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Project Enlightenment - How does Knowledge Become Cognition?

September 20, 2023

Science, reason and democracy. The Age of Enlightenment began three hundred years ago. It brought greater freedom and progress and paved the way for modern thought.

https://p.dw.com/p/4VPal
Denis Diderot
Image: picture-alliance/Heritage Images

Today, in the 21st century, does the Enlightenment still matter?

Thumbnail zur Dokumentation „Projekt Aufklärung: Wie wird Wissen zur Erkenntnis"
Image: Rise & Shine

The documentary looks deeply at historic Enlightenment thinkers Denis Diderot, Olympe de Gouges, Thomas Jefferson and Immanuel Kant. Then, it puts their ideas to the test in the modern world. 

How much information does humankind need? How can we distinguish between true and false information? How can truth be defended against governments, dictators, and intelligence agencies that spread misinformation and manipulate evidence? And how do we come by real knowledge? 

Thumbnail zur Dokumentation „Projekt Aufklärung: Wie wird Wissen zur Erkenntnis"
Image: Rise & Shine

Norwegian AI expert Anita Schjøll Brede traces these questions from Ghana to London and then back home, in Oslo. She follows in the footsteps of the French Enlightenment philosopher Denis Diderot, who organized the world's knowledge in his life's work, the Encyclopédie. In so doing, he rebelled against the king, the nobility and the church. 

 

 

Thumbnail zur Dokumentation „Projekt Aufklärung: Wie wird Wissen zur Erkenntnis"
Image: Rise & Shine

 

In West Africa, Anita Schjøll Brede takes a road trip with the singer and "voodoo witch" Azizaa from Ghana through Togo to Benin, where they attend the world's largest voodoo festival. For Azizaa, voodoo is not a religion, but a lifestyle based on ancient knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation.

 

Thumbnail zur Dokumentation „Projekt Aufklärung: Wie wird Wissen zur Erkenntnis"
Image: Rise & Shine

 

Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom also reflects on the dangers and opportunities of artificial superintelligence. What happens when humans are no longer the most intelligent beings on the planet? What will it mean to be human, then?

 

 

 

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