Felwine Sarr, humanist, philosopher, economist and the Anne-Marie Bryan Chair in French and Francophone Studies at Duke University, gave the Institute’s opening lecture of the academic year on 22 September 2021.
In his lecture entitled “A Rise in Humanity”, Mr Sarr explained how societies need to take ownership of their present and future, and proposed paths to reengage at a collective level in order to fill them with meaning. He stated that "to take care and to repair the living is necessary for us because through this gesture, we repair and preserve ourselves".
According to Mr Sarr, rising in humanity first requires facing the present and its challenges by acknowledging “the multiplicity of collective ways of being and of societal forms of life, the plurality of histories as well as the possibility of several worlds, within the world”.
As part of the Yves Oltramare Chair Religion and Politics in the Contemporary World, Felwine Sarr shared his thoughts on how to rethink the economy in an interview with Benjamin Gaillard-Garrido, Research Assistant in International History at the University of Lausanne, and Thomas Gmür, PhD candidate in International Relations/Political Science at the Graduate Institute, Geneva.