Europe at a Crossroads and the Political Relevance of Intellectual Dialogue

ABSTRACT

Europe is in the midst of a double crisis: the rise of illiberal democracies and the reshaping of the so-called “world order.” Illiberal and autocratic regimes are on the rise and the “illiberal temptation” is present even in countries with strong democratic traditions, such as in Europe. The conflict between constitutional democracies and autocratic regimes is at the heart of the current struggle for a new international order. In this context, the confidence we have in our shared democratic and humanist values is in crisis. Not only is there a debate about how these values should be interpreted—which is normal—it also seems that these values are no longer widely shared. Significant segments of the public no longer take democratic principles and the rule of law for granted. As a result, the use of violence is no longer taboo, not only in international relations but also within our own societies. This crisis is unfolding on a global scale, but it has implications for the European narrative, which is about both Europe’s post-nationalist, democratic identity, and Europe’s role in the world. In this article, I begin with some comments on this narrative, with an emphasis on the specificity of European cultural diversity. I then try to situate the role of intellectuals in this context. I examine (1) the task of interpreting the current historical situation, of raising collective awareness with regard to problems that require collective action (e.g. climate change, the reduction of gender and cultural discrimination, the prevention of armed conflicts, etc.); (2) the “universalization of tradition”, that is, the hermeneutic process by which a tradition (ethical, religious, political, etc.) reinterprets itself in such a way as to make it understandable and meaningful to other traditions; (3) the impact that the practice of dialogue, as understood in the human and social sciences, should have on actual political discussion; and (4) the role that the human and social sciences have in articulating, within a meaningful discourse, the demands for greater justice and for a meaningful existence that arise in the form of collective feelings, emotions, etc.

KEYWORDS:

• democracy
• civil society
• education
• public debate
• crisis of values

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

^1. See Benda’s famous essay from 1927, La trahison des clercs (The Treason of the Intellectuals).

^2. See Weber, The Vocation Lectures: “Science as a Vocation,” “Politics as a Vocation.”

^3. Habermas, Zur Verfassung Europas (Crisis of the European Union).

^4. Habermas, Faktizität und Geltung (Between Facts and Norms).

^5. Weil, “L’indépendance de la presse,” 155–68.

^6. Dewey, The Public and its Problems, 107.

^7. Ibid., 131.

^8. Ibid., 77.

^9. Ibid., 208.

^10. Weil, Philosophie politique, 203.

^11. See Weil, “Vertu du dialogue,” 279–96.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Patrice Canivez

Patrice Canivez is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Lille, France. He is co-editor with Sequoya Yiaueki of the series “Etudes weiliennes” (Weilian Studies) at the “Presses Universitaires du Septentrion” (Lille). He has published books and articles on Éric Weil, Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, Rousseau, Hannah Arendt, Paul Ricoeur and Michel Foucault, as well as on problems of contemporary political philosophy. His most recent book is the edited collection with Gilbert Kirscher and Sylvie Patron of Eric Weil. Philosopher avec Critique. Articles et notes critiques publiés dans la revue Critique (Vrin, 2024).