The tradition of Enlightenment provides us with the best and most enduring basis on which to face up to the existential uncertainties of life today.
However, in a society that is becoming increasingly diverse, Enlightenment will have to be looked at in a different light. Not as a set of values which are forever set in stone, nor as a legacy.
Enlightenment must be viewed as a way in which we choose to live our lives; but also as an open project, in which everyone can participate and which we can all help shape.
Caroline Pauwels has been rector of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel since 2016. Until her election as rector, she was the director of SMIT, a research centre specialising in the study of information and communication technologies. She has a PhD in communication sciences and a Master’s in philosophy.
Enlightenment, an art of living has been published to coincide with the 2018 Karel Poma lecture.
The lecture was given by Caroline Pauwels on 11 September 2018 in Elzenveld Hotel & Seminarie, Antwerp.
A publication by the Humanistisch Verbond and the organising associations, in cooperation with Uitgeverij ASP/VUBPRESS.
