PHILOSOPHY: We would like to believe that things are connected, that our theories about the world can be reconciled, that mess and confusion are something we can overcome. In Seeing Double, the philosopher Raymond Geuss argues that it is a philosophical prejudice.
NUCLEAR BOMBS:Günther Anders was concerned that man's highest science had constructed an instrument for its own destruction. In this book, Hannah Winther actualizes him by drawing in Christopher Nolan's Oscar-winning Oppenheimer film that just plays on the old Prometheus myth.
MIGRATION: What experiences can be connected with the theory of 'the Other' when visiting a migrant island like Lampedusa? Perhaps some philosophers can show the way. Unless the migrants are the best guides.
SHAME: The Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg has noble motives for her outbursts against the establishment, but she is also part of a modern trend where shame and shaming have become part of everyday politics and the often dystopian debate on social media. This book takes a closer look at shame.
iDEOLOGY: By agreeing on a suitable 'enemy', a disintegrated society finds coherence, energy and meaning. A totalitarian propaganda has led to the conclusion that Ukraine will now be allowed to use F-16 jets against the nuclear power Russia – with the major consequences this may entail.
Social Media: While the public is a place where free individuals have the right, and perhaps also the duty, to participate in a free exchange of opinions, the social is more about herd and control. Are we now faced with a social control that does not invite disagreement and diversity, but only obedience or exclusion? The rise of the social can threaten both freedom and individuality. MODERN TIMES prints here an extract from Einar Øverenget's new book, Intoleransens intog.
KATE stanza: We humans have lost control of the development we have initiated. The catastrophe is a warning that comes too late, and the elites make themselves unresponsive to the danger signals. Can we avoid panicky escape from the common problems?