Publications - 23.04.2026 - 08:00
What threats pose the greatest danger to our freedom today? The seven fellows from the St. Gallen Collegium, representing a range of disciplines, offer their answers in a series published in Philosophie Magazin.
In their essays, our fellows address key societal challenges and examine them from various disciplinary perspectives. The series exemplifies these different approaches.
In his article “Disempowering Machine Intelligence”, Daniel Trusilo highlights the algorithmic selection of information as a key challenge to individual freedom. In “Growth Dementia”, Annette Kehnel criticises the insatiable pursuit of growth as a fundamental threat to a free and sustainable society. In “The Downfall of Press Freedom”, Khanyile Mlotshwa sees the dehumanisation of journalism as a key threat to free media. In “Future Theatre with Grand Concepts”, Andreas Lingg argues for developing future scenarios in concrete terms rather than on abstract stages. In “Collective Loss of Trust”, Tanja Artiga Gonzalez emphasises how crucial trust in science and society is for freedom to function. And in “Infantile-Senile Hedonism”, Arpad Szakolczai describes how freedom is increasingly being traded for comfort, pleasure and security.
Together, the contributions paint a multifaceted picture of the current challenges facing freedom and demonstrate how differently these can be interpreted.
We are delighted to see how our Fellows are actively engaging in public discourse through their contributions and making academic perspectives accessible to a wider audience. We would also like to thank Philosophie Magazin for their collaboration and for providing a platform for this important discourse.
You can find our Fellows’ contributions here: Philosophie Magazin - Impuls Reihe: Worin liegt derzeit die grösste Bedrohung unserer Freiheit?
The St. Gallen Collegium’s news section provides insights into our fellows’ current activities, projects and public contributions. It demonstrates how research extends beyond the academic context and is brought into public debate.
Whether through media appearances, publications or events, these contributions document how new perspectives on key issues of our time emerge and gain visibility at the Collegium. They highlight how academic work and public discourse intersect.
