In 1978 Nelson Goodman described the focus of his philosophy as “The plurality of worlds, the illusions of the ’given’, the creative power of understanding, the multiplicity of symbols …”. In the digital age, his view that instead of ’one world’ different versions of worlds are continuously being constructed, would become part of everyday life. ‘Virtual realities’ accompany us at work as they do in our leisure time. We are constantly moving through and construing both real and virtual realms. More than ever before, we are faced with the question of belief or “the illusion of the given”, and with the compatibilities and conflicts between ourselves and these newly construed worlds. Peter Weibel has been active for decades as a multidisciplinary artist, scientist, and philosopher who has analysed and practiced in this ‘multiverse’. When he writes that Peter Sloterdijk’s “texts traverse all fields of the visible and the invisible, the audible and inaudible”, a symposium-esque conjoining could lead to an unusual coming together of one and the same.
Peter Sloterdijk (*1947) is a philosopher, cultural scientist, and essayist. He lives and works in Karlsruhe. Since 1992 he has been a professor of philosophy and media theory at the University of Art and Design Karlsruhe, and has been director of the institution since 2001. Sloterdijk has received various awards: Sigmund-Freud-Prize in 2006, European Essay-Prize Charles Veillon in 2007, Lessing Prize for Criticism in 2008, and the Prize for Architectural Criticism 2009.
Peter Weibel (*1944) is an artist and curator. He lives and works in Karlsruhe. Since 1984 he has been a professor at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. Between 1993 and 1999 he was the commissioner for the Austrian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Since 1999 he has been a member of the board at ZKM in Karlsruhe. In 2010 he was awarded with the Österreichisches Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst 1. Klasse. In 2011 he was the artistic director of the 4th Moscow Biennale.