Gemeinsinn – Der sechste, soziale Sinn

In the organizer's words:

Author Aleida Assmann in conversation with Gert Scobel

A resilient democracy does not need an enemy image, but a strong sense of what connects and binds people together. The current debates are characterized by stark alternatives: Do we need universal values or must the idiosyncrasies of different nations and cultures be recognized? Is the alleviation of hardship a matter of civil society involvement or does it reinforce unjust structures that only the state can change? Aleida and Jan Assmann show that such questions are wrong. We need both: universal values and respect for collective identities. And civic engagement is very much capable of changing structures. On the trail of key concepts such as solidarity, fraternity, humanity, charity, empathy and respect and in dealing with different images of humanity and relationship structures, they redefine what public spirit can be.

Aleida Assmann is Professor Emeritus of English and General Literary Studies at the University of Konstanz. She has received numerous awards, including the Karl Jaspers Prize, the Max Planck Research Prize and, together with Jan Assmann, the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. She has been awarded the Cross of Merit 1st Class.

Gert Scobel studied philosophy and theology in Frankfurt am Main and at the University of California in Berkeley. He teaches philosophy and interdisciplinarity at the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences. He has received numerous awards for his program "scobel" on 3sat and his philosophical YouTube channel, including the Grimme Prize.

In cooperation with the Klaus Bittner bookstore.

Price information:

Admission costs 8 euros, concessions 6 euros, 4 euros with a disabled pass.