“We want to put philosophy at the service of society”

The world situation marked by the heartbreaking war conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and the tercentenary of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) have led the organizing committee of The Night of Philosophy to propose as the main theme and title of this eighth edition: The war and the peace. In homage to Kant.

Thus, from five in the afternoon next Friday, April 19, attendees at the Cultural Center of the Catholic University and Vichama Teatro, in Villa El Salvador, will be able to listen to and see nearly a hundred thinkers and artists, who will participate in a series of talks, commented film screenings, performances and theatrical stagings, in which they will seek to reflect on Peruvian and global reality.

We spoke with the philosopher Miguel Giusti, general coordinator of La Noche de la Filosofía, about the scope of this activity and the usefulness of philosophy to understand contemporary issues.

─This edition of The Night of Philosophy will tell us about Kant, but also about war and peace in the world, topics that lead us to reflect on a time of extremes and few consensus.

One of the reasons why Kant is more relevant than ever is because he is the philosopher who has contributed the most to thinking about how peace could be built in the world. His work “Perpetual Peace” is a pioneering work, a reflection on the way in which societies on the planet can end wars and build a peaceful society. Precisely, the name “perpetual peace” is equivalent to saying “lasting peace”, and in what way can lasting peace be achieved? Kant’s thesis in this book is that it can only be achieved if each of the nations manages to establish a government or a form of republican and democratic political association.

─Of the many talks and events, which ones would you put the first focus on?

In reality, I put the first focus on a very special experience of The Night of Philosophy and that is expressed in a phrase by Nietzsche, who said that “philosophy is a festival of thought” and that is this activity in Lima, a festival of thought; although the thought in this case is about issues that cause us concern because war is a concern for everyone… What we want to do is put philosophy at the service of society, take philosophy to the streets, as they say. And this is a party because there are many people who come to both the Cultural Center of the Catholic University and the Vichama Teatro of Villa El Salvador, and I would like to highlight this scenario that has a very active work group and that has been our partner since that The Night of Philosophy exists.

─In what activities would this philosophy at the service of the people be demonstrated?

As I said, the first focus would be the festive atmosphere, the desire of so many people to listen to many conferences, which are simultaneous and also agile. But, then, I would say that there are some specific events that are important: we are going to screen the film “The Zone of Interest”, by Jonathan Glazer, for free (8:30 pm, at the PUCP Cultural Center), and then there will be a promising conversation with Farid Kahhat, Liuba Kogan and Alberto ‘Chicho’ Durant. And at Vichama Teatro there will be a performance (9:00 pm) based on the reading of a fragment of the play “Génesis”, by María Teresa Zúñiga (a work that alludes to the ravages of war).

─As for the talks…

There will be very particular talks, a discussion by the magazine “Pulsión”, with the participation of Ariel Segal, Carlos De la Puente, Juan Carlos Tafur and Viviana de la Jara, and an event organized by the philosopher Victor Krebs and the Hermes group on evil and the demonic; That is, about what are the deep reasons that lead human beings to commit crimes, which is the great problem of war. Krebs will participate there, with Fernando Luque, the theater director, who will stage some passages from Shakespeare that are fundamental to understanding the origin of evil. Then, another philosopher from the Catholic University, Eduardo Villanueva, and Edvard Avilés will present some documentaries about the concept of truth, called “The Canvas of Truth”, which will be projected in the movie theater and will also motivate conversations.