Freedom and Community
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| free admission |
| Duration: 120 min |
| German |
| Ground Floor, Hall 3 |
| Part of: Lecture series Family Matters |
Unleashed individual freedom, devoid of community ties, develops destructive tendencies. Mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, loneliness, narcissistic disorders, and a sense of emptiness represent the pathology of boundless individual freedom. This lecture offers a critical exploration of the relationship between freedom and community.
Participants
Byung-Chul Han
Prof. Dr. Daniel Tyradellis (Humboldt University of Berlin)
Dr. Alia Rayyan (Humboldt University of Berlin)
Dr. Laura Goldenbaum (Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss)
Byung-Chul Han is a South Korean-German philosopher, cultural theorist and author. He is regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of our time and offers a critical analysis of the effects of neoliberalism, digitalisation and the meritocracy on the modern individual. Han studied philosophy, literature and theology in Germany and was awarded his doctorate in Freiburg in 1994. Having held professorships at the University of Basel, the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design and the Berlin University of the Arts, he now lives in Berlin.
Recent publications (selection):
The Disappearance of Rituals: A Topology of the Present (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2020)
Capitalism and the Death Drive (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2021)
The Palliative Society: Pain Today (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2021)
Hyperculture: Culture and Globalisation (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2022)
Infocracy: Digitization and the Crisis of Democracy (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2022)
Non-things: Upheaval in the Lifeworld (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2022)
Absence: On the Culture and Philosophy of the Far East (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2023)
Vita contemplativa: In praise of inactivity (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2023)
The Crisis of Narration (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2024)
“The Spirit of Hope” (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2024)
In Praise of the Earth: A Journey into the Garden (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2025)
The lecture series is being held as part of a collaboration between all institutions of the Humboldt Forum.
Head Curator for the Programme year: Dr. Laura Goldenbaum
