Construction of the Elbe Philharmonic is underway, with its opening planned for autumn, 2011. Hamburg?s creative artists are not alone in seeing a new landmark for their city in this spectacular concert hall....
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Did the Prophet Mohammed only become a power-conscious religious politician in Medina, where he emigrated from Mecca in 622? Author of a new Mohammed biography, Tilman Nagel has found much to indicate the absence of any genuine break in the evolution of this religious founder.
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The global power of capital has no need for military force. And it is nigh on boundless. Sociologist Ulrich Beck presents seven theses for a better world.
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The Parisian social sciences institutes are being turfed out of their ancestral homes in the city's most desirable arrondissements and relocated to Aubervilliers. A bitter pill, but also a chance to turn theory into practice. By Wolf Lepenies
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Ernst Tugendhat, philosopher and critic of German pseudo-profundity, talks to Ulrike Herrmann about the fear of death, Heidegger, anti-Semitism and unfounded speculations in brain research.
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The American thinker Richard Rorty passed away on Friday at his home in California. German philosopher Jürgen Habermas tells what makes Rorty unique among intellectuals, and what binds Rorty, orchids, and justice on earth.
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Freud once said that "dreams are the guardians of sleep." Andre Glucksmann has spent his life trying to fight them. At almost 70, he's as alert, distrusting and belligerent as ever. David Signer talks with the French philosopher about his new autobiography "Une rage d'enfant," and his life spent trying to find productive expression for his rage.
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Human reason is weighed down by questions it can neither reject nor answer beyond the shadow of a doubt. The existence of God is one such question, pitting spiritual needs against intellectual honesty. By Ernst Tugendhat
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Were it not for Sigmund Freud, the couch would be a normal piece of
furniture. But what's normal anyway? 150 years after his birth, the man who
discovered the unconscious has been re-discovered, or maybe buried for
good. By Daniel Binswanger
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Religion is en vogue today, while the Enlightenment suffers from a major shortcoming: it has a stock of efficient ideas, but no impressive images. In a word, it is not television-compatible. Yet the enlightened world we live in is one where even those opposed to it would like to live. By Heinz Schlaffer
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Father Pedro Barrajon conducts courses in Rome for exorcists in
training. Here he talks about the power of the devil, pure spirits and
the position of the Pope. An interview with Paul Badde.
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On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Hannah Arendt's death, Daniel Cohn-Bendit recalls his relationship with the great philosopher and reflects on her and on his generation.
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Joachim Radkau has written a monumental biography of Max Weber, the father of sociology. Relying heavily on private letters, he draws close parallels between Weber's intellectual and erotic life - which was at first unfulfilled and then both uninhibitied and extra-marital. All very interesting, but does it help us understand Weber's work? By Robert Leicht
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The time of the master thinkers is over. Or so they say. Italian
philosopher Giorgio Agamben is a beacon for an entire generation of
young intellectuals across Europe. Every epoch
gets the fashion philosophy it deserves. By Daniel Binswanger
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"Humankind will prevail because, in spite of the accidents of history,
the novel tells us that art restores the life in us that was
disregarded by the haste of history." Carlos Fuentes'
opening speech at the Fifth International Literature Festival Berlin pays tribute to Don Quixote and literature as a whole.
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Germany's national poet and dramatist, Friedrich Schiller, died 200 years ago today. Since then he has been adulated by generations of Germans. Both the Nazis and the East German communist regime celebrated him as one of their own. But what relevance does Schiller have today? By George Steiner
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