Rationality: What it is, why it seems scarce, why it matters
Nov
07
06:00 PM - 07:15 PM
Livestream
Press
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''Progressives hate progress'' Schweizer Monat Studio interview with Steven Pinker on 17.11.2023 watch
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«Eigentlich leben wir immer in harten und schwierigen Zeiten» NZZaS Interview mit Steven Pinker vom 28.10.2023 lesen
Studio Schweizer Monat
Gallery
Program
| 18.00 |
Introduction Prof. Ernst Fehr (UBS Center) |
|
Keynote Prof. Steven Pinker (Harvard) |
|
| 19.15 |
End of event |
| 18.00 |
Introduction Prof. Ernst Fehr (UBS Center) |
|
Keynote Prof. Steven Pinker (Harvard) |
|
| 19.15 |
End of event |
Event series
Democracies around the globe are increasingly under threat. In many countries, populists are gaining ground, polarization is increasing, and voters often fail to vote. Public intellectuals are debating the prospects for post-democratic politics. At the same time, authoritarian regimes are seeing a resurgence. What is driving these trends? And what can be done to reverse them? This was the main topic of our series, which consisted of three events, beginning with a lecture by Wolfgang Schäuble (in German), who provided a political-historical framework of the topic, followed by a talk by experimental psychologist Steven Pinker, who discussed the role of rationality for democratic societies. We concluded with our annual Forum for Economic Dialogue, where experts from various fields discussed the topic from both a political and an economic perspective.
Democracies around the globe are increasingly under threat. In many countries, populists are gaining ground, polarization is increasing, and voters often fail to vote. Public intellectuals are debating the prospects for post-democratic politics. At the same time, authoritarian regimes are seeing a resurgence. What is driving these trends? And what can be done to reverse them? This was the main topic of our series, which consisted of three events, beginning with a lecture by Wolfgang Schäuble (in German), who provided a political-historical framework of the topic, followed by a talk by experimental psychologist Steven Pinker, who discussed the role of rationality for democratic societies. We concluded with our annual Forum for Economic Dialogue, where experts from various fields discussed the topic from both a political and an economic perspective.
Image: Alex Azabache via Unsplash
Speaker
Steven Pinker is a Johnstone Family Professor at the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. He conducts research on language and cognition and writes for publications such as the New York Times, Time, and The Atlantic. He is the author of ten books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, The Stuff of Thought, The Better Angels of Our Nature, The Sense of Style, and most recently, Enlightenment Now - The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress. He is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Humanist of the Year, a recipient of nine honorary doctorates, and one of Foreign Policy’s “World’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals” and Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World Today”.
Steven Pinker is a Johnstone Family Professor at the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. He conducts research on language and cognition and writes for publications such as the New York Times, Time, and The Atlantic. He is the author of ten books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, The Stuff of Thought, The Better Angels of Our Nature, The Sense of Style, and most recently, Enlightenment Now - The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress. He is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Humanist of the Year, a recipient of nine honorary doctorates, and one of Foreign Policy’s “World’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals” and Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World Today”.
Venue
Universität Zürich
KOH-B-10, Rämistrasse 71, 8006 Zürich
(Google Maps)