Friday April 17 2009 / Arts & Philosophy
Night of Philosophy - Reconciliation
Chimpanzees kiss each other and macaque monkeys reconcile by embracing each other. Whether a struggle for power among ambitious male monkeys, a broken marriage or copying with a crime is at stake, after a radical conflict everybody searches for a way for life to continue. Even in a society which is broken by war or repression, reconciliation is an important task: can offenders and victims still feel at home in the same society?
Reconciliation is the theme of the Month of Philosophy 2009. During the month of April, writers, philosophers and other thinkers will participate in debates and interviews about a wide variety of subjects such as the unforgivable evil, dealing with the colonial past, the ingredients for a successful post-marriage life, and reconciliation with illness and transience.
The Night will be opened by Job Cohen, Mayor of Amsterdam. Avishai Margalit (George F. Kennan Professor of Philosophy at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey) will give a lecture on his latest work. In an interview with Bas Heijne he will give his philosophical views on the conflict in the Middle East. Bas Haring (writer of the Essay for the Month of Philosophy), Hans Achterhuis (Dutch emeritus Professor of Philosophy), Marli Huijer, Rein Gerritsen, Djoeke Veeninga, Bruce Hood and Maarten van Buuren will be interviewed. Tariq Ramadan will speak about reconciliation between European identity and Islam and Paul van Tongeren about forgiving as a moral virtue. Willem Schinkel and Jaffe Vink will explore the paradoxes of the Dutch integration debate. Afshin Ellian, Lucas Hüsgens and Mariwan Kanie will discuss the role of offenders in peace and reconciliation processes. Sunny Bergman, Jenny Slatman and Hans Kennepohl will debate reconciliation with the imperfect body. Coen Simon and Ruut Veenhoven will discuss the how happiness in life can be achieved, and Frank Ankersmit and Gabriel van den Brink will discuss social tension and fraternization in times of crisis. Maarten and Frank Meester will reconcile public and less public enemies.
The programme also includes: Stand-up philosophy; lectures by Rob Wijnberg (columnist and philosopher), Krijn Peter Hesselink and Bas Belleman; the award ceremony of the Socrates Challenge Cup; a workshop on reconciliation with Jan Flameling, Café Philo with Miriam van Reijen; and a school debate.
The Month of the Philosophy is an initiative of the Month of the Philosophy Foundation, a cooperation of BGN (a Dutch chain of bookshops) and Libris, Felix Meritis, Filosofie Magazine, the International School for Philosophy, Lemniscaat Publishers and Tilburg University.
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