TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION // LECTURES & TALKS 2017

THEMATIC ACCOMPANYING PROGRAMME IN COOPERATION WITH THE CLUSTER OF EXCELLENCE
“THE FORMATION OF NORMATIVE ORDERS“ AT THE GOETHE UNIVERSITY FRANKFURT/MAIN

The LICHTER Filmfest focuses on the topic of “truth” in 2017 – at a time when populists conquer the regular’s tables and, increasingly, parliaments with simplistic and non-verifiable “truths”. Anyone questioning their empty promises is without any hesitation accused of lying. Journalists who rely on diversity, solid sources and objectifiable facts are faced with the aggressive simplicity of the populist argument – and increasingly with threats and violence. The Internet, above all the social media, is the catalyst of this process, pointing in two opposite directions: where anyone can become the sender of a message a picture emerges, which is more comprehensive, more complex and denser than before. At the same time, the mostly anonymous statements, bound to no ethical, qualitative or professional standards, open the door to manipulation. Trolls take the place of transparency. Opinion and trend journalism take the place of objective representation. How then, is truth positioned at a time when the detail-minded and simplifier, secretmongers and whistleblowers, democrats and despots are irreconcilable? The tenth LICHTER Filmfest seeks answers in discussions with representatives from the media, politics, science, art and culture.

IN VINO VERITAS – WE ARE SERVING TRUTH!

AN EVENING OF CONVERSATION WITH HUMOUR AND WINE
29. MARCH // 7 PM // NAXOSHALLE
In cooperation with the Caricatura Museum Frankfurt

ADMISSION: 6 EURO

As Zaphod Beeblebrox said, “My relationship to reality is completely in order. I'll have it serviced every fortnight.” In this sense, the illustrious guests of the Caricatura Museum share for a whole evening – at least that's not a lie – non-faked news story in a witty and quick as lightening verbal exchange, checking true fakes and false truths, throwing out alternative facts and set factual alternatives in stone. Is in the marshes of lies, in the foggy cloud of fake news the halfway decent truth already as good as a badly plagiarised doctoral work? Is not the earth perhaps a disc?
When thinking, it is well known that a glass of wine can help considerably. And while thinking aloud and laughing louder, two little glasses help even better – therefore we are serving truly splendid wines this evening. Who's coming? The pope, the chancellor and the Emperor of China, along with the one or other president. Or, indeed, other prominent discussants such as MICHAEL RINGEL (editor of the “Wahrheit”-page of the TAZ), MICHAEL SCHMIDT-SALOMON (philosopher and journalist), TIM WOLFF (Titanic editor-in-chief), and HANS ZIPPERT (Author and former Titanic editor-in-chief).

The hour of truth is chiming on the 29th of March 2017 at 7 pm. From 9 pm onwards, it is quite alright to lie again like a trooper. Host of the conversation is BIRGIT SOMMER, Hessischer Rundfunk.

With wines and suggestions from Rupert Rösch.

WHEN OPINION BECOMES TRUTH AND TRUTH OPINION…

DISCUSSION ROUND
30. MARCH // 7:30 PM // MOUSONTURM (STUDIO 1)

Anyone who thought that misanthropic speeches, lies, and antidemocratic behaviour is a problem of far-away dictatorships has been put right at least since the Brexit vote or the presidential elections in the US. Populism and the will to divide have arrived in the midst of Western societies and their political systems. But anyone who allows the boundaries of the liberal order of values and the state of law to be transgressed against individuals is jeopardising freedom as a whole. The situation is exacerbated not only in countries where journalists are persecuted by the state and the right to freedom of expression is becoming increasingly restricted. Especially where a critical and many-voiced reporting is (still) possible, a sophisticatedly reasoning media and politicians lose credibility in broad sections of the population. They are replaced by anger-driven spin-doctors whose emotionally propounded torrents of hatred and falsehoods spread free of rules in the social media in a self-assertive manner. They no longer draw their claim to truth from the force of the argument but from the consent of those who gather behind their backs.

How dangerous are populism and hate-speech for Western democracies? How much destructive spin must a free society have to endure? What are the boundaries that democracy has to set? How can the followers of demagogic seducers be won back for pluralism and freedom? What are the responsibilities of politics and the media?

DISCUSSANTS:

PAULINA FRÖHLICH, activist of the campaign Kleiner Fünf
PROF. BASCHA MIKA, chief editor of the Frankfurt Rundschau
PROF. DR. CHRISTOPH MENKE, philosopher and principal investigator of the Cluster of Excellence “Normative Orders”
DR. FABIAN STEINHAUER, law and media scientist Goethe University Frankfurt/Main

HOST:
DR. EBERHARD NEMBACH, Head of the Political Desk, hr-info

TRUTH AS PROCESS

DISCUSSION ROUND
31. MARCH // 7 PM // FESTIVAL CENTRE MOUSONTURM (STUDIO 2)

Ascertaining the truth and administer justice on this basis is a hard job for lawyers. Ferdinand von Schirach's theatre play “Terror” has recently raised the awareness about this issue quite descriptively. The discussion round also examines the courtroom and thus, as it is claimed, the place where the truth is traced from day to day. How is truth uncovered in criminal proceedings? What is the significance of the criminal procedure for the negotiation of social conflicts? What challenges do lawyers face defending their clients? What is the role of “deals” and false confessions? And how can laymen be incorporated into the finding of justice?

DISCUSSANTS:

RA DR. BARBARA LIVONIUS, defense lawyer
DR. DOMINIK BRODOWSKI, expert of criminal and criminal procedural law at Cluster of Excellence “Normative Orders”
PROF. DR. KLAUS GÜNTHER, professor of legal theory, criminal law and criminal procedure law and spokesman of the Cluster of Excellence “Normative Orders”

Host:
CORINNA BUDRAS, editor of the FAZ

HYPER, HYPER. LICHTER AGORA

OPEN DISCUSSION FORUM (GERMAN/ENGLISCH)
01. APRIL // 5 PM //FESTIVAL CENTRE MOUSONTURM (STUDIO 2)

Fake world meets true scientists: At the LICHTER AGORA young philosophers and scientists from the Cluster of Excellence “Normative Orders” and Goethe University Frankfurt/Main discuss truth and its significance for politics and contemporary history. The starting point for the three sessions is the BBC documentary “HyperNormalisation” (Adam Curtis, 2016). Selected film excerpts provide impulses for the open discussion forum. The setting of the interdisciplinary exchange invites the audience to debate as equals with the guests of AGORA.

SESSION 1: ENGINEERING THE WORLD? – THE CONCEPT OF TRUTH IN PSYCHOANALYSIS AND ITS IMPORTANCE FOR EMANCIPATORY POLITICS

The discovery of the subconscious has revolutionised the access to the psyche: Sigmund Freud has shown that a considerable proportion of the inner life withdraws from the knowledge and control of the conscious will, and that man is more than the mere combined effect of bio-chemical processes. The symptoms of human suffering rather refer to a subconscious mind, which must be understood in the context of the patient's life history. Patients must therefore undergo a process of reflection in order to shed light onto the disfigured meaning of their suffering. This ideational realisation should enable more autonomy. Not only in medicine, but also in philosophy, the discovery and theory of the unconscious continuously challenged traditional models and concepts.

The social philosopher JOHANNES RÖSS (Cluster of Excellence “Normative Orders”) discusses the challenges of psychoanalysis for philosophical theories of truth. Following this, political theorist JONATHAN KLEIN (Cluster of Excellence “Normative Orders”) transfers the motives of psychoanalysis to a thinking of political practice and illuminates the socio-emancipatory force of truth.

The polictical scientist HOLGER MARCKS (Cluster of Excellence “Normative Orders”) forges a bridge to HYPER NORMALISATION and provides an overview to the most poignant themes and questions arising from the film.

SESSION 2: THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE – CONNECTIONS AND DISCONNECTIONS BETWEEN TRUTH AND REALITY

Simplifying explanations of the world have not only been regarded highly since Pegida, AfD and Donald Trump. Frankfurt-based social scientists ENDRE DÁNYI and SEBASTIAN SCHINDLER (Cluster of Excellence “Normative Orders”) analyse conspiracy theories and their lure for individuals and society (in English):

Does everything connect? Conspiracy theories suggest so, but so do many social scientific approaches. Sociologist Endre Dányi suggests the main challenge is whether we can distinguish between different kinds of connections. Why do we tend to perceive reality as disconnected from truth? Taking inspiration from Hannah Arendt, political scientist Sebastian Schindler argues that we should not accept that reality is fake.

SESSION 3: POST-TRUTH, FACTS & FICTION – WHAT AFTER FACTS?

In a “plea for stupidity,” the political scientist NICKY MÜHLHÄUSER shows why truth is impossible. The philosopher from Frankfurt, SVEN ZEDLITZ, is concerned with how new counter-publicness are formed that shake political power relations. And MARCUS DÖLLER (Cluster of Excellence “Normative Orders”), likewise a philosopher, calls into play an aesthetic perspective by illuminating the relationship between truth and illusion in film.

Hosts:
STEFANIE PLAPPERT and SEBASTIAN LÄSSLE

“Adam Curtis looks for correlations and causalities in “HyperNormalisation” and asks about the conditions for how our perception of the world could have changed.” (Wired)

WHISTLEBLOWING – BRINGING LIGHT INTO THE DARK

Frank Wehrheim, ehemaliger Steuerfahnder in Frankfurt a.M.

EXHIBITION
28. MARCH – 02. APRIL // FESTIVAL CENTRE MOUSONTURM

A former prosecutor from Frankfurt in dispute with chemical industry giants. A former securities trader who has to bear the brunt in place of the management. Three tax investigators who were forced into compulsory retirement and a sacked banker take action against organised tax evasion. An exhibition of the Whistleblower Network portrays people with civil courage from Hesse, people, who broke their silence and drew attention to serious wrongs.

Photos: Petrov Ahner
Texts: Prof. Johannes Ludwig and Annegret Falter
Design: buero.us and very

TRUTH IS...

… a bride without a dowry … the most valuable asset we own … a club with which to kill others … weaker than habit, morals and custom … too smart to be caught … my dearest girlfriend … unique … rarely one way or another.

MORE TRUTHS AS AN INSTALLATION AT THE FESTIVAL CENTRE, 28. MARCH – 02. APRIL 2017. IN COLLABORATION WITH BUERO.US AND VERY.

ABOUT THE CLUSTER OF EXCELLENCE "THE FORMATION OF NORMATIVE ORDERS" PARTNERS OF THE ACCOMPANYING PROGRAM 2017:

The Frankfurt Cluster of Excellence examines the formation of normative orders with a special focus on the current conflicts surrounding a “new world order”. The network is funded by the German Research Foundation in the context of the Excellence Initiative of the German Federal Government and State Government, and brings together several research initiatives in the Frankfurt area and beyond. The representative university is the Goethe University Frankfurt/Main.