Four great Oldenburg Protestants who have left their mark beyond their time are the focus of a new lecture series organised by the Institute of Philosophy.
We are talking about the psychiatrist and philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883-1969), the New Testament theologian Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976), the writer and publisher Peter Suhrkamp (1881-1959) and the literary scholar and librarian Paul Raabe (1927-2013). The "Protestant Profiles" series kicks off with the lecture "The intellectual situation of modernity" on Tuesday, 19 April at 7.30 pm in St. Lambert's Church (Markt 17). The Oldenburg philosopher Prof Dr Matthias Bormuth will speak on the Protestant principle in Karl Jaspers.
How did his Protestant background become an important condition for his academic appointments and impact? The series approaches these influential Oldenburgers and their work not only in lectures, but also in text collages - supported by actors from the State Theatre.
The phenomenon of secularisation will also be examined more generally as part of the 16 events: How have originally religious perspectives been transformed into horizons of modern thought? The speakers will explore this question along the paths of thought of Friedrich Nietzsche and Jürgen Habermas, who decisively developed and outlined this perspective for modernity in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The "Protestant Profiles" series is a co-operation project between the Institute of Philosophy at the University of Oldenburg, the Karl Jaspers Society, the Academy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg, the Evangelical City Church Work and the Oldenburg State Library.