“Climate change isn’t real—it’s just the Earth going through its natural energy-cleansing cycle”. “Mental health isn’t about therapy; it’s about aligning your dopamine and testosterone levels; follow these 5 steps”. “Big pharma doesn’t want you to know about this herb; here is what it does”.
Our world is incredibly complex and not everyone has the ability, time, and resources to properly understand it. Not only that, but it is full of claims and opinions like the “bro science” quotes above that are based on nothing but hot air, fear, or greed. What if we changed our society wholesale, abolished bullshit, and based all our truths on science instead? From politics, to economics, to our values and sense of justice? Could this finally tame the world’s complexities, and bring, peace, happiness, and health to the masses?
We all experienced the COVID pandemic, where scientists, acting as advisors, persuaded policy makers to act in ways that some experienced to be undemocratic (even though these actions fell within the scope of the law). Could (and should) this be extended to face crises like climate change? What would life under this type of regime look like?
Let’s consider what life would be like in a scientific dictatorship. Could we make things better for more people? Or would it be a conspiratorial nightmare?
note: I’ll be co-hosting this session with one of our regular conversationalists. It’s a great topic and all the credit is theirs!
EXISTENTIAL TUESDAYS
Existential Tuesdays are small weekly* lunch discussions in the Nook of the TUD Library. Practice your critical thinking skills, learn to see the world from different perspectives, and hang out with your fellow deep thinkers in Delft.
Interested in other events in the Nook? Sign up for the newsletter to find out what else we’re planning.
* no sessions during exam weeks or study weeks
Explore SG’s and the TUD Library’s related events this quarter on the theme: Language x Power
The stories we tell construct our reality, shaping our minds and the way we see the world, ourselves, and each other. But who wrote these stories, and to what end? Are we telling ourselves tales to liberate or dominate, to hope or despair? Can we tell those stories differently? And if so, what would we change?
11 Feb 12:45 | Existential Tuesday: What is language? @ TUD Library, the Nook
18 Feb 12:45 | Existential Tuesday: What would life look like in a scientific dictatorship? @TUD Library, the Nook
25 Feb 12:45 | Existential Tuesday: How do you become wise? @ TUD Library, the Nook
27 Feb – 27 May | Exhibition ‘In the Beginning was the’ @ TUD Library Hall
27 Feb 16:00 | Exhibition Opening Reception
3 March 20:30u | SG’s Critical Mass: Kolonialisme en taal: wie claimt het verhaal? @ Theater de Veste (in Dutch)
4 March 12:45 | Existential Tuesday: What is our culture’s grand narrative? @ TUD Library, the Nook
11 March 12:45 | Existential Tuesday: A workshop in paradoxical logic @ TUD Library, the Nook
13 March 16:30-18:30 | Politics of the Unsaid | Negation x Writing Workshop @ TUD Library
18 March 12:45 | Existential Tuesday: How do you manipulate people with words? @ TUD Library, the Nook
20 March 19:00 | Documentary Film night | The Mindscape of Alan Moore | VOX Film Club @ TUD Library
29 March SG’s festival For Love of the World @ Theater de Veste
