Philosopher Corine Pelluchon, professor at the University Gustave-Eiffel near Paris, will give a lecture on "Hope in the context of climate change and the global crisis" as part of the KOSMOS lecture series on Thursday, 23 October 2025 from 6 to 7:30 pm. The focus will be on the question of how people can find hope or confidence in a world characterised by uncertainty - understood as a virtue that enables them to transform negative emotions into constructive engagement. The event will be moderated by Prof Marcel Robischon, Head of the Department of Agroecology at the Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences at Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin.
Hope as a virtue and a political force
Hope, argues Corine Pelluchon, is not a psychological characteristic, not a state of expectation of a better future, but a virtue. It enables us to see the beginnings of social change in the present, which is characterised by instability and uncertainty, and to commit ourselves to it.
In this respect, hope also has a political dimension. This seems all the more important as people often tend to transform their feelings of powerlessness into fantasies of omnipotence due to experiences of loss or perceived crises – be it through simplistic discourses of the extreme right, social polarisation or excessive consumption. How can energy be channelled into constructive engagement against such impulses? And how does this transformative power differ from the pathological energy that characterises nationalism and right-wing populists?
At a glance
When: Thursday, 23 October, 6 to 7:30 pm
Where: Main Building of Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10117 Berlin, Senate Hall
Programme and registration
The lecture entitled "Hope in the context of climate change and the global crisis" will be held in German. Registration is not required. Admission is free.
Prof Dr Corine Pelluchon
Corine Pelluchon is a philosopher and professor at the University Gustave-Eiffel near Paris. She specialises in animal and environmental ethics, political philosophy and phenomenology. She has published twenty books, including "The Age of the Living: A New Philosophy of Enlightenment" (WBG 2021), "Manifesto for the Animals" (C. H. Beck 2020), "Crossing the Impossible: Hope in Times of Climate Catastrophe" (C. H. Beck 2023), "Understanding Levinas" and "A Philosopher for Our Time" (Karl Alber 2025). Her work was awarded the Günther Anders Prize for Critical Thinking in 2020 and the Dr Leopold-Lucas Prize in 2025.
About the Kosmos readings
The KOSMOS readings are organised by the Integrative Research Institutes IRI THESys at Humboldt-Universit?t. The IRI THESys is dedicated to the research field of transformations of human-environment systems from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Further Information
To the Iri-Thesys website
To the Open Humboldt website
Note on film and photo recordings
Photos and videos will be taken during the event. The material will be used exclusively for the purpose of public relations work at HU Berlin.
Please contact
Evangelia Koutsiouki
IRI THESys | Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin
Tel.: 030 2093 66336
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