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Kant’s Moral “I Ought To” and Freud’s Superego
There are surprising similarities between Immanuel Kant’s account of the structure of mental life expressed by our use of “I” in the moral imperative “I ought to,” and the structure of mental life Sigmund Freud called “ego” and “superego” (“Ich”, “Überich”). This presentation will explore similarities on three main points: the conflict of motivations internal to the mind; the relation between discursive and pre-discursive representations of moral motivation; and the unconscious character of moral motivation. Béatrice Longuenesse suggests that attending to the similarities and tensions between Kant’s and Freud’s views might contribute to a better understanding of the relations between first person (“I assign myself this rule,” “I’m going to do this”) and third person (“this is happening to me”) descriptions of our thoughts and actions.
Heritage, Value, and Vulnerability
The debate on heritage has become intimately linked both to cultural practices and objects, which are often valued far beyond their originating culture – such as the bust of Nefertiti in Berlin. In his lecture, Derek Gillman, executive director and president of the world-renowned Barnes Foundation, in Philadelphia, will review the evolution of the modern concept of cultural heritage, which was stimulated, he argues, by the French Revolution. Gillman will address aspects of the conflict between the particular and the universal, or the national and the cosmopolitan, concluding with thoughts about Samuel Scheffler’s association of value and vulnerability.
Curtis Institute of Music Evening Concert
During their sixth Berlin tour, students and faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music perform a chamber music program, including works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Robert Schumann, and Anton Webern. The ensemble features Roberto Díaz (Curtis President and Violist), the Dover Quartet (formed at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2008), and Alexander Ullman (Pianist). Generously supported by Nina Freifrau von Maltzahn.
Curtis Institute of Music Lunchtime Concert
Students and faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music perform a chamber music program, including works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Robert Schumann, in the foyer of the Berliner Philharmonie (Herbert-von-Karajan-Str. 1, 10785 Berlin). Generously supported by Nina Freifrau von Maltzahn.
International Law and Smart Power
Many have asked whether there is an identifiable Obama Doctrine – a set of unifying principles in President Obama’s foreign policy -- and whether Hillary Rodham Clinton left behind a distinctive legacy as Secretary of State. Harold Hongju Koh, who just returned to Yale Law School after more than three years as Legal Adviser to the U.S. State Department, argues that the answer to both questions is Yes: The Obama-Clinton Doctrine of International Law as Smart Power. In his lecture, Professor Koh reviews the major US foreign policy challenges of the last four years and previews those of the next four, detailing why a smart power strategy is both necessary and prudent to maintain US foreign policy leadership based on values of democracy, liberty, and plurality.
Drohnen: Die neuen Waffen und das Kriegs- und Völkerrecht
Der Einsatz von Drohnen steht seit geraumer Zeit im Fokus politischer Debatten. Neben der massiven Ausweitung des US-Militärs von Drohnenangriffen diskutiert auch die deutsche Regierung über die Ausrüstung der Bundeswehr mit bewaffneten Drohnen. Völkerrechtlich ist der Einsatz von unbemannten Flugkörpern mit Raketen jedoch höchst umstritten. Vor dem Hintergrund geltender Rechtsnormen für bewaffnete Konflikte wird Antje Vollmer, Autorin und ehemalige Vizepräsidentin des Deutschen Bundestages, über völker- und kriegsrechtliche Aspekte von Drohnenangriffen sprechen. Auf welchem legalen Fundament basiert der Einsatz von Kampfdrohnen? Inwiefern ist die Entwicklung von Drohnen als Instrument der Aufklärung hin zum Einsatz als Präzisionswaffe völkerrechtlich problematisch? Neben der Kontroverse über die Rechtmäßigkeit gezielter Tötungen in Kampfgebieten wird sich Antje Vollmer mit politisch-moralischen Fragen zur Veränderung der Hemmschwelle in der Kriegsführung auseinandersetzen, die der Trend zur automatisierten Kriegsführung mit sich bringt.
Antje Vollmer ist Politikerin, Publizistin und promovierte Theologin. Sie war Abgeordnete der Bundestagsfraktion Bündnis 90/Die Grünen und drei Jahre deren Vorsitzende. Neben ihrer Tätigkeit als kulturpolitische Sprecherin der Fraktion amtierte sie von 1994 bis 2005 als Vizepräsidentin des Deutschen Bundestages. Sie war zudem viele Jahre als Publizistin tätig und arbeitet seit ihrem Ausscheiden aus dem Deutschen Bundestag als freie Autorin. Neben einer Vielzahl von Artikeln und Beiträgen für Printmedien wie die Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, den Spiegel und die Süddeutsche Zeitung verfasste Vollmer mehrere Bücher, darunter Doppelleben: Heinrich und Gottliebe von Lehndorff im Widerstand gegen Hitler und von Ribbentrop (btb, 2012) und Stauffenbergs Gefährten: Das Schicksal der unbekannten Verschwörer (zusammen mit Lars-Broder Keil, Carl Hanser, 2013). Antje Vollmer erhielt zahlreiche Preise und Auszeichnungen, unter anderem den Hannah-Arendt-Preis, das große Verdienstkreuz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und den CICERO-Renderpreis.
Degeneration of the West? The Crisis of the Atlantic World in Historical Perspective
The decline of the West is something that has long been prophesied. Niall Ferguson, a professor of history at Harvard University, the inaugural Marcus Bierich Distinguished Visitor, and an American Academy trustee, argues that symptoms of decline are all around: slowing economic growth, crushing debts, aging populations, anti-social behavior. What exactly is amiss with Western civilization? The answer, Ferguson argues, is that our institutions -- the intricate frameworks within which a society can flourish or fail -- are degenerating. Representative government, the free market, the rule of law, and civil society were once the four pillars of West European and North American societies. And to arrest the degeneration of the West's once dominant civilization, Ferguson warns, will take heroic leadership and radical reform.
REGISTRATION CLOSED
In Celebration of the Life of Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist (1922 - 2013)
The life of Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist (* July 10, 1922; † March 8, 2013) was marked by extraordinary courage, independence of thought, and judgement. In 1944, as a 22-year-old Wehrmacht lieutenant in Infantry Regiment 9, he twice volunteered to risk his life in the assassination of Adolf Hitler. The first attempt never materialized, but the young officer went on to assume an important role in the well-known plot of July 20, 1944 — and would become the last surviving activist in the circle around Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.
After the war, Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist founded a publishing house devoted to public education on security issues and transatlantic relations. In 1952, he established the independent Defense Affairs Association, known as the Society for Military Studies, and, in 1954, the European Military Studies magazine.
In 1962, von Kleist founded the Wehrkundetagung (today the Munich Security Conference), which aimed to address security concerns between the United States and Europe. The conference flourished under his leadership (1962–1998), and developed into the preeminent independent forum for dialogue on global security policy and nato concerns worldwide.
The Trustees of the American Academy in Berlin were honored when Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist accepted the Henry A. Kissinger Prize last fall, and profoundly saddened when he passed away at his home in Munich, on March 8, 2013, at the age of 90. The 2013 Henry A. Kissinger Prize will be bestowed posthumously in recognition of his exemplary moral leadership and lifelong dedication to fostering critical and candid dialogue on vital security issues, as well as to strengthening the transatlantic relationship.
Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist’s daughter, Comtesse Vera de Lesseps, will accept the prize on his behalf. Laudations by Senator John McCain of Arizona and German Minister of Defense Thomas de Maizière.
INVITATION ONLY