Professor David Peimer
The End of the Past: Is the Enlightenment a Mirage?
Summary
Professor David Peimer embarks on a nuanced discussion of the Enlightenment, both historically and in the present day and questions how its perception has shifted overtime. Part 1 of 2.
Professor David Peimer
David Peimer is a Professor of Literature, Film and Theatre in the UK. He has worked for the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, New York University (Global Division) and was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University. Born in South Africa, David has won numerous awards for playwriting and directing in New York, UK, Berlin, EU Parliament (Brussels), Athens, Budapest, Zululand and more. He has most recently directed Dame Janet Suzman in his own play, Joanna’s Story, at London Jewish Book Week. He has published widely with books including: Armed Response: Plays from South Africa, the digital book, Theatre in the Camps. He is on the board of the Pinter Centre (London), and has been involved with the Mandela Foundation, Vaclav Havel Foundation and directed a range of plays at Mr Havel’s Prague theatre.
Well, if I had that answer, I’d have millions of bucks and I’d be living in a beach in Hawaii, I think, I don’t know, it could be human nature, it could be society. But the thing is that these ideas are certainly worth fighting for, thank you.
I don’t think it’s only the media. I think that they are what was the radio in the time of, you know in the 1930s which Goebbels used and manipulated. I don’t think it’s only the media because the media’s also about freedom of thought, freedom of expression, which the radio was and far more people have access cause it’s cheap, you can certain you can discuss ideas, et cetera through the radio and the same with the media today, social media. But that’s always a blessing and a curse with everything. There’s always the dark side, what Adorno called, you know, Freud’s understood the dark side of the enlightenment.
The definition of something appears real or possible, but not so in fact, enlightenment was real. It is indeed under erosion. Yeah, I mean I’m using these words because I’m part of literature and theatre, so I’m using slightly poetic words as well. But I think for me erosion is less. But I do believe that these things are being eroded to a degree. And you know, there’s a call to be pretty vigilant.