And it appears that he means philosophy in the broadest sense of the term and not necessarily an academic discipline.
Michael Steinberger, How the ‘Homeless Billionaire’ Became a Philosopher King, The NYTimes, April 6, 2022.
He made his fortune, low single-digit billions, in private equity and now
wants to “empower ideas,” with an emphasis on “courageous or creative thinking.” Tobias Rees, a German American philosopher whose work has been supported by the Berggruen Institute, suggests that Berggruen might best be thought of as a kind of latter-day Medici. He is, Rees says, a wealthy patron trying to stimulate a “philosophical and artistic renaissance or spring for our times.”
He's established a prize:
Berggruen told me the purpose of his prize is to fill a void left by the Nobel Prizes, which include the Peace Prize as well as honors for literature, medicine, chemistry and physics but not philosophy. (Several philosophers, however, have been awarded the Nobel for literature, including Bertrand Russell, Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre, who turned it down.) Berggruen said his prize is “a signal that philosophy is equally important,” a point underscored by the $1 million given to the winner, approximately the same amount awarded to Nobel recipients. But Damasio, a dapper, soft-spoken scholar originally from Portugal, said that money couldn’t buy prestige and acceptance. Instead, the power of the ideas they celebrate is what gives intellectual prizes their currency.
The Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture, which debuted in 2016, has honored some prominent contemporary philosophers — Peter Singer, Martha Nussbaum, Charles Taylor. But the “culture” part hints at a broader mandate, and the jury seems to have an ecumenical conception of philosophy. The 2020 winner was Dr. Paul Farmer, the medical anthropologist, humanitarian and author renowned for his work in impoverished communities. (Farmer died in February.) The 2019 recipient was the Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Damasio told me that while Ginsburg wasn’t a philosopher, her work revolved around ideas and applying them in the real world. “There’s a lot of commonality,” he said. The aim of the prize, he added, was to honor philosophy in “a broad sense, not the narrow, continental sense,” and to celebrate “love of knowledge, critical knowledge.”
Note that
Perhaps surprisingly, Berggruen is not a member of the Berggruen Prize jury. “I actually don’t think I’m qualified,” he said over lunch. He wanted the Berggruen to be recognized as a “proper prize” with independent judges.
He's established a think tank, The Berggruen Institute.
But Dawn Nakagawa, the institute’s executive vice president, says its mission has evolved in recent years; the institute is now “a lot more unique and philosophical. The new horizon of our work is really to try to poke our nose into the unknown.” Nakagawa cites something called the Transformations of the Human project, which developed as part of the institute. ToftH, as it is known, was initially conceived by Tobias Rees, who believed that artificial intelligence and biotechnology were redefining what it meant to be human and who wanted to foster conversations among technologists, philosophers and artists about where all of this innovation is taking us as a species. ToftH has facilitated such exchanges at Facebook, Google and other tech companies and also provided assistance on projects.
According to Nakagawa, the emphasis these days is on nurturing revolutionary ideas. “If we develop one idea that actually changes and shifts the way the world thinks, that is success,” she says. “But success may not come until long after we’re dead,” she adds, noting that “this work requires patient capital.” Berggruen, the source of that capital, seems to be very patient.
There's more at the link.
No comments:
Post a Comment