Ernst von Gla­sers­feld Lec­ture 2026

organisiert vom Ernst-von-Glasersfeld-Archiv im Forschungsinstitut Brenner-Archiv

"Anti-climate Narratives of the Anthropocene. Some Remarks on the Construction of Their Deceptive Rhetorical Foundations", Ewa Bińczyk

Abstract: This lecture explores the depressing evolution of contemporary anti-climate narratives of the Anthropocene. We will carefully examine the key stages of the anti-climate backlash, drawing on research by Naomi Oreskes, Erik Conway, Michael E. Mann, Andreas Malm, Tim Carton, and Isabelle Stengers.

How is denialism, distraction, delayism, and the ideology of necessary climate overshoot constructed? What is the basis of their rhetoric? What signs of impending barbarism can already be observed in public discourse today? We will seek answers to these questions by drawing on selected insights from Ernst von Glasersfeld’s thought.

"Rethinking Feminism in Times of Challenge: Toward a Narrative of New Alliances", Aleksandra Derra

Abstract: Starting from historically significant milestones of feminist thought, this lecture examines the shift in contemporary feminism from identity politics toward an intersectional framework that accounts for variables such as race, class, and other axes of inequality, while emphasizing feminist engagement with climate activism, labor rights, degrowth, and decolonial movements. The lecture poses a fundamental question: what kind of feminism is needed today in a world marked by multiple

and overlapping challenges — democratic, climatic, migratory, and epistemic? In response, it develops the concept of a feminism of new alliances — an inclusive, relational, and solidarity-based approach that foregrounds the equality and dignity of all those experiencing exclusion.

I argue that feminism should be understood as one of the most important contemporary forms of reflection on the condition of civilization: not as a particularistic ideology or identity-based claim, but as a critical and affirmative framework for thinking about the common world, and as a universal proposal for political philosophy responsive to the transformations of our time. To realize the project of feminism as new alliances, I suggest that we need a new language for describing social reality — one grounded in care, co-responsibility, and an ethics of relations. Such a language enables us to move beyond polarized divisions and to articulate more just and sustainable futures. In developing this perspective, selected elements of Ernst von Glasersfeld’s thought will serve as a conceptual resource.