Charles Taylor at the Max-Weber-Kolleg in Erfurt

It has been a tremendous experience to listen to the widely esteemed Charles Taylor (McGill University Montreal), who is best known for his contributions to political philosophy, the philosophy of social science and intellectual history, on Tuesday, 27 June, 6 p.m. In front of a full AMG, Taylor spoke engagingly about ‘The real world of democracy.’ His central thesis was to show that it is a common assumption in liberal democracies that the world is gradually heading towards the universal reign of democracy. With references to the difficulties of the transition from authoritarian forms of government to democratic societies and shrewd interpretations of decisive moments in current long-standing democratic governments as, for example, the US, he exposed such universal reign as far too optimistic and simplistic. After an hour-long presentation (fully comprehensible despite having only a short list of key notes in his hands), he engaged with a lively audience, answering questions and giving his point of view to comments from the listeners. Thank you, indeed, for coming and enriching us!
Photos: Charles Taylor answering questions (above) and Charles Taylor with Hartmut Rosa, Director of the MWK (below)