Rüdiger Safranski

Reflecting on time is a recurrent concern in literature, philosophy and religion. The old enigma, however, has become a new problem because experience of time in the modern world changes in essential ways every day. We believe we can dominate time – the past is stored, the present is fixed and the future is administered – while communication technologies hold out the promise of a global simultaneity that seems to make the ancient dreams of humanity come true. But at what price? Accelerated evolution scorns life experience, gives rise to new social problems and engenders fear in people that they might become disconnected. How much acceleration can the human being bear? How is it possible to achieve a more reasonable relationship with time?

Presented by Rosa Sala Rose, essayist and literary translator