The European University for Well-Being (EUniWell)

Speaker:
tba

An Interdisciplinary Workshop on Humanity’s Nature and Value

About the workshop:

Humanity has long grappled with fundamental questions concerning its own nature and value. What characterizes human beings? Are there any human characteristics that remain consistent throughout history? If so, what are they? If not, how do current human beings differ from their ancestors and descendants? Can we know what the human being is before it has completed its historical development? What will the human being become? Can technology and societal developments change what it means to be human, and perhaps radically transform its own nature? In contemporary times, these questions have gained urgency and relevance due to technological developments in artificial intelligence and human enhancement, as well as findings in various disciplines regarding the sophisticated cognitive and emotional capacities of non-human animals. In this workshop, we aim to leverage the disciplinary diversity of the Zukunftskolleg (ZUKO) and the Martin Buber Society of Fellows in the Humanities and Social Sciences (MBSF) to address the complexity of human nature and value. Invited experts will introduce central themes of novel research and questions on this topic across disciplines. Participants will form interdisciplinary groups to collaboratively tackle specific questions concerning the nature and value of humankind.