Jordi Pigem holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Barcelona and is an essayist and author of several books, including Àngels i robots, Pandemia i postveritat, and Consciència i Col·lapse. He joined as moderator of the seminar organised by The Protopia Lab.
You are one of the 135 signatories of the Westminster Declaration. What does it stand for?
Although the signatories of the Westminster Declaration may have opposing views, we believe that we need to have a free and open debate — a fundamental pillar of democratic societies. But, unfortunately, we are approaching a one-size-fits-all society. It happened, for example, with the Covid-19 crisis: scientists who questioned certain decisions were silenced. When governments say that there is only one opinion and that those who oppose it must be silenced, we have a big problem that translates into totalitarianism.
Why has public conversation become so dysfunctional?
Free expression is the basis of a free society, but there is more and more polarisation and a single discourse imposed by those in power. When there is no debate, there is more polarisation because we don't listen to what the other person really thinks and why they think so. When debate is replaced by short tweets, insults and personal disqualifications, it impoverishes culture and society.
What will you discuss with Mary Harrington at the Protopia Lab event?
Mary Harrington wonders to what extent progress is a fact or just a belief. While we have made great progress in material things and technological prodigies, it is far from clear that our lives today are fuller, more relaxed, more cultured, more autonomous and creative. The digital transformation has brought more knowledge dissemination, but even more control. We need to ask ourselves if this is really progress, if we want to go this way. We have to know how to choose what is best for us and take back the steering wheel of our lives.
What are the real environmental limits of progress?
Limits are set by nature itself. The most serious environmental problems are not CO₂ emissions — there are much more serious things like microplastics and the hundreds of thousands of new substances produced since the industrial revolution, most of which are not easily compatible with the metabolism of the biosphere. But this is not being talked about. The world we have built is hanging by a thread more than ever. We have to take back the wheel of our lives, and taking the wheel means redefining what progress means.
