowledge that European culture has to offer, he is nonetheless concerned about the current state of Europe. During the Forum, Safranski will discuss the very soul of Europe as it is defined today, with the future of Europe in uncertainty. Is Europe’s great cultural variety a burden or a blessing? Should European countries put their national consciousness aside to give Europe a fighting chance? And what is Germany’s current position in Europe, considering their initially optimistic leadership is being put to the test?

Rudiger Safranski is a philosopher and writer of a series of internationally acclaimed biographies on Schopenhauer, Heidegger, Nietzsche and Schiller. Next to that he has published works on the philosophy of evil (1997) and globalisation (2003). An intense discussion came about in Germany earlier this year, after philosophers including Rudiger Safranski and philosopher Peter Sloterdijk turned a critical eye on the policies of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Moderator: Maria Vlaar

This programme will be in German, with translation in English.