SALON LUITPOLD | Denk Theater | Individualität / Individualismus

In the organizer's words:

Individuality / Individualism

Theater of thought: art, religion and science for a cultural change

Humans are social beings, we are born from a couple relationship into family relationships. Humans need years of nurturing from others in order to reach maturity, both biologically and culturally. Every Robinson needs his Friday.

But at the same time, we develop as individuals. Everyone lives their own unmistakably unique life, and everyone dies their own death. No two faces are the same. We are proud of our own achievements and we all want to be something special. Even small children develop a defiance of their parents' care. "Do it yourself" is the motto without which we cannot mature into personalities.

Eastern societies such as China and Japan are considered collectivist. Is that true?

Do we really live such individualistic lives? Everyday tastes are standardized, everyone wears jeans and eats pizza or kebabs. Television entertainment follows the same pattern, original films are only shown for a short time in a few art house cinemas. Diversity of opinion is being curtailed, tolerance of difference is being shouted down. Especially recently. But the reverse is also true: in seemingly collectivist societies, resistance is stirring, sometimes timidly, then suddenly like a torrent that is let loose.

So what is the human being? Is there a balance between originality and adaptation, between shaping our own lives and aligning ourselves with common values that we need in order to survive?

Artistic performance directed by Paula Schlagbauer
Lecture with Prof. Dr. Frank Schweitzer, ETH Zurich
Concept, moderation: Prof. Dr. Michael von Brück, religious scholar at LMU Munich, Zen and yoga teacher

Series of events sponsored by the Udo Keller Foundation with Prof. Dr. Michael von Brück in cooperation with the Klenze-Gymnasium.