Mendelssohn Discourses

Enlightenment: Fake News, Sentimentality, Reason (video recording available, in German)

“Should intruding sentimentality be counteracted by satire or external connection?” asked Moses Mendelssohn in 1785 in the journal Berlinische Monatsschrift. He then concluded: “Fanaticism finds company; wisdom stands alone.” The first evening in the Mendelssohn Discourses series, accompanying the exhibition “We dreamed of nothing but Enlightenment” – Moses Mendelssohn, is dedicated to the dichotomy between reason and sentimentality, fact versus fake news. How did the Enlightenment combat its opponents and how did that struggle affect it in turn? Today, in an age of disinformation and science fatigue, how do we grapple with the dilemma that Mendelssohn long ago identified?

Philosophers Carolin Emcke and Hannah Peaceman in conversation with Frederek Musall and the curators Inka Bertz and Thomas Lackmann.

recording available

Map with all buildings that belong to the Jewish Museum Berlin. The W. M. Blumenthal Academy is marked in green

Where

W. M. Blumenthal Academy,
Klaus Mangold Auditorium
Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin (Opposite the Museum)

Where, when, what?

Panelists

Carolin Emcke is a philosopher, writer, and journalist. Her books, essays, columns, and artistic interventions engage with the subjects of violence and trauma, anti-democratic sentiment and racism, sexuality and desire. Most recently, she published Für den Zweifel. Gespräche mit Thomas Strässle (In Favor of Doubt: Conversations with Thomas Strässle, 2022). Her honors and awards include the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the Johann Heinreich Merck Award for Essay Writing, and the Carl von Ossietzky Award for Contemporary History and Politics.

Hannah Peaceman is a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Jena and investigates philosophy’s entanglements with antisemitism and racism from the perspective of public philosophy. Peaceman completed her doctorate in 2020 with a dissertation on the potential of Jewish perspectives for political philosophy. She is also a co-editor of the journal Jalta – Positionen zur jüdischen Gegenwart (Yalta: Positions on the Jewish Present).

Video recording from 4 May 2022

Further Events in the Series on 24 May and 5 July

Moderated by Frederek Musall and with a rotating cast of panelists, the Mendelssohn Discourses take Moses Mendelssohn’s writings as a point of departure for discussions of contemporary issues and debates. Each of the three discussion events is devoted to a thematic area: Enlightenment: Fake News, Sentimentality, Reason; Power: Tradition, State, Religion; Media Revolution: The Public Sphere, Celebrity, and the Proliferation of Imagery.

Events Program by the Mendelssohn-Gesellschaft

In addition to the Jewish Museum Berlin's programs, the Mendelssohn-Gesellschaft is organizing events accompanying the exhibition.
More information and registration here

Ausschnitt aus einem Ölgemälde: Porträt von Moses Mendelssohn im Halbprofil, die Augen sind auf die Betrachtenden gerichtet, das linke ist durch einen roten Rahmen hervorgehoben

Exhibition “We dreamed of nothing but Enlightenment” – Moses Mendelssohn: Features & Programs

Exhibition Webpage: “We dreamed of nothing but Enlightenment” – Moses Mendelssohn: 14 Apr to 11 Sep 2022
Publications: “We dreamed of nothing but Enlightenment” – Moses Mendelssohn: Exhibition catalog, 2022, bilingual in German and English; Moishe. Six Anecdotes from the Life of Moses Mendelssohn: Graphic Novel by Typex, 2022, English edition, with reading sample for download; Moische. Sechs Anekdoten aus dem Leben des Moses Mendelssohn: Graphic Novel by Typex, 2022, German edition, with reading sample for download

Digital Content: Moses Mendelssohn and His Time: Online feature, 2022; Mendelssohn Discourses: Media Revolution – Publicity, Celebrity, A Flood of Images: Video recording with Frederek Musall, Caspar Battegay, and Shmuel Feiner, 2022, in Englisch; Current page: Mendelssohn Discourses: Enlightenment: Fake News, Sentimentality, Reason: Video recording with Carolin Emcke, Hannah Peaceman, Frederek Musall, Inka Bertz, and Thomas Lackmann, 2022; Based on a True Story: Interview with Typex, comic artist and author of Moishe, 2022
See also: Moses Mendelssohn, Philosopher; Haskalah/Enlightenment; Moses Mendelssohn: More objects in our online collections, in German

Where, when, what?

When Wed 4 May 2022, 7 pm
Where W. M. Blumenthal Academy,
Klaus Mangold Auditorium
Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin
(Opposite the Museum)
See location on map

Entry fee
6 €, reduced rate 3 €
Corona rulesAll guests to live events are required to follow the current hygiene regulations of the Jewish Museum Berlin.

LanguageThe event will be conducted in German.

LivestreamThe event will be streamed live. You can find the livestream on this page and on our YouTube channel.