Date:
Location:
Register for In Person Attendance
Register for Virtual Attendance
Drawing on her recent book Left is not Woke, Neiman argues that what’s currently understood as the liberal left is fuelled by traditionally liberal emotions, but is undermined by a range of very reactionary ideas. This has not only created great conceptual confusion, but also hampered the liberal left from effectively opposing far-right radicalism. The problem is not confined to the U.S., but has swept the globe in the past few years. Neiman will discuss both the theoretical and historical background to these threatening developments, and offer a set of principles around which all progressives can unite.
Susan Neiman, who lives in Berlin, is Director of the Einstein Forum. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Neiman studied philosophy at Harvard, completing her Ph.D. under John Rawls and Stanley Cavell. She also studied at the Freie Universität Berlin, and was professor of philosophy at Yale and Tel Aviv University. Her books, translated into many languages, include Slow Fire: Jewish Notes from Berlin, The Unity of Reason: Rereading Kant, Evil in Modern Thought, Fremde sehen anders, Moral Clarity: A Guide for Grown-up Idealists, Why Grow Up?, Widerstand der Vernunft. Ein Manifest in postfaktischen Zeiten, Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil, and Left is not Woke. She has also published over one hundred essays in many newspapers, magazines and journals. She is a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.
About the Lecture
The Annual Lester Kissel Lecture in Ethics is named for the late Lester Kissel, a graduate of Harvard Law School and longtime benefactor of Harvard University's ethics programs and activities.
Harvard University welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. The Zoom livestream of this event will have live closed captioning. If you would like to request other accommodations or have questions about those provided, please respond to this email in advance of the event. Please note that the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics will make every effort to secure services, but that these are subject to availability.