International Conference

It will also be broadcast live on Zoom. To watch online, please register here:
– Thursday, June 26, 6:00 p.m. – 7.30 p.m.
– Friday, June 27, 10:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
– Saturday, June 28, 10:00 a.m. – 6:15 p.m.

Conception: Susan Neiman, Potsdam, and Lorraine Daston, Berlin
With Ulrich Baer, New York; Avraham Burg, Jerusalem; Peter Galison, Cambridge/Mass.; Konstanty Gebert, Warsaw; Jennifer Homans, New York; Peter Kramer, Providence; Albie Sachs, Cape Town; Nahed Samour, Nijmegen; Judith Simon, Hamburg; Bettina Stangneth, Hamburg; Sean Wilentz, Princeton; Thomas Chatterton Williams, Paris; James Wood, Cambridge, Mass.

What is good judgment, and how is it distinct from intelligence? What distinguishes it from opinions, gut feelings, and personal truths? Since judgment is necessarily particular, the question must be considered in different spheres. How does a judge decide a case? How do literary and art and theatre critics make their judgments? How, for that matter, does an artist, a writer, or a director make judgments in creating the work itself? How does a doctor or a psychiatrist decide on a treatment? How does an umpire determine a foul? It is indeed impossible to avoid political questions about what (mis)judgments went into the most recent political disasters. What role does courage play in making a judgment? And what happens to our character when we are no longer called upon to exercise judgment? An international lineup of speakers who make their livings making judgments will explore these questions and more.

 
Program
 
Thursday, June 26
18:00
Susan Neiman (Potsdam): Introduction

18:15
Albie Sachs (Cape Town): Preparing for Judgment Day

 
Friday, June 27
10:30
James Wood (Cambridge, Mass.): Reflections on the Practice of Literary Criticism

11:30 Coffee Break

11:45
Jennifer Homans (New York): Judging Ghosts: Reflections on Dance Criticism

12:45 Lunch Break

14:30 Thomas Chatterton Williams (Paris) in conversation with Susan Neiman (Potsdam):
Is It Racist?

16:00 Coffee Break

16:15
Ulrich Baer (New York): Great Books Banned: Aesthetic and Legal Judgments

17.15 Coffee Break

17:30
Peter Kramer (Providence): What Else We Know: The Role of Judgment in the Conduct of Psychotherapy

 
Saturday, June 28

10:00
Bettina Stangneth (Hamburg): Judgment: The Willful Step in Heraclitus’ River.
Thinking and Time—Movement 1

11:00 Coffee Break

11:15
Judith Simon (Hamburg): Knowing and Being with Artificial Intelligence

12:15 Coffee Break

12:30
Peter Galison (Cambridge, Mass.): AI Has No Judgment

13:30 Lunch Break

15:30 Avrum Burg (Jerusalem), Konstanty Gebert (Warsaw), Nahed Samour (Nijmegen): Judging Israel: Why It Matters

17:00 Coffee Break

17:15 Sean Wilentz (Princeton): Historic Historical Misjudgment