The lecture is part of the Science Studies Colloquium Series, and is open for everyone.
Siri Hustvedt, novelist, poet, and essayist based in New York, is the author of worldwide bestsellers like The Blindfold and What I Loved. Over the last ten years she has studied neuroscience and psychology and given substantial contributions to the interdisciplinary discourse between Humanities, Social and Natural Sciences. On the occasion of Kierkegaard's 200th anniversary, Hustvedt presents an intriguing analysis of the Nordic philosopher and his pseudonymous work: How are criteria of truth established in philosophical and literary texts? To what extent do experience and mental conditions influence his critique of society and religion? What distinguishes Kierkegaard's understanding of gender and how is the "second" sex constructed in his texts? Perspectives from psychology and theory of knowledge are discussed in the light of various (de-)constructions of the self and the limits of constructivism. Siri Hustvedt was 2012 awarded the prestigious Gabarron International Award for Thought and Humanities.