{"id":10531,"date":"2025-12-10T17:04:34","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T17:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kreisky-forum.org\/veranstaltung\/12424-2"},"modified":"2026-04-15T15:10:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T15:10:24","slug":"12424-2","status":"publish","type":"kreisky_event","link":"https:\/\/www.kreisky-forum.org\/en\/veranstaltung\/12424-2","title":{"rendered":"Stoic Ways"},"content":{"rendered":"

What remains today of the powerful ideal of a stoic lifestyle that dates back to antiquity? In times of increasing extremes and catastrophes, is it even possible to lead a balanced, mediated life, or do we only have to register the loss of serenity, the plunge into irreconcilability, into indifferent, paralysing isolation?<\/p>\n

In a fascinating tour de force, Helmut Lethen describes the search for possibilities of serenity, from the cold world of the Baroque to the wars of the present, but also shows how stoic principles have been shipwrecked and the slogan \u00abYou must lead your life!\u00bb hardly stands a chance today. The demand for \u00abfitness for defence\u00bb is met with bodies that are not fit for it. The tension between empathy and factual distancing is already overwhelming people in front of the television. How is it possible to live a life of balance today?
\nHelmut Lethen repeatedly returns to his own experiences and observations of our present day - which makes this haunting, thought-provoking essay not least a very personal life book.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Helmut Lethen, <\/strong>born in 1939, taught at the University of Utrecht from 1977 to 1996, after which he took over the Chair of Modern German Literature in Rostock. From 2007 to 2016, he headed the International Research Centre for Cultural Studies in Vienna. His book \u00abVerhaltenslehren der K\u00e4lte\u00bb (1994) is considered a standard work, while \u00abDer Schatten des Fotografen\u00bb (2014) was awarded the Leipzig Book Fair Prize. His most recent publications are the highly acclaimed autobiography \u00abDenn f\u00fcr dieses Leben ist der Mensch nicht schlau genug\u00bb (2020) and \u00abDer Sommer des Gro\u00dfinquisitors. On the fascination of evil\u00bb (2022).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Moderation
\nRobert Misik<\/strong>, Author and journalist<\/p>\n

Helmut Lethen:<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\nStoic gaits
\nAttempts at a lifestyle
\nrowohlt Berlin, 2025, <\/em><\/strong>21,99 \u20ac<\/em><\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Was ist vom wirkm\u00e4chtigen, bis in die Antike zur\u00fcckreichenden Ideal einer stoischen Lebensf\u00fchrung heute noch geblieben? Ist in Zeiten zunehmender Extreme und Katastrophen ein ausgewogenes, auf Vermittlung bedachtes Leben \u00fcberhaupt m\u00f6glich, oder bleibt uns nur, den Verlust der Gelassenheit zu verzeichnen, den Absturz in die Unvers\u00f6hnlichkeit, in gleichg\u00fcltige, l\u00e4hmende Vereinzelung? In einer faszinierenden Tour de […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":10532,"template":"","format":[],"meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"schwerpunkt":[38],"class_list":["post-10531","kreisky_event","type-kreisky_event","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","schwerpunkt-demokratie-diversitaet-und-zusammenhalt"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSTOISCHE GANGARTEN - Kreisky Forum<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kreisky-forum.org\/en\/event\/12424-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"STOISCHE GANGARTEN - Kreisky Forum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Was ist vom wirkm\u00e4chtigen, bis in die Antike zur\u00fcckreichenden Ideal einer stoischen Lebensf\u00fchrung heute noch geblieben? Ist in Zeiten zunehmender Extreme und Katastrophen ein ausgewogenes, auf Vermittlung bedachtes Leben \u00fcberhaupt m\u00f6glich, oder bleibt uns nur, den Verlust der Gelassenheit zu verzeichnen, den Absturz in die Unvers\u00f6hnlichkeit, in gleichg\u00fcltige, l\u00e4hmende Vereinzelung? 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