Look into the Soul – Rüdiger Safranski on the state of Europe

N.B. We previously reviewed Safranski's biography Goethe and prepublished an excerpt from the translation. We also reviewed his Goethe und Schiller.

What’s going wrong in Europe? Can the European ideal still succeed? The European character has never quite been analysed with the same care and vigour as shown by the infamous German philosopher and writer Rüdiger Safranski. Even though Safranski’s work is full of the beauty and knowledge that European culture has to offer—Safranski has written acclaimed biographies on philosophers such as Nietzsche, Schiller and Goethe—he is still concerned as to the current state of Europe. During the forum, Safranski will discuss the very soul of Europe as defined today, with the future of Europe in uncertainty. Is the great cultural variety of Europe a burden or a blessing? Should European countries put their national consciousness aside to give Europe a fighting chance? And what is German’s current position in Europe, considering their initially optimistic role of leadership is being put to the test? Rüdiger Safranski shares his philosophical view on culture, identity, and the current state of Europe.

Rüdiger 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 earlier this year, after the publication of an article where Rüdiger Safranski and philosopher Peter Sloterdijk turned a critical eye on the policies of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Maria Vlaar will moderate this programme.