Which principles, values and guidelines turn a group of individuals into the collective that we call society? Who determines the behavioural tracks that we follow, and to what extent are we bound to them? How do the roles and interaction between the state, religion, the population, and the individual change in the process?
In our trilingual reading group, these and other questions will be the focus of our discussions on law, morality, and society, based on philosophical and literary texts from various epochs and cultures around the world. In our last meeting, we will also reflect on future scenarios for our own and other societies, with special emphasis on the increasing use of information technologies, as well as our personal role in shaping these developments.
Organizers: Cyrill Chevalley, Anna Knörr
Reading list:
– The ideal society vs. social reality
Louis, Édouard: En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule (2014), ISBN 978-3-15-019938-1
Al Farabi, Abu Nasr: Die Prinzipien der Ansichten der Bewohner der vortrefflichen Stadt (ca. 900 n. Chr., Übersetzung 2011), ISBN 978-3-15-018663-3
– Collective and individual rights across cultures
De Bary, Wm. Theodore/Weiming, Tu: Confucianism and Human Rights (in extracts) (1998), ISBN 9780231109376
– Law and morality
Dostojewski, Fjodor: Der Großinquisitor (1879), ISBN 978-3-15-006256-2
Camus, Albert: L’Étranger (1942), ISBN 978-2-07-036002-4
Kafka, Franz: In der Strafkolonie (1919), ISBN 978-3-15-019401-0
– Sociocybernetics – Communication and control in the digital age
Wiener, Norbert: The Human Use of Human Beings (1954), ISBN 978-0306803208
Hoffmann, Samantha: Programming China: The Communist Party’s autonomic approach to managing state security (2017), https://www.merics.org/de/china-monitor/programming-china
Languages: German, French, English
Meeting point: Maximilianeum «Max 12», Leonhardstrasse 12, 8001 Zürich (We are also open to organizing a meeting in another region of Switzerland.)
Duration: autumn semester 2019
Number and duration of the events: 4 sessions, approx. 2 hours each (depending on how the discussion goes)
Participants: Students from various disciplines and linguistic backgrounds are more than welcome. Max. 10 participants
Term of application: 18.08.2019
