| الوصف: |
„The debate of the century“ was a name given to a debate held in 2019 between Slavoy Žižek, a prominent Marxist philosopher, and Jordan Peterson, a prominent psychologist. The official title of the debate was „Happiness: Capitalism vs. Marxism“. The debate was held in a theatrical hall and all three thousand tickets for it sold out. The demand was so high, that the organizers enabled a paid livestream. In total, the debate was attended by around 10 000 people, and it was later viewed by millions, who expected an answer to the question „what is happiness?“. The reactions to the outcome of the debate were not favorable and many people felt disapppointed – they came for a tour de force, a show, a debate of the century, but instead witnessed to a dialogue of tolerant difference of opinion ; just what is expected of an academic dialogue. This event is extremely indicative to the spiritual situation of our age in several aspects. The debate had a marketing strategy, it was being sold under an impressive name, it promised a recipe for hapiness, it was digitally communicated to every corner of the world, and it promised a clash between a liberal and a conservative. What is probably the most problematic is the fact that the audience considered philosophy and human sciences as a quid pro quo relationship in which the recipe for happiness is exchanged for money – knowledge becomes a commodity, philosophy and humanities become a tool for a specific purpose. In this regard, the aforementioned debate and its implications are indicative not only for the spiritual situation of contemporary philosophy, but also the Western culture. |
