Philosopher and cultural scientist
Peter Sloterdijk, born in 1947, is one of the most renowned philosophers and essayists in the German language. From 1992 to 2016 he was Professsor of Philosophy and Aesthetics at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design, of which he was also rector from 2001 to 2015. He co-hosted the television programme Das Philosophische Quartett (‘The Philosophical Quartet’) on ZDF along with Rüdiger Safranski from 2002 to 2012. His most recent publications include: "What Happened in the Twentieth Century?" (2018), "After God" (2020), "Infinite Mobilization" (2020), "Prometheus’s Remorse. From the Gift of Fire to Global Arson" (2024), "Out of the World. Cultural Memory in the Present" (2024), "Der Kontinent ohne Eigenschaften. Lesezeichen im Buch Europa" ("The Continent Without Qualities. Bookmarks in the Book of Europe", 2024) and "Der Fürst und seine Nachfolger" ("The Prince and His Successors", 2026).
Peter Sloterdijk received numerous awards, including the Ludwig-Börne-Preis (2013), the Helmuth Plessner Award 2017 and the European Prize for Political Culture (Hans Ringier Foundation). In 2024, he was a guest lecturer at the Collège de France in Paris with a highly acclaimed series of lectures on the topic of "Le continent sans qualités : des marque-pages dans le livre de l’Europe".
Photo: © Thomas Oberniedermayr
Thursday, 07. May 2026, 18:30 – 20:00 h
At the University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 71, 8006 Zurich, KOL-G-201 (Aula)
As a new format, SIAF is adding a series of panel discussions to its programme. With these “Meditations on Europe”, we want to explore new perspectives on our continent. To kick things off, we welcome an prominent group of guests from the fields of philosophy, cultural studies, literary studies, politics and history.
Thursday, 19. April 2018, 18:30 – 20:00 h
At the University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 71, 8006 Zurich, KOL-G-201 (Aula)
Pressure on the liberal democratic model arises from instances of authoritarian capitalism or from theatrics and egotism in parties – in addition to fundamental structural issues including a preference for the rule of the few rather than the many, the treasury over civil society, rule at times by means of fear and intimidation, and mobilisation using populist methods We have to pull away the masks that disguise the prevailing circumstances as democracy if we are to truly understood what democracy could be beyond oligocracy, fiscocracy, mobocracy and phobocracy: A well-meaning battle, free from fear, to optimise the means used in the pursuit of the common good.