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Club of Amsterdam Journal, June 2005, Issue 50
Content The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception News about Philosophy News about the Future Next Event eGovernment in the Member States of the European UnionRecommended Book Ecology AsiaAgendaClub of Amsterdam SearchSubmit your articleContactSubscribe The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception Theodor W. Adorno1903-1969 Max Horkheimer1895-1973 The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass DeceptionBy Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer (1944)Transcribed: by Andy BlundenThe sociological theory that the loss of the support of objectively established religion, the dissolution of the last remnants of pre-capitalism, together with technological and social differentiation or specialisation, have led to cultural chaos is disproved every day; for culture now impresses the same stamp on everything. Films, radio and magazines make up a system which is uniform as a whole and in every part. Even the aesthetic activities of political opposites are one in their enthusiastic obedience to the rhythm of the iron system. The decorative industrial management buildings and exhibition centers in authoritarian countries are much the same as anywhere else. The huge gleaming towers that shoot up everywhere are outward signs of the ingenious planning of international concerns, toward which the unleashed entrepreneurial system (whose monuments are a mass of gloomy houses and business premises in grimy, spiritless cities) was already hastening. Even now the older houses just outside the concrete city centres look like slums, and the new bungalows on the outskirts are at one with the flimsy structures of world fairs in their praise of technical progress and their built-in demand to be discarded after a short while like empty food cans. Yet the city housing projects designed to perpetuate the individual as a supposedly independent unit in a small hygienic dwelling make him all the more subservient to his adversary – the absolute power of capitalism. Because the inhabitants, as producers and as consumers, are drawn into the center in search of work and pleasure, all the living units crystallise into well-organised complexes. The striking unity of microcosm and macrocosm presents men with a model of their culture: the false identity of the general and the particular. Under monopoly all mass culture is identical, and the lines of its artificial framework begin to show through. The people at the top are no longer so interested in concealing monopoly: as its violence becomes more open, so its power grows. Movies and radio need no longer pretend to be art. The truth that they are just business is made into an ideology in order to justify the rubbish they deliberately produce. They call themselves industries; and when their directors’ incomes are published, any doubt about the social utility of the finished products is removed. Interested parties explain the culture industry in technological terms. It is alleged that because millions participate in it, certain reproduction processes are necessary that inevitably require identical needs in innumerable places to be satisfied with identical goods. The technical contrast between the few production centers and the large number of widely dispersed consumption points is said to demand organisation and planning by management. Furthermore, it is claimed that standards were based in the first place on consumers’ needs, and for that reason were accepted with so little resistance. The result is the circle of manipulation and retroactive need in which the unity of the system grows ever stronger. No mention is made of the fact that the basis on which technology acquires power over society is the power of those whose economic hold over society is greatest. A technological rationale is the rationale of domination itself. It is the coercive nature of society alienated from itself. Automobiles, bombs, and movies keep the whole thing together until their leveling element shows its strength in the very wrong which it furthered. It has made the technology of the culture industry no more than the achievement of standardisation and mass production, sacrificing whatever involved a distinction between the logic of the work and that of the social system. […] But any trace of spontaneity from the public in official broadcasting is controlled and absorbed by talent scouts, studio competitions and official programs of every kind selected by professionals. Talented performers belong to the industry long before it displays them; otherwise they would not be so eager to fit in. The attitude of the public, which ostensibly and actually favours the system of the culture industry, is a part of the system and not an excuse for it. If one branch of art follows the same formula as one with a very different medium and content; if the dramatic intrigue of broadcast soap operas becomes no more than useful material for showing how to master technical problems at both ends of the scale of musical experience – real jazz or a cheap imitation; or if a movement from a Beethoven symphony is crudely “adapted” for a film sound-track in the same way as a Tolstoy novel is garbled in a film script: then the claim that this is done to satisfy the spontaneous wishes of the public is no more than hot air. […] Today the culture industry has taken over the civilising inheritance of the entrepreneurial and frontier democracy – whose appreciation of intellectual deviations was never very finely attuned. All are free to dance and enjoy themselves, just as they have been free, since the historical neutralisation of religion, to join any of the innumerable sects. But freedom to choose an ideology – since ideology always reflects economic coercion – everywhere proves to be freedom to choose what is always the same. The way in which a girl accepts and keeps the obligatory date, the inflection on the telephone or in the most intimate situation, the choice of words in conversation, and the whole inner life as classified by the now somewhat devalued depth psychology, bear witness to man’s attempt to make himself a proficient apparatus, similar (even in emotions) to the model served up by the culture industry. The most intimate reactions of human beings have been so thoroughly reified that the idea of anything specific to themselves now persists only as an utterly abstract notion: personality scarcely signifies anything more than shining white teeth and freedom from body odour and emotions. The triumph of advertising in the culture industry is that consumers feel compelled to buy and use its products even though they see through them. The full article can be read here News about Philosophy Guidance for Writing a Code of Ethicsby Chris MacDonald These suggestions are in no particular order.1) What will be the purpose of your new code? Is it to regulate behaviour? To inspire?2) Different kinds of documents serve different purposes. Is your new document intended to guide people or to set out requirements? Is it really a Code of Ethics that you need? You might consider creating a Statement of Values, a Policy, a Mission Statement, a Code of Conduct…3) A code of ethics should be tailored to the needs and values of your organization.4) Many ethics codes have two components. First, an aspirational section, often in the preamble, that outlines what the organization aspires to, or the ideals it hopes to live up to. Second, an ethics code will typically list some rules or principles, which members of the organization will be expected to adhere to.5) Will your new ethics document include some sort of enforcement? If so, what kind?6) Often the principles or values listed in an ethics document will be listed in rough order of importance to the organization. The ordering need not be strict, but generally the value or principle listed first will have a natural prominence.7) Think carefully about the process by which you create your new code. Who will be involved? A small working group? Or all the people affected by the code? How will you distil the needs of your organization and the beliefs of your members into a document? The process may matter as much as the final product.8) How will your new code be implemented? How will it be publicized, both inside and outside of your organization? What steps, if any, will be taken to ensure that the values embodied in your code get implemented in organizational policies and practices?9) How / when will your code be reviewed / revised? And remember that a code of ethics will not solve all ethical problems:“But we must remember that good laws, if they are not obeyed, do not constitute good government. Hence there are two parts of good government; one is the actual obedience of citizens to the laws, the other part is the goodness of the laws which they obey…” (Aristotle, Politics 1294a3-6). On the Other Hand…by Joel Marks Sometimes the greatest enemy of ethics is ‘ethics’[…]In effect, the professional ethics movement among businesspersons is what I call the Other Hand Theory, namely, that by conducting business ethically, profit will result (as if by an invisible hand). As noted, there is even a plausible mechanism to account for this, so that this ‘hand’ need not seem mysterious at all, since some level of trust seems obviously necessary to conduct most human affairs, business included. I will be happy to link arms with professionals who believe that, but I won’t relinquish my ethics credentials to them. For, even apart from the objection of naiveté, I see a deeper flaw in their reasoning. What I have to say parallels comments I made in an earlier column about academic cheating. Ethics is not about rewards. If one does ‘the right thing’ in order to achieve personal gain, then one is not really acting on the basis of integrity. For example, if you tell the truth only because you think it will benefit you, is that honesty? Obviously not, I would say. My argument: An honest person is precisely one who is committed to truth-telling such that, even if she sees benefit to herself from telling a lie, then, barring extraordinary circumstances, she can be relied on not to tell the lie or deceive either. Therefore, the kind of ethics that the happy entrepreneur promotes is in a way the enemy of ethics, for the implication is that should there ever arise circumstances when profit would not be maximized by acting morally … too bad for morality! News about the future Scientists create artificial cricket hairCricket Inspired perCeption and Autonomous Decision Automata.- CICADA Scientists have re-created one of nature’s most sensitive sound detectors – the tiny hairs found on body parts of crickets, which allow them to hear predators and make an escape before they get close enough to catch them. This research will help scientists understand the complex physics that crickets use to perceive their surroundings and could lead to a new generation of cochlear implants, for people with severe hearing problems, in the far future. Physicists at the University of Twente in the Netherlands have now succeeded in building artificial sensory hair systems, which they hope will enable them to unravel the underlying process and develop sensor arrays with a variety of important applications. Marcel Dijkstra, a member of the Twente team, said: “These sensors are the first step towards a variety of exciting applications as well as further scientific exploration. Their small size and low energy consumption make them excellent for application in large sensor networks, whereas there mechanical nature allows for mechanical filtering and parametric amplification. We could use them to visualise airflow on surfaces, such as an aircraft fuselage.” $2.5 Million Available for Native American Tribes to Develop Renewable Energy Resources The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today that it is making nearly $2.5 million available to 18 Native American tribes to advance the use of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies on tribal lands. “DOE is committed to helping Native American tribes develop their energy resources,” said Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman. “Renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies can play a significant role in encouraging tribal self-sufficiency, creating jobs and improving environmental quality.” One tribe receiving assistance is the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Tapping the resources of Fire Lake on their reservation in Central Oklahoma, the tribe will use geothermal ground source heat pumps to provide electricity to community buildings and a grocery store. The tribe, the ninth largest tribe in the U.S. with 1,011 members, will also build a 20-by-96-foot greenhouse using previously wasted heat to grow vegetables to sell in the reservation grocery store. Next Event: Wednesday, June 29 the future of PhilosophyWednesday, June 29, 2005reception: 18:30-19:30, conference: 19:30-22:15location: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Prins Bernhardplein 200, Amsterdam [next to Amstelstation], free parking. Huib Schwab: It’s spirituality stupidJohn Grüter & Mathijs van Zutphen: VISHandCHIPZ stand-up philosophyMonica Soeting: Philosophy – a method for returning to realityModerator: Homme Heida eGovernment in the Member States of the European Union eGovernment in the Member States of the European UnionThis report is the compilation of the country Factsheets prepared by the IDABC eGovernment Observatory. As part of its mission to inform the European e-government community about key issues of common interest, the eGovernment Observatory maintains a series of Factsheets presenting the situation and progress of e-government in each Member State of the EU, providing for each one of them a wide and consistent range of information: Country Profile (basic data and Information Society indicators); History (major past e-government developments and milestones); Strategy (vision, objectives and principles supporting the e-government drive); Legal Framework (main legal texts impacting on the development of e-government); Actors (key organisations involved in the e-government drive); ‘Who’s Who’ (main decision-makers and executives steering and shaping the move to e-government); Infrastructure (key components of the nationwide e-government infrastructure); e-services for citizens and for businesses (online availability and sophistication of services for citizens and businesses, based on the eEurope common list of basic public services). This compilation report provides the most extensive sum of information to date on the advancement of e-government in the enlarged EU. Recommended Book Philosophers in Conversation: Interviews from the Harvard Review of Philosophyby Thomas Scanlon, Phineas S. Upham This volume brings together for the first time thirteen recent interviews with the brightest names in contemporary philosophy, including W.V.O. Quine, Richard Rorty, Stanley Cavell, Hilary Putnam, as well as the only known interview with John Rawls. The pieces are culled from the Harvard Review of Philosophy, which has operated at the core of Harvard’s Philosophy Department since 1991. Covering wide range of topics from the philosophy of law to logic to metaphysics to literature, the interviews provide a fascinating introduction to some of the most influential thinkers of the day. The book also includes an introduction by Thomas Scanlon. Interviews with Henry Alison, Stanley Cavell, Alan Dershowitz, Cora Diamond, Umberto Eco, Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr., Alexander Nehemas, Hilary Putnam, W.V. Quine, John Rawls, Richard Rorty, Michael Sandel, Cornel West Ecology Asia Ecology Asia“Ecology Asia draws attention to the plight of Southeast Asia’s wildlife and degraded environment. In the Eco-news section there’s thousands of cloned news articles, rescued from oblivion and archived by country and category. These articles are used extensively by school and university students for their assignments. Check out Eco-focus for factsheets on hundreds of fascinating species of vertebrate, with all photos taken in natural habitats. And in Eco-location you can read about selected areas rich in fauna and flora.” Some samples: Spectacled Langur The charming Spectacled Langur has dark grey to blackish fur, becoming lighter grey on the crown. The skin on the face is dark grey, the chin and lips pinkish, and the eyes surrounded with a thick white ring. The young are bright yellow. The species occurs in a variety of habitats including coastal and riverine forests. […] Malayan Soft-shell Turtle The Malayan Soft-shell Turtle is wide-ranging from Burma, Thailand and Indochina to Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo, Sumatra and Java. […] Mount Kinabalu National Park At 4101 metres Mount Kinabalu is the highest peak in Southeast Asia (excluding New Guinea), and one of the youngest, having been formed in the last few million years. Its core is formed of hard, silica-rich igneous rocks (mainly granite and granodiorite), however there are significant ultramafic zones (i.e. rock formations low in silica content). The resistance of these rock types to weathering has given rise to a dramatic summit dominated by a series of treacherous, jagged peaks carved during the last ice age around 10,000 years ago. […] Club of Amsterdam Upcoming Events Club of Amsterdam Season 2004/2005 June 29, 2005 the future of Philosophy Club of Amsterdam Open Business Club
the future of Philosophy, June 2005
Club of Amsterdam pdf version SupporterPricewaterhouseCoopers Huib Schwab: It has an impact on reality, which cannot be. Philosophy is first of all an agora where ideas and frameworks of thinking meet; it contains a timeless treasure of possible and impossible thoughts about existing and non-existing worlds. Overestimated, although the influence cannot be subscribed in a causal way. You can state that the logical positivist framework had a deep impact on society, but it is possibly not an influence according to this theory. Old ideas can become new ideas, after new ideas have lost their power. The variety of ideas in the world of philosophy probably contains all possible ideas now and in the future. Or as Whitehead stated: “all philosophy are but footnotes… on the theory of Plato”. The practice of philosophy is a reflection movement: “What am I doing, what am I thinking, what am I feeling?” These questions are universally relevant, but each individual has to work these questions through; just as every individual needs to learn values (although we already know which are important). Reflection is the key to happiness; we have to know ourselves in order to know our real needs and desires. But the search for self-knowledge is the most difficult one, because you have to deal with different parts of your self. The more intelligent you are the more intelligent you can hide yourself for your reflection part. Culture is a framework of experience and thoughts; it passes through gestures, acts, ideas, feelings and above all meaning. So we need culture in order to give meaning to inner experience. Learn yourself is to give meaning to yourself. Inner experience is not a subjective domain; it is the intersubjective domain of us all. By cultural meanings we connect innerworlds to common worlds. Innerworlds then become objective matter! The focus on facts of the outside world or stating that the facts are the only objective parts of the world is the most anti humanistic event in history. Focus on facts denies the force of the soul of the human being. It is not witchery: you are a spiritual being with material aspects. The force of the innerworld to create or annihilate, to deny or confirm, to value or devaluate is endlessly stronger than the matters of fact. Human beings are cultural human beings. So they are dependent of the context with one another. We think we are dispositional but we are not! People are constantly creating better contexts in order to feel better, or even to be better. With real good friends you feel yourself a better person. With nice rhythm and structure you can move elegantly. With real good rules of behaviour the same. Most fights in relations are about reproaching the other, making bad contexts. In Holland we have lost the feeling for the relevance of culture, we believe too much in facts. But facts do not exist on their own. We have lost the connectedness between human beings, acting as if we are isolated atoms. In fact we are not! But in this way we are powerless to create meaning! The future of philosophy is to bind people not by a new ideal philosophy (because philosophy cannot cover the deep experience of richness of existence), but to give them reflection via common procedures on values, experiences, dreams, and sciences. The Socratic discourse training (and the EuroLAB method) and other philosophical methods are strong procedure, which gives an innovative context for inventing new cultures of meaning. We can invent new cultures by making ideal scenarios of the future in a common context of open understanding. You have to connect yourself to yourself (self reflection), to the other (dialogue reflection) and to society (active citizenship). Philosophy contains the tools and some wisdom to perform this practice of reflection. See different philosophies as different attempts of inventing cultures! It is spirituality stupid: reflections give you the highest and most beautiful satisfaction. Ethics is all about aesthetics! John Grüter & Mathijs van Zutphen: In classical Socratic style John and Mathijs confront some central problems around tonight’s main subject. Philosophy as dialogue, as a dynamic process departing from given insights, developing towards acceptable truths. Thought itself is often more of a deceiver than a harbinger of truth. The inertia of many intellectual thought processes underlines the need for the critical disposition that is essential to philosophy. In order to think out of the box you have to know that you’re inside one, philosophy helps you determine whether this is so. Yet philosophy has allowed itself to be fragmented into specialized doctrines and withdrawn into the ivory tower of academic discourse. Philosophy can be of great value in its ability to transcend the domain of antagonism and specialism. Yet philosophy has frustrated its own application by cloaking its insights in obscure terminlogy and incomprehensible idiom. It can integrate different dimensions of knowledge by asking the fundamental questions, but in order to do that it must also connect itself to context and strive to be meaningful. It must make sense in a way that is obvious both for philosophers and layman alike. Every question that starts with ‘why’ is fundamentally a philosophical question, and with this simple precept we can all become philosopher whenever we wish. Philosophy should make sense and deserves to be taken seriously in a wider context than is currently believed. With an appropriate amount of wit and profundity the two philosophers aim to show that philosophy is action as much at it is thought. Monica Soeting Questioning the value of philosophy is not new. In many cases, the debate about the role of philosophy has centered around the age old battle between philosophy and literature, wherein literature is considered to be the domain of direct, daily life experience and feeling, and philosophy that of pure reasoning. This battle continues to be fought in the realm of contemporary ethics, as in the works of Martha Nussbaum and Michael Cunningham, and has also been introduced in the field of medical ethics. For example, in the discussion concerning the legalization of euthanasia in The Netherlands, it has been argued that novels can give a greater insight in the complex and ambiguous way in which doctors and patients alike deal with questions concerning ‘artificial death’. The question, however, is what does a novel show us exactly? How can it relate to daily life experience and how can it help us making decisions that we consider to be the right decisions? A question above the rest, is whether we may make such a sharp division between philosophy and literature. Since the nineteenth century many philosophers have devoted much attention to literature, because both philosophy and literature, they argue, are concerned with the knowledge of concrete reality. One of the exponents of that opinion is Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961). According to Merleau-Ponty the task of the writer is no different from that of the philosopher: both are focused on the experience of the world, as it originates before the thinking about the world. Merleau-Ponty emphasizes that his philosophy is a method, which like literature expresses the pre-reflective experience, i.e. the experience on which all analyses are based. This method can help us not only determine the value of literature within ethical discussions, but also help us determine the value concerning the status, meaning and importance of abstract, strictly rationalistic reasoning within the realms of politics and science. 19:30 Welcome by our Moderator Homme Heida, Promedia, Member of the Club of Amsterdam Round Table 19:45 Part I: Huib Schwab: It’s spirituality stupid John Grüter & Mathijs van Zutphen: VISHandCHIPZ stand-up philosophy Monica Soeting: Philosophy – a method for returning to reality 20:45 Coffee break 21:15 Part II: Panel with the Speakers and our Moderator Homme Heida The panel is followed by an open discussion. Huib Schwab Philosopher, EuroLAB Huib Schwab was born 1953 in Surabaya (Indonesia). He now lives in Amsterdam and in Spain (province Girona). Huib Schwab studied physics and philosophy at the University of Amsterdam, he worked at the Montessori Lyceum Amsterdam, the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. He designed a philosophy method for high and higher education and published on several aspects of education. He was the driving force behind parliaments approval in 1998, of the introduction of philosophy in the Dutch high school system. An innovative training course for teachers was designed and executed by Huib Schwab at the University of Amsterdam. He developed several philosophy techniques like the value brainstorm, concept analysis, differential analysis, assumption analysis and think tank teaching method. He adjusted the Socratic discourse for educational contexts. He co-designed the philosophy curriculum for the Dutch high school system. He trained several organisations in reflection on mission and ethics, and advised governmental and other organisations on cultural affairs. In the annual festival of philosophy he acts as “stand up philosopher”. He is chair of the Kalos society, which aims to improve the presence of intellectual youngsters in the public domain. Huib Schwab has developed the EuroLAB method, in which the Socratic discourse and the future scenario method are synthesized in a training format in which participants reflect on their position here and now by looking into a designed future. The participants combine all their knowledge to make different, challenging scenarios. The EuroLAB is also a learning method in which students from different countries participate to brainstorm on urgent European matters. They produce an advice for the European government on the chosen subject (migration, water politics, media etc.). They learn by producing. Also they acquire international experience. In the Pyrenean area in Girona (Spain) the EuroLAb is developing steadily into a real virtual laboratory. Learning in an urgent context, and innovate educational systems is his main target now. http://www.xs4all.nl/~schwab http://www.harmlog.nl/eurolab John Grüter Systems Thinker, ICT Generalist, Technology Affectionado, Change Agent and Principal of Digital Knowledge While studying psychology (language-orientation) at the Free University in Amsterdam, John worked part-time as a computer operator. Combining both activities in 1981 he joined a large social security orgisation in the Netherlands with a department created to introduce state of the art on-line database processing. In 1984 he joined the Dutch subsidiary of a US consultancy company as a systems architect, involved in the most research intensive projects building leading edge applications such as graphical user interfaces to large-scale administrative systems, integration of administrative and manufacturing systems, dedicated portable hardware/software to decentrally monitor critical components in chemical plants, and a logistical tracking and planning system using state of the art satellite communication and localisation. In 1990, with two colleagues he founded a consultancy, but left that after three years to join a large Dutch ICT Consultancy, where as a business architect he did many projects involving business process re-engineering, exploiting emerging information technology. In 2000 he joined an e-Business Architect which collapsed when the ‘New Economy’ bubble burst. In 2001 he started Digital Knowledge (www.digital-knowledge.com) dedicated to developing and introducing new business concepts and approaches in medium scale organisations. Currently he is involved in several projects using web-based semantic technology, helping companies to leverage the value of their unstructured information. Recently John teamed up with VISH (www.vish.nl). VISH and Digital Knowledge use Vish & Chipz (www.VishAndChips.com) to explore unconventional societal and business issues. John has entered the McKinsey new business management contest (www.NewVenture.nl) twice, once with a knowledge management product for students (memory bank for students) and recently, with Vish & Chipz, developing a product/service for emergency situations (escapePod). John was born in Australia and now lives in the Netherlands Mathijs van Zutphen Philosopher, educator, artist and creator of VISH Van Zutphen is currently involved in promoting and creating a new and alternative vision on education. VISH is the front end of a private research effort dedicated to gaining a better understanding of reality and our various relations to it through a systems approach. VISH wants to make sense, educate, and function as an online knowledge base. Our knowledge-driven modern society is an informational climate rich in media and communication technology yet poor in meaning and understanding. Understanding arises from meaningful connections between ideas and knowledge domains. Innovation and technology drive complexity, requiring specialization as a way of managing this growing complexity, but specialization entails fragmentation of knowledge. Philosophy, rather than being an academic specialism, can be the antidote to this fragmentation, and has an important role as integrator of disciplines. Van Zutphen is currently involved in promoting and creating a new and alternative vision on education. Background After studies in the US, at the University of Pennsylvania, and at the University of Edinburgh’s Department of Cognitive Science, van Zutphen finished his degree in Philosophy at the university of Amsterdam. A passionate scholar of Philosophy of Science, he studied Thermodynamics, Logic, Logical Semantics and Philosophy of Language. Working as a researcher and lecturer at different Universities in Hungary, he focused on developing educational tools and methods while exploring the complexities of intercultural communication. He gained indepth knowledge and experience as a web application developer, and helped create a succesful Business to Consumer internet company. More recently he was involved in setting up a business intelligence desk at a consulting firm in the Netherlands (Pentascope). Mathijs is an artist (www.malandroart.com) and musician (saxophone), and lives in Amsterdam. http://www.vish.nl Monica Soeting Philosopher, Editor, Publisher Monica Soeting, geboren 1955 in Amsterdam volgde gymnasiaal onderwijs aan het Stedelijk Gymnasium te Leeuwarden en het Dr. Nassau College in Assen. In 1973 haalde zij het highschool diploma aan de Kamehameha Highschool in Honolulu, Hawaii, en in 1975 deed zij staatsexamen gymnasium alfa te Den Haag. Nadat zij een jaar lang gewerkt had in Zuid-Duitsland en Zwitserland, begon zij in 1977 met de studie filosofie aan de Eberhard-Karls Universität in Tübingen, Duitsland. Nadat zij daar in 1979 de Zwischenprüfung met goed gevolg doorstond, studeerde ze twee jaar filosofie aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam. Deze jaren sloot ze af met het kandidaatsexamen. Na enkele jaren kunstgeschiedenis gestudeerd te hebben in Tübingen, haalde ze in1988 haar doctoraal examen wijsbegeerte aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam. Soeting werkte als medewerker buitenland bij de Nederlandse Vereniging voor Woningbouwverenigingen en was hoofdredacteur van het tijdschrift Surplus. Daarna was zij als recensent verbonden aan Vrij Nederland, Trouw, Surplus, Biografie Bulletin en de Volkskrant en maakte zij deel uit van de redactie van de Gids. In 2002 kreeg Soeting een aanstelling als redacteur bij uitgeverij Atlas in Amsterdam. Tegenwoordig werkt zij als redacteur bij uitgeverij Ambo|Anthos, is zij hoofdredacteur van Biografie Bulletin, levert zij bijdragen voor de literatuurbijlage van Trouw en is zij betrokken bij een project dat uitgevoerd wordt door de faculteit Ethiek & Filosofie van de Geneeskunde aan de Erasmus Universiteit in Rotterdam. Homme Heida Promedia Member of the Club of Amsterdam Round Table Homme Heida is a generalist by heart, who worked as a journalist for several mass media like Algemeen Dagblad, Tros Aktua and publishing group VNU. After ten years he started his own bureau Promedia: company journalism, which slowly changed into business journalism. Now back again with larger media, he is editor-in-chief of Global Dutch, a magazine for Dutch entrepreneurs, who are active in foreign countries. Homme Heida has a continuing interest in a more philosophical approach of ‘being there’. His views on the future are very much based on new technologies. “Humans change only slowly by evolution. Technology will speed it up”, he argues. His credo is: ‘living body and soul’, which means to him a sportive challenge as well as an intellectual one. From the Amsterdam marathon till the Club of Amsterdam.
Club of Amsterdam Journal, June 2005, Issue 49
Content Why Philosophy is Everybody’s Business News about Philosophy News about the Future Next Event Vision 2020 Reports – IndiaRecommended Book Studio créative of France Telecom R&DAgenda Club of Amsterdam Open Business Club Club of Amsterdam SearchSubmit your articleContactSubscribe Why Philosophy is Everybody’s Business Mortimer Adler1902-2001 Why Philosophy is Everybody’s Businessby Mortimer Adler[an excerpt] One can be a generally educated human being without being knowledgeable in this or that specialized field of empirical science. Such knowledge belongs to the specialist, not the generalist. But one cannot be a generally educated human being without knowing the history of science and without having some philosophical understanding of science. Becoming a generally educated human being also involves some grasp of the history of history and of philosophy, and some understanding of the philosophy of history and philosophy. That is one reason I say that philosophy is everybody’s business. Everyone is not called upon to be a lawyer, a physician, an accountant, or an engineer; nor for that matter is everyone called upon to engage in some field of historical or scientific research. But everyone is called upon to philosophize; thinking individuals, whether they know it or not, have some traces of philosophical insight or analysis in their moments of reflection. To be reflective about one’s experience or about what human beings call their common sense is to be philosophical about it. Why philosophy is everybody’s business, as no other use of one’s mind is, is that every thinking individual is, in reflective moments, a philosopher, and that everyone philos-ophizes and is enriched by doing so is not to say that everyone should aspire to become a professor of philosophy. Try to imagine a world in which everything else is exactly the same, but from which philosophy is totally absent. I do not mean just academic philosophy; I mean philosophizing in every degree — that done by ordinary men and women or inexpertly by scientists, historians, poets, and novelists, as well as that done with technical competence by professional philosophers. Since philosophizing is an ingrained and inveterate human tendency, I know that it is hard to imagine a world without philosophy in which everything else is the same, including human nature; yet it is no harder than imagining a world without sex as one in which everything else is the same. In the world I have asked you to imagine, all the other arts and sciences remain continuing enterprises; history and science are taught in colleges and universities; and it is assumed without question that everyone’s education should include some acquaintance with them. But philosophy is completely expunged. No one asks any philosophical questions; no one philosophizes; no one has any philosophical knowledge, insight, or understanding; philosophy is not taught or learned; and no philosophical books exist. Would this make any difference to you? Would you be completely satisfied to live in such a world? Or would you come to the conclusion that it lacked something of importance? You would realize — would you not? — that even though education involved acquiring historical and scientific knowledge, it could not include any understanding of either science or history, since questions about history and science (other than questions of fact) are not historical or scientific but philosophical questions … read more News about Philosophy Considerations on Web-Philosophyby Martin Herzog […]enhance critical thinkingThe sciences have to learn again, that the right answer can only emerge, if the right questions are asked. reintegrate speculative thinking, especially heuristicsSpeculari (Latin) means: to look at something from far away. Speculative thinking, something unthinkable for scientists, is needed, if you want to deal with ideals (platonic or other) and utopiae. Without such speculative fore-sights its not possible, to create political or social development plans for the future, as any future is always (more or less) speculative. reintegrate values in argumentation and decision processesValues are decisive in that field, but disintegrated from scientific research. interrelate cluttered knowledge and preserve contexts [the foundation of web-philosophy]Each scientific discipline should in fact have its philosophers, mediating between related fields that might be quite far from each other, what concerns academic structures, especially what concerns the split between humanities and natural sciences. The multidimensionality of the web allows us to group themes, to form clusters. Such a way presentation may tackle large as well as deep contents. The arrangement of knowledge in clusters allows access from different perspectives, which do not get lost in a tangled mix, thanks to the subportals in the center of the clusters. intensify and clarify dialogue with knowledge users and in general with the populationScientists (and philosophers) should defend their thesis publicly, not the commercial use of their inventions.There should be a philosophy, and philosophers, that tackle real world problems and real time problems.That would give philosophy a real push, as few people are interested in academic discussions on reinterpretation of old texts. Philosophy with Children Philosophy with Children is a movement that has been in existence more or less formally for as long as there have been adults who are interested in children’s ideas about the world, about themselves as human subjects, and about the fundamental issues-epistemological, ontological, aesthetic and ethical-which are the common heritage of us all. In addition to educators who were also writers-like Tolstoy or Bronson Alcott-who recorded and reflected on their conversations with children, there are no doubt countless unsung teachers and parents who have listened with a keen ear-sometimes philosophically trained and sometimes not-to their child interlocutors. The British poet William Wordsworth, in one of the most popular poems of the 19th century-“Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood” – characterized the young child as “best philosopher.” And anyone who has dialogued with groups of children as young as six or seven can attest to the liveliness and freshness of their thought–their startlingly vivid capacity for exemplification, for analogical thinking, their sensitivity to philosophical concepts, their enthusiasm for dialogical deliberation, and their capacity (Piagetians notwithstanding) for working with the fundamentals of propositional, relational, and conditional logic. Given the basic connection between logic and the structures of language, that capacity is in fact typically as well-developed among children as among the majority of adults. News about the future The Memory Glasses Project The Memory Glasses is a wearable, proactive, context-aware memory aid based on the MIThril platform and wearable sensors. The primary goal of this project is to produce an effective memory aid and reminder system that requires a minimum of the wearer’s attention. The function of the system is to deliver reminders to the wearer in a timely, situation-appropriate way, without requiring intervention on the part of the wearer beyond the initial request to be reminded. In other words, the system behaves like a reliable human assistant that remembers reminder requests and delivers them under appropriate circumstances. Such a system is qualitatively different from a passive reminder system (such as a paper organizer) or a context blind reminder system (a modern PDA) which records and structures reminder requests but which can not know the user’s context. ABI: RFID, Intelligent Sensor Nets to Benefit From Printed, Organic Electronics Printed and organic electronics technologies are likely to be a key component of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and other “intelligent sensor networks” in the next few years, according to ABI Research. Printed electronics technologies are already starting to find applications in the automotive industry, and organic components are finding their way into mobile phones, said ABI. Printed RFID antennas are another near-term application of printed electronics. While silicon and other inorganic materials still dominate in the design of “ubiquitous networks” such as RFID systems, ABI Research’s Erik Michielsen noted that, “RFID is the first iteration of intelligent sensor networks. There will be many additional waves. Companies that are looking to create such networks in and beyond the supply chain must take a serious look at the printed and organic electronics market and understand where, when and how they can be applied as intelligent sensor networks evolve.” Next Event: Wednesday, June 29 the future of PhilosophyWednesday, June 29, 2005reception: 18:30-19:30, conference: 19:30-22:15location: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Prins Bernhardplein 200, Amsterdam [next to Amstelstation], free parking. Huib Schwab: It’s spirituality stupidJohn Grüter & Mathijs van Zutphen: VISHandCHIPZ stand-up philosophyMonica Soeting: Philosophy – a method for returning to realityModerator: Homme Heida Vision 2020 Reports – India Vision 2020 Reports – Indiaby Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council, TIFAC In in November 1993, the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), a unique institution in India, deliberated and identified the urgent need to create a long term technology vision for India upto 2020 in various emerging technology areas. The task was undertaken by seven major task forces and a mega task force with ten panels covering all vital sectors of its economy. This is a unique endeavour and the joint effort of more than 500 members from Users, Industry, R&D Establishments, Academic Institutions, Government Departments and Non-Governmental Organisations which culminated into the technology vision documents on 18 April, 1996. And these have been approved by the TIFAC Council. The overall vision was created from the inputs received from about 5000 specialists from various walks of life through Delphi surveys. Some findings are: Life Science & BiotechnologyDevelopments in Life Sciences and Biotechnology offer immense prospects for better crop varieties, health care systems, effective environmental practices and also in industrial sectors. The panel has covered in detail, the elements requiring thrust and technology upgradation; R&D needs and opportunities; material resources, infrastructure & human resources; Programmes & policies; and key areas for industrial development and growth for all these areas. Some salient findings emanating out of this study are: Genetic engineering of model plants like tomato, tissue culture of cereals & pulses, isolation and analysis of genes would emerge as important items in the area of agricultural applications. Panel on Food and Agriculture also gives many more details in its report. In the area of health care, vaccine development for infectious and vector borne diseases, development of new techniques and drugs for fertility control, specific and non invasive treatment for cancer are emerging as key elements. The panel on health care has also addressed these elements in its report. Isolation & identification of bioactive molecules as drugs from Indian marine bacteria, development of elite strains of agarophytes by genetic manipulation and its culture are considered to be important in Marine Biotechnology area. Animal hormones, tissue cultured disease/pest resistant plant varieties, genetically improved seeds, home tests for diagnosis of diseases, monoclonal antibodies for diagnostics, molecular mechanisms of drug resistance are envisioned to be of prime importance in the area of Industrial Biotechnology. Establishment of regional medicinal plant gardens with variety of agro-climatic conditions, national referral centre for generation and supply of phytochemicals, establishment of a national institute of traditional system of medicine are envisaged to be emerging in the area of Herbal Industry. Effective treatment technologies for water, land and air pollution, waste management and recycling, reclamation/ remediation, conservation of biodiversity emerge as life science and biotechnological applications to environmental preservation. .Electronics & CommunicationThe world is witnessing an integration of electronics, communication and computer in the form of information technology leading to a revolution in the entire services & manufacturing sectors. Thus we have before us immense opportunities & technological challenges which need to be dealt with a clear vision taking advantages of our strengths. Salient points of the Vision are: Manufacture of passive chip components and computer monitors; focused attempts to set up a mega ‘fab’ in the country by attracting foreign investment; and enhancing the country’s VLSI design capabilities are envisaged in the area of components and microelectronics. High speed networks like SONET, use of lasers in industry; analog compatible digital TV are a few important items in the areas of photonics/optoelectronics and consumer electronics. Cost effective high speed client server based hardware & software systems; induction of various telecomputing & interactive data services are vital in the areas of Information Technology and Communications. Promotion of electronic aids for the disabled and computer education at high school levels have been envisioned in addition to applications of micro elctro-mechanical systems for pollution control and health care. Technological strengths in various select areas of electronics is vital for our competitiveness. There are many strategic applications as well. Electronics has a crucial role in assuring better quality of life for our people be it in health care, environment or education. This area has several linkages with almost every sector. It is time we seize the opportunities as envisioned in the report before us without loss of time. More topics in the report: Advanced Sensors Agriculture & Food Agro-Food Processing Civil Aviation Chemical Process Industries Driving Forces – Impedances Electric Power Engineering Industries Health Care Materials & Processing Road Transportation Strategic Industries Telecommunications Waterways Services Recommended Book Thinking at Crossroads: In Search of New Languages (The Philosopher’s Library)With contributions by R. Argullol, J. Baudrillard, R. Cardoso de Oliveira, E. Carneiro Leao, B. Freitag, Z. Laïdi, C. Lévi-Strauss, R. Lima Lins, E. Lourenço, M. Maffesoli, E. Prado Coelho, M. Sodré, G. Vattimo Can contemporary thought make its way into the Third Millennium? The philosophers who have contributed to this work have attempted to expose, each one of them using different approches, the ruses by which metaphysics conceals violence, Western reason considers itself the sole holder of truth, and thought casts its shadows on an otherwise unthinkable world. Each author has strived to reconsider the different nuances of reason, history and tradition, which have been nourished by the achievements and failures arising from encounters with the ‘Other’. There is no turning away from what is strange or baffling – the fissures, intervals, lapses and impurities. For everything seems to indicate that the pathways of thought are still to be discovered, remade, and invented. Studio créatif of France Telecom R&D Studio créatif of France Telecom R&DTo explore an imaginary world, return to the present and show now what will be possible in our everyday life in the future – this is the mission of the Studio créatif!“Our multidiscipline teams are composed of engineers, marketing people, sociologists and designers. We work all together to free technology from its traditional universe in order to generate new, unexpected ideas for telecom usages and new services, while applying all possible creativity techniques. The end customer is at the core of our approach, as always in France Telecom R&D’s development process.” As a result, significant innovations are developed from the imagination of our researchers. On this Internet site in particular you will find communicating clothes, the sensitive, interactive home and communicating objects. Forget preconceived ideas of travel and take off with the new e-tourism concept; explore the Imagination Gallery with the dreams and nightmares of Internauts, artists’ visions and science fiction !… The latest concept and prototype wearable communications created by France Telecom’s R&D The optical fiber screen has won the Innovation Prize 2002 award at Avantex, the “international forum for textiles and technology in the future”, scoring a further success in the Creative Studio’s “wearable communications” project. The result is a matrix comprising 8×8 pixels, ie, 64 squares measuring 35x35sq.mm, with 12 optical fibers per pixel. Club of Amsterdam Upcoming Events Club of Amsterdam Season 2004/2005 June 29, 2005 the future of Philosophy Club of Amsterdam Open Business Club
Club of Amsterdam Journal, September 2004, Issue 31
Content Dr. Philippe Rychen speaks at NanoWater about the future of Healthcare News about the FutureErvin Laszlo’s View of the WorldRecommended Book The Centre for Future Studies Upcoming Events Articles Submit your articleContactSubscribe Dr. Philippe Rychen speaks at NanoWater Dr. Philippe Rychen,Head of Environmental Systems, Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM SA) Nanotechnology and Electrochemistry, hand in hand for innovation in the Water Treatment fieldIn industrialized countries, drinkable water is usually clean and safe, but regulatory agencies monitor over hundred dangerous water contaminants, which can come from rain run-off over hazardous waste, naturally occurring sources of contaminants, water treatment chemicals, and pollution from residential consumers, industry and agriculture. To preserve its future, the developing world has to take care of its resources by cleaning and recycling water. In third-world countries, which face extreme dryness or floods, the water problem is even more crucial due to the combination of a lack of water, pollution by micro-organisms and almost inexistent water supply networks. For example, in such countries, efficient transportable disinfecting units, eventually powered by photovoltaic systems, will be salutary in many parts of developing countries. Thanks to unique physical, chemical and electrochemical properties of polycrystalline doped nano-diamond coatings on Silicon substrates, these products open new horizons. The widest electrochemical window ever seen for a so highly stable electrode material opens new doors for easy and green water treatment applications without the use of any chemicals. Water disinfection process through in situ generation of strong and long lasting residuals oxidants is now possible without adding any chlorine or other hazardous chemical at very competitive costs comparing to alternative technologies. Highly polluted wastewater with refractory (non biodegradable)) chemicals can now be treated before releasing it into sewage plants respectful to environment or can even be recycled, if the water is treated with the DiaCell® Technology. DC current on Boron-Doped Diamond is sufficient to eliminate all types of organic pollutants in water. Through the formation of highly oxidizing agents like OH radicals, organic molecules are easily oxidized up to carbon dioxide. All microorganisms (including Legionella) are inactivated with longer lasting residuals through a mixture of disinfectants generated from naturally occurring minerals in water and from water itself. These Boron Doped Diamond Electrodes are engineered into water treatment modules called DiaCell® and DiaMos™ for small/medium and large sized treatment capacities respectively. Dr. Philippe Rychen speaks at NanoWater, September 27, 2004, 09:30-18:30, RAI Congress Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands about the future of Healthcare PQL- Pure Quality LifePQL is a quality-assured, biologically verified concept for maintaining and increasing your health and well-being. It is the culmination of today’s collected knowledge and of several years of leading-edge research in Sweden.Pure Quality Life is a web-based life enhancement tool, evaluated in a world leading prospectively controlled study by researchers from Uppsala University. It is the only health site with effects that have been assesed psychophysiologically in a controlled study. Over 20.000 users from different backgrounds have registered. eHospital – IT experience of Hospital Son Llatzer, SpaineHospital is a full digital, filmless and wireless hospital. Son Llatzer has implemented a global integrated and accessible clinical information system. News about the future The World’s Lightest Micro-Flying RobotSeiko Epson Corporation has successfully developed a lighter and more advanced successor to the FR, the world’s smallest and lightest micro-flying robot. Turning once again to its micromechatronics technology, Epson has redefined the state of the art with its FR-II micro-flying robot – the world’s new lightest and most advanced microrobot, which also features Bluetooth wireless control and independent flight. FreshwaterAbout one-third of the world’s population lives in countries with moderate to high water stress. The problems are most acute in Africa and West Asia but lack of water is already a major constraint to industrial and socio-economic growth in many other areas, including China, India and Indonesia. If present consumption patterns continue, two out of every three persons on Earth will live in water-stressed conditions by the year 2025. The declining state of the world’s freshwater resources, in terms of quantity and quality, may prove to be the dominant issue on the environment and development agenda of the coming century. Ervin Laszlo’s View of the World Exclusive Lecture – Ervin Laszlo’s View of the WorldHe was a child prodigy at the piano who became a professor without finishing school. The former systems theory pioneer is now concentrating on research into the information field, which should not only shed light on inexplicable connections between man and matter, but may help create a new paradigm that will make the world a better place. “It’s my job to supply the proof,” he declares. With this vision in mind he also initiated the Club of Budapest. When: Thursday, 28 October 2004 from 19h30 to 22h00.Location: Amsterdam. Recommended Book Mayo Clinic Guide to Self-Care: Answers for Everyday Health Problems (Mayo Clinic Health Information) Consumer text provides reliable, practical, easy-to-understand information on more than 150 common medical conditions and issues relating to health. Includes new information about staying healthy and aging, the link between stress and health, and dietary supplements. The Centre for Future Studies The Centre for Future StudiesThe Centre has extensive contacts in finance, government, technology, academia, professional services and the media and is concerned with promoting training, education and research into future social policy issues including crime, ageing, education and health, and future studies methodologies. Some projects: The Future of the Over FiftiesA Foresight Study into the mature society of 2020. The Future of HolidaysA multi-disciplinary forecast and analysis of the drivers of change in the holiday industry to 2020. Global Scenarios for Financial ServicesA major research programme designed to identify the global drivers of change that will impact on consumer savings behaviours in eleven key markets around the world. The future of the high streetA major Foresight Study into trends, developments and events shaping the future of town centres and urban communities. The Future of British MigrationA Foresight Study into trends and developments impacting on the nature and extent of migration to 2020. Frank D Shaw, Director General, Centre for Future Studies, speaks at the Summit for the Future: Trade / Service Industry Amsterdam.info Amsterdam.info – Travel guide to Amsterdam features tourist information and tips, sights, entertainment, transport, map to print, and free pictures of Amsterdam. Club of Amsterdam Upcoming Events Special Events September 27, 2004 NanoWater January 26-28, 2005 Summit for the Future 2005 Club of Amsterdam Season 2004/2005 October 27, 2004 the future of ICT November 30, 2004 the future of Developing Countries February 23, 2005 the future of the Service Industry March 30, 2005 the future of Water April 27, 2005 the future of Branding June 1, 2005 the future of Robotics June 29, 2005 the future of Philosophy
Club of Amsterdam Journal, August 2004, Issue 30
Content Jonathan Marks about Media & Entertainment about the future of Media & Entertainment News about the Future Recommended Book European TRIZ Association Upcoming Events Club of Amsterdam SearchSubmit your articleContactSubscribe Jonathan Marks about Media & Entertainment Jonathan MarksDirector, Critical Distance BV Club of Amsterdam: Jonathan, you’ve just been to conferences in Singapore, Malaysia, the UK and USA (San Jose). How does the mood in the Media and Entertainment world compare with the Netherlands?Jonathan Marks: I have to say that Silicon Valley and Silicon Fen (around Cambridge in the UK) are on a lift again. The shake-outs have happened. Actually, many of the ideas coming to market now in the consumer IT and entertainment world are not new. Page through Wired Magazine of 1998/1999 and you’ll find many pieces of “vapourware” being beta tested in the pages of the magazine and in the minds of movers and shakers of Silicon Valley. The difference now is that the ideas that are left are based on a real need – real problems that could be solved with better technologicial solutions – not technogadgets looking for a problem to latch on to. While wandering around Silicon Valley in June 04, I was struck by the great brand that Amsterdam has in California. Both are “west coast” cities, and many of the more creative entrepreneurs spent some time in Amsterdam doing innovative projects with the “dot-coms”. Then came the collapse and they went home in search of work. Now that Silicon Valley is doing better, the people I talked to were curious as to whether the same is true in Silicon Polder. “Not yet” I have to say. Amsterdam, the brand, has a short window of opportunity to attract new “knowledge” economy business, before it heads for other EU countries, either with a cheaper labour force (see Baltic States) or Ireland, with heavy financial incentives to set up in Dublin. So what is wrong?Jonathan Marks: May be things still have to get worse before they get better. Then a few sparks will fly and some risk takers will emerge out of the woodwork. That means some real “local” heros. In Silicon Valley, if some VP from Sun Systems or Apple gets into the back of the cab, the driver is proud to be driving around a celebrity. That sort of ‘Let’s Do it” spirit seems to have gone away from Amsterdam for the time being. I don’t think the offices around the Arena are going to fill up until that spark gets going again. I find that spark is also running wild in Singapore and Korea at the moment.Anything new on the horizon in terms of home entertainment?Jonathan Marks: End of 2004 is going to be interesting. A whole wave of new games are coming and remember the games business is now bigger than Hollywood. The new versions of famous titles are comissioning musicians like Sting to write soundtracks for their adventures. Two things have dramatically dropped in price – the cost of storage – and processing power. The professionals are stacking 3000-4000 computers in banks so they can render animation with incredibly complex and realistic software. Just look at the dramatic improvement in animation between Shrek 1 and 2. Still, each frame of Shrek 2, takes between 2-4 hours to render because of all the individual action (i.e. programs) running to create effects. The US and Asia are upgrading their pictures from NTSC to High Definition, and the LCD/Plasma screens are coming down in price to make systems more affordable. Europe is not in the HD grip as yet, basically because a PAL TV produces a pretty good picture already. I think major TV stations that want to stay in business are realising they need to get on-demand access to their content libraries. The BBC has been amazed at the popularity of its Radio Player and is working on a scheme to allow the public to stream any show broadcast either 7 days in advance or behind today’s date (don’t try this with news). Since UK residents pay a licence fee, be prepared to wait a long while before the on-demand TV services work outside the UK. I think the Home Media versions of PCs that launch later this year will interest those people who want to do more than passively watch TV. It seems crazy that we have one set of applications in the living room and another on the PC. Convergence is happening there, and I hope attention is being paid to the user interfaces. Remember if the person in Dixons can’t demo the concept in 30 seconds, it is way over the head of the public. Geeks will buy anything, but there are not enough techn-collectors to save concepts like the Tablet PC or the Pocket E-Reader. Even famous names are having to re-think – take Tivo for instance. Five years after we’re promised “TV Anytime, with the easy of web surfing”, Tivo has still only 1.6 million subscribers ! Personally, I think TIvo is screwed up in its own little marketing vortex and the concept is ripe for someone else to do a much better job. In the UK, that may be Sky, in the US, my money is on Rio who bought Replay, Tivo’s rival. On August 24th we will meet in a great place (fingers crossed for fine weather – the view is great so bring a camera) and we’ll also take a realistic view at what the future may have in store for European consumers in general and Dutch consumers in particular. Jonathan Marks speaks at Media & Technology @ ANMI, August 24, 19:00-21:00, Post CS, Amsterdamand Jonathan Marks is the Knowledge Stream Leader at our Pan-European Summit for the Future 2005 – Media & Entertainment about the future of Media & Entertainment DemosceneThe demoscene is a worldwide non-commercial network of creative minds involved in the making of so called ‘demos’. Demos are computer generated music clips that show what kind of graphic and sound effects can really be done by using high-end computer hardware to its full potential. Demo-making is teamwork. As demos are rather complex any helping hand is welcome. Each scener provides the team with different skills. Graphicians and musicians create suitable pieces of art, the programmers fit all the parts together in an extensive amount of detail work to finally make it an executable program: the demo. The sceners don’t necessarily have to physically meet each other at all during the whole process. Usually they meet in chatrooms and share their latest work over the internet. Most sceners live in Europe but you can find them almost everywhere in the world. Dirac – BBC Begins Open-Source Streaming ChallengeThe BBC is quietly preparing a challenge to Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and other companies jostling to reap revenues from video streams. It is developing code-decode (codec) software called Dirac in an open-source project aimed at providing a royalty-free way to distribute video. Tim Borer, manager of the Dirac project at the BBC’s Kingswood Warren R&D lab, pointed out: “Coding standards for video were always free and open. We have been broadcasting PAL TV in this country for decades. The standard has been available for anyone to use… If the BBC had to pay per hour of coding in PAL we would be in trouble.” News about the future Europe’s water: An indicator-based assessmentThis report assesses the quality and quantity of Europe’s water. Its geographical scope is the European Union, EFTA and EU accession and candidate countries. Four water issues are assessed: ecological quality, eutrophication and organic pollution of water, hazardous substances and water quantity. This is done on the basis of 57 indicators selected for their representativeness and relevance Tim Harper on NanoWaterNanoWater is a very simple idea that grew out of a meeting with Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres at the World NanoEconomic Congress in Washington DC last year. He made the only speech I have ever seen that got a standing ovation at a nanotech conference, with the simple message that perhaps technology could do something positive. We followed this up with a visit to Israel just before Christmas last year to understand at first-hand the problems facing countries with scarce water resources. I agree that food and shelter are important global issues, as are energy and disease. Although water issues affect most of the world’s population, I wouldn’t claim that water is any more important or urgent than any of the other issues. However, there are two compelling reasons for the nanowater initiative. Recommended Book The Right to Tell: The Role of Mass Media in Economic Development (Wbi Development Studies)by World Bank Institute The stellar list of contributors to this book includes Nobel Prize winner and Columbia University Professor Joseph Stiglitz, Irrational Exuberance author Robert Shiller, and Nobel Prize-winning novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The theme on which they are all passionate is the importance of a free and independent press. As World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn points out in the foreword to this book, “a free press is not a luxury. It is at the core of equitable development.” Contributors to this volume explore the role of the media as a watchdog of government and the corporate sector, the media’s power to influence markets, its usefulness as a transmitter of new ideas and information, and its ability to give a voice to the poor and disenfranchised. They also tackle the potential harm an unethical, propagandistic, or irresponsible press can cause and the impact of insult laws and other policies that hamper the operation of a free press. Several contributors describe the challenges faced by the media in specific countries, including the former Soviet Union, Thailand, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Zimbabwe – these are fascinating case studies and vivid illustrations of the media’s potential as a catalyst for change and growth. Advance Praise for The Right to Tell: “I’ve been waiting for ten years for someone to put together a book like this. The Right To Tell finally makes the case linking open media with economic growth and development. Each article in this collection is like a building block in a public policy brief that places open media at the forefront of development strategy. It follows Amartya Sen’s groundbreaking Development As Freedom with compelling arguments that independent media are essential to social development and economic growth. Open media translates into transparency and government accountability, less corruption, participatory democracy, civil society and, yes, greater income. This book is a must read for policymakers who are only now waking up to the immense power of open media.” – David Hoffman, President, Internews Network European TRIZ Association Foresight, UK European TRIZ Association (ETRIA)TRIZ (the internationally used Russian acronym, proposed by TRIZ-creator Genrich S. Altshuller, 15.10.26-24.09.98) is regarded today as the most comprehensive, systematically organized invention knowledge and creative thinking methodology known. The European TRIZ Association (ETRIA) intends to function as a connecting link between industrial companies, institutions, educational organizations and individuals concerned with conceptual questions pertaining to organization and processing of innovation knowledge. TRIZ is considered as a cross-disciplinary, generic methodology, but it has not previously been presented in terms of logic or any other formal knowledge representation. Most of the concepts introduced in TRIZ are fuzzy, and most of the techniques are still heuristic and only partially formalized. For further development and conceptual re-organization of the TRIZ knowledge base, ETRIA shall involve and collaborate with TRIZ experts and professionals from the fields of logic, organization science, informatics and linguistics. The ETRIA has been set up to accomplish the following tasks Promotion of research and development on organization of innovation knowledge in general and particular fields by integrating conceptual approaches to classification developed by artificial intelligence (AI) and knowledge management communities; International observation, analysis, evaluation and reporting of progress in these directions; Promotion on an international level of the exchange of information and experience of scientists and practitioners in TRIZ, of universities and other educational organizations; Development of TRIZ through contributions from dedicated experts and specialists in particular areas of expertise. Amsterdam.info Amsterdam.info – Travel guide to Amsterdam features tourist information and tips, sights, entertainment, transport, map to print, and free pictures of Amsterdam. Club of Amsterdam Upcoming Events Special Events August 24, 2004 Media & Technology @ ANMI September 27, 2004 NanoWater January 26-28, 2005 Summit for the Future 2005 Club of Amsterdam Season 2004/2005 October 27, 2004 the future of ICT November 30, 2004 the future of Developing Countries February 23, 2005 the future of the Service Industry March 30, 2005 the future of Water April 27, 2005 the future of Branding June 1, 2005 the future of Robotics June 29, 2005 the future of Philosophy
Media & Technology, August 2004
Club of Amsterdam pdf version The Club of Amsterdam presents at the Amsterdam New Media Institute: Media & Technology This year Windows Media Center will be available for the Dutch market. Windows Media Center enables you to record and replay TV and music or to watch your photos. The PC and Internet now reach the living room. But the Windows Media Center’s features are richer and its implications bigger. You now can record TV programs and later watch them excluding commercials. Is this the end of traditional advertisement? Is this going to be the big threat for cable companies? Jonathan Marks Photo by Colby Stuart The speakers are: Jonathan Marks Director, Critical Distance BV Jonathan Marks (45) was born in the UK, but has spent most of his working life “abroad”, 22 of those years in The Netherlands. After working in Austria and Britain, Marks settled in Hilversum, Holland’s centre for broadcasting. There he quickly built new audiences for Radio Netherlands’ English language service by producing science and technology programmes. Marks held several functions at Radio Netherlands, including eight years as Programme Director. “I was originally hired to turn a media programme into a science show. But I ended up developing both concepts into long-running radio series that brought in excellent reactions from all over the world. Since then, setting up satellite television and new media projects in Latin America and Africa have been the most challenging work.” Since leaving Radio Netherlands in September 2003, Marks has set up his own business, Critical Distance. “As a media detective, I know that some of the best ideas for reaching people are coming out of the developing world. I enjoy acting as a catalyst, giving leadership to ensure new projects really happen. My new company gives me more time to pursue projects with a purpose. Right now, using mass media to reach hearts and minds has never been more important” says Jonathan. For many years he has been a frequent and impassioned speaker at media conferences, notably gatherings of the Asian Broadcasting Union, PRIX EUROPA and the European Broadcasting Union as well as London based Commonwealth Broadcasting Association. “. Reading, astronomy and being father to three kids fill in the gaps between Jonathan’s media assignments. http://www.jonathanmarks.com Derk Wagelaar Microsoft Nederland Derk Wagelaar is responsible for introducing Windows Media Center in The Netherlands. He will make a demonstration and tell what new developments can be expected. http://www.microsoft.com/netherlands/default.aspx Dick Buschmannhttp://www.lostboys.nl Moderator: Monique van Dusseldorp Monique van Dusseldorp is the founder of Van Dusseldorp, a new media consultancy, and the founder of Europemedia.net, a news service about European new media developments. As the CEO of Van Dusseldorp & Partners, she initiated the highly succesful TV meets the Web and SMS meets TV seminar series, and amongst others published the report “SMS TV – Interactive television reinvented” . Van Dusseldorp is a board member of Dutch broadcaster NPS, member of the board of Kenniswijk, and secretary to the Board of the Filmmuseum, and a valued speaker at international media conferences.
Club of Amsterdam Journal, August 2004, Issue 29
Content Fred Tepper about NanoWater about the future of Water & Nanotechnology News about the Future Recommended Book Foresight, UK Upcoming Events Club of Amsterdam SearchSubmit your articleContactSubscribe Fred Tepper about NanoWater Fred Tepper,President, Argonide Corpration,USA Nanotech Solutions to Provide Safe Drinking Water Since the discovery of bacteria and its involvement in cholera, man recognized that water could be contaminated and become unsafe to drink. Microbes are by far the greatest form of water contaminant leading to disease. Secondary but serious pollutants include arsenic, industrial solvents, pesticides, chromate and hundreds of others. A recent calamity involves millions of people in Bangladesh and Bengal, where drilling tube wells in order to avoid the seriously microbial-contaminated surface water then exposed the population to serious arsenic poisoning. Nanotechnology is likely to improve methods of cleaning water at both municipal plants and by individual users. We are developing nano solutions aimed at removing microbes and arsenic in portable as well as point of use (“POU”) applications. NanoCeram® is a filter media we developed based on nano alumina fibers 2 nanometers in diameter. When assembled into a cartridge it is capable of retaining greater than 99.9999% of bacteria, virus, cysts (protozoa) and general turbidity even at high rates of flow. The filter is a simple flow-through device that will be incorporated into portable water purifiers for campers and military, residential filters (faucet-level, under-the-sink, refrigerator) and gravity flow devices such as pitchers. The filter’s cost is low enough to make it a candidate for third world users. Other markets include water purification for dental, hospital (e.g.-endotoxin filtration) and DNA/protein separation for pharmaceutical manufacture. The first of third-party certified NanoCeram filters will become commercially available early in 2005. Much of the filter’s development is being sponsored by NASA for purifying recirculated water and by the U S Air Force for a portable water purifier. The NanoCeram® media is also being adapted as a collector/concentrator of bio terror agents, to enhance bio detectors. A companion product is a granular arsenic sorbent, capable of retaining both forms of arsenic at levels below 10 µg/liter, the newer, more rigorous standard adopted by EPA and WHO. Its proprietary composition includes two different nano materials, resulting in hard granules that are resistant to attrition. Its arsenic capacity exceeds that of known materials. Tim Harper speaks at NanoWater, September 27, 09:00-18:30, RAI Conference Center, Amsterdam about the future of Water & Nanotechnology Water for People – Water for LifeUnited Nations – The World Water Development Report At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Earth, with its diverse and abundant life forms, including over six billion humans, is facing a serious water crisis. All the signs suggest that it is getting worse and will continue to do so, unless corrective action is taken. This crisis is one of water governance, essentially caused by the ways in which we mismanage water. But the real tragedy is the effect it has on the everyday lives of poor people, who are blighted by the burden of water-related disease, living in degraded and often dangerous environments, struggling to get an education for their children and to earn a living, and to get enough to eat. The crisis is experienced also by the natural environment, which is groaning under the mountain of wastes dumped onto it daily, and from overuse and misuse, with seemingly little care for the future consequences and future generations.Giving the poor better access to better managed water can make a big contribution to poverty eradication, as The World Water Development Report (WWDR) will show. Such better management will enable us to deal with the growing per capita scarcity of water in many parts of the developing world. New nanotechnology effect – moving water molecules by light The use of an ordinary beam of light to move water around without the need for potentially damaging electric fields, air bubbles (which can denature proteins), or moving microscopic mechanical pump parts (which are expensive to make and difficult to repair) could significantly aid development of microfluidic devices, which are themselves tiny, sophisticated devices that can analyze samples. “This discovery can speed the development of microfluidic devices,” Garcia said. “These devices could require only one drop of blood for a battery of 20 to 30 tests, with results provided in the time spent waiting to consult with the physician,” Garcia explained. “They also could help pharmaceutical companies screen for a new drug by allowing for tests to be run on an extremely small scale and in simultaneous fashion.” News about the future Education for the Third Millennium: Looking Back From 2050by Hazel Henderson Education for this Third Millennium must be holistic. Teacher training and curricula needs to be geared to help all students to see our precious blue planet whole and understand the problems we humans face at the start of this new century. Since we only use about 10% of our brains, this expansion of our awareness is well within our grasp. One of the ways humans can expand their spatial and temporal frameworks is to create scenarios of possible and desirable futures. Using this futurist tool, let us imagine ourselves looking back from the middle of this Third Millennium. It is the year 2050 and much has changed – for the better! Europe in the Creative Ageby Richard Florida, Irene Tinagli A ‘creative crescent’ of northern European countries is challenging the economic power of the United States and ‘old Europe,’ according to a new index which measures performance in the knowledge economy.In The Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida analysed the factors which enabled economically successful US cities to attract and retain talent.His key finding was that this new ‘creative class’ wanted to live in open and tolerant places. Tolerant societies are able to attract talented people who contribute to technological innovation.In his latest research published by Demos, Florida uses a similar approach to rank the European Union countries alongside the US. Recommended Book European Dream, The: How Europe’s Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dreamby Jeremy Rifkin, Jeremy P Tarcher, Penguin The American Dream is in decline. Americans are increasingly overworked, underpaid, and squeezed for time. But there is an alternative: the European Dream-a more leisurely, healthy, prosperous, and sustainable way of life. Europe’s lifestyle is not only desirable, argues Jeremy Rifkin, but may be crucial to sustaining prosperity in the new era. With the dawn of the European Union, Europe has become an economic superpower in its own right-its GDP now surpasses that of the United States. Europe has achieved newfound dominance not by single-mindedly driving up stock prices, expanding working hours, and pressing every household into a double- wage-earner conundrum. Instead, the New Europe relies on market networks that place cooperation above competition; promotes a new sense of citizenship that extols the well-being of the whole person and the community rather than the dominant individual; and recognizes the necessity of deep play and leisure to create a better, more productive, and healthier workforce. From the medieval era to modernity, Rifkin delves deeply into the history of Europe, and eventually America, to show how the continent has succeeded in slowly and steadily developing a more adaptive, sensible way of working and living. In The European Dream, Rifkin posits a dawning truth that only the most jingoistic can ignore: Europe’s flexible, communitarian model of society, business, and citizenship is better suited to the challenges of the twenty-first century. Indeed, the European Dream may come to define the new century as the American Dream defined the century now past. Foresight, UK Foresight aims to provide challenging visions of the future, to ensure effective strategies now. It does this by providing a core of skills in science-based futures projects and unequalled access to leaders in government, business and science. Foresight projects .Cognitive Systems directed by John Taylor, Director General of the Research Councils. This was the first project completed under the new Foresight programme. The aim of the project was to provide a vision for the future development of cognitive systems (artificial or biological systems, which respond to their environment, learn, reason and make their own decision) through an exploration of recent advances in neuroscience and computer science. It was based on the premise that parallel developments in the physical and life sciences showed trends that might benefit from greater collaborative working and that might deliver major scientific and economic prizes in the long term. Participants in the Cognitive Systems project spent 18 months exploring the science and developing a shared vision of where it might go in the future. This project created a community with common interests and a vision of the future direction of the science; an understanding of what needs to be in place to achieve that vision; and a growing body of people committed to enabling it to be raised. The sponsor Minister for this project was Lord Sainsbury, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). .Flood and Coastal Defence directed by Professor Sir David King, Chief Scientific Adviser. This project began in October 2002 and the outputs were published on 22nd April 2004. The aim of this project was to produce a challenging long-term vision of the future of flood and coastal defence that takes account of the many uncertainties, is robust, and can be used as a basis to inform policy and its delivery. As the future is uncertain, the project has looked at several different future scenarios in order to explore the potential impact of the problem. The sponsor Minister for this project is Elliot Morley, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). .Exploiting the Electromagnetic Spectrum directed by David Hughes, Director General Innovation Group, DTI. This Project began in April 2003 and the outputs were published on 29th April 2004. It has looked at the way in which individual developments in the use of parts of the electromagnetic spectrum have tended to derive from very different areas of science and at different times, searching for key topics where a focussed cross-disciplinary effort would be expected to lead to new applications.Four key topics were found and investigate: “Switching to light: all optical data handling”, “Manufacturing with light: photonics at the molecular level”, “Inside the wavelength: electromagnetics in the near field”, and “Picturing people: non-intrusive imaging”. For each topic, the project has produced plans for action detailing options and responsibilities to secure UK exploitation of identified opportunities in the future. The sponsor Minister for this project is Stephen Timms (DTI). .Cybertrust and Crime Prevention directed by Professor Sir David King, Chief Scientific Advisor. The aim is to look 15 – 20 years ahead at the impact of advances in next generation information technologies. In particular it will consider issues such as: identity and authenticity; trust in Information technologies; surveillance; and how products and systems may be developed that minimise crime opportunities. The project is currently in its penultimate stage, collating the findings and preparing them for publication. The sponsor Minister for this project is The Rt. Hon. John Denham (Home Office). .Brain Science, Addiction and Drugs The fifth Foresight project, on Brain Science, Addiction and Drugs, is currently in the scoping phase. This project has been set up in response to rapid changes in our understanding of the brain and of the effects on it of both long-established and novel drugs and addiction. Amsterdam.info Amsterdam.info – Travel guide to Amsterdam features tourist information and tips, sights, entertainment, transport, map to print, and free pictures of Amsterdam. Club of Amsterdam Upcoming Events Special Events August 24, 2004 Media & Technology @ ANMI September 27, 2004 NanoWater January 26-28, 2005 Summit for the Future 2005 Club of Amsterdam Season 2004/2005 October 27, 2004 the future of ICT November 30, 2004 the future of Developing Countries February 23, 2005 the future of the Service Industry March 30, 2005 the future of Water April 27, 2005 the future of Branding June 1, 2005 the future of Robotics June 29, 2005 the future of Philosophy
Club of Amsterdam Journal, July 2004, Issue 28
Content Tim Harper about NanoWater about the future of Water & Nanotechnology News about the Future Recommended Book IntelCities Questionnaire about ‘the future of Culture & Religion Upcoming Events Club of Amsterdam SearchSubmit your articleContactSubscribe Tim Harper about NanoWater CEO, CientificaExecutive Director,European NanoBusiness AssociationSpain NanoWater is a very simple idea that grew out of a meeting with Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres at the World NanoEconomic Congress in Washington DC last year. He made the only speech I have ever seen get a standing ovation at a nanotech conference, with the simple message that perhaps technology could do something positive. We followed this up with a visit to Israel just before Christmas last year to understand at first hand the problems facing countries with scarce water resources. There are two compelling reasons for the nanowater initiative. Firstly lack of clean, affordable water is not a problem confined to the developing world. Southern Europe, Israel, the western United States, the Middle East and areas of south-east Asia such as Singapore all suffer increasing pressure on scarce water shortages. While any number of programs are looking at ameliorating the situation in the developing world, the real resources to address water issues will come from the countries above. These are all rich countries whose economies and future prosperity could be damaged by lack of access to water. If there is a solution to be found, it will be driven by economics, not charity. Secondly, water remediation is already available in the form of filters, desalination technologies, and water recovery systems. The reason we have a water problem is because these technologies are not yet cheap enough, either in terms of efficiency, maintenance, or the energy required to operate them. Nanotechnology is already being applied across a wide range of areas that be either be used directly, or adapted for use in the water industry. In addition, almost every application of nanotechnology in industry is being driven by the economics of the bottom line. So the question becomes, can we use nanotechnology to make water remediation more efficient, and ultimately more economically viable? The preliminary results indicate that we can. Tim Harper speaks at NanoWater, September 27, 09:00-18:30, RAI Conference Center, Amsterdam about the future of Water & Nanotechnology Water that won’t freezeThe structure of water inside carbon nanotubes has been debated for several years. Now some experimental light has been shed on the issue.By Philip Ball, nature.comThe structure of water inside carbon nanotubes has been debated for several years. Now some experimental light has been shed on the issue. Water held inside carbon nanotubes is very different from normal water, researchers in the USA have found. They say that it adopts a structure quite unlike that seen in the bulk liquid or in ice. The ‘nanotube water’ shows ‘soft’, liquid-like behaviour even at temperatures as low as 8 K. And it displays no abrupt melting transition between a solid and a liquid as it is warmed up. A Soak Cycle at Inframat, and Pollutants Come Out in the WashBy Candace Stuart, Small Times Features EditorMillions of villagers in Bangladesh were exposed to unhealthy levels of arsenic in drinking water in the 1980s and ’90s after the naturally occurring poison seeped from bedrock into groundwater supplying wells.After a decade of exposure, the Bangladeshis began to show skin abnormalities and other signs of toxicity, including cancers. The contamination still plagues Bangladesh, India and several South Asian nations.A handful of companies and research labs are working to provide nanotechnology-based solutions for these domestic and foreign markets. One platform is proving versatile enough to capture not only arsenic in its various forms but also mercury.“The opportunity for this kind of activity is excellent,” said David Reisner, chief executive of Inframat Corp. in Farmington, Conn. News about the future Vision 20/20: Future Scenarios for the Communications Industry – Implications for Regulationby the Australian Communication AuthorityTwo representatives from the Australian Communication Authority Vision 20/20 team undertook an international road test of the preliminary outcomes of the project to date. It was also an opportunity to discuss strategic implications with relevant experts and agencies including the Club of Amsterdam. Europe and Germany in 2020 – A Future Scenarioby Z _punktWe have no reason to expect miracles,but by 2020 society and state have managed to revitalise themselves.The basic scenario described below assumes changes set off by existing trends and by widely accepted reforms rather than unsettling external events or sudden wide-spread changes of mind.We wanted it to be a down-to-earth vision,a desirable perspective based on realism;in this respect,it is a ‘preferable scenario ’.However, it demands high learning ability from society and individuals as its fundamental condition for change,as well as the willingness in everyone to shoulder responsibilities and to embark on a process of change which carries the risk of failure. Recommended Book Springer Handbook of Nanotechnologyby Bharat Bhushan“Professor Bhushan has harnessed his own knowledge and experience, gained in several industries and universities, and has assembled about 100 internationally recognized authors from three continents to write more than 40 chapters. The authors come from both academia and industry … [This book] is a timely addition to the literature on nanotechnology, which I anticipate will stimulate further interest in this important new field and serve as an invaluable resource to members of the international scientific and industrial community.” IntelCities IntelCities (Intelligent Cities) is a research and technological development project to pool advanced knowledge and experience of electronic government, planning systems and citizen participation from across Europe. The project is being led by Manchester City Council (UK) and the City of Sienna (Italy). It brings together eighteen European cities, twenty ICT companies (including Nokia and CISCO) and thirty-six research groups. The project is part of the European Union’s Sixth Framework Programme, with €6.8m of the €11.4m budget from the EU’s Information Society Technologies programme. IntelCities will help achieve the EU policy goal of the Knowledge Society by 2010 through new forms of electronic governance of cities and greater social inclusion through enhanced access to services by citizens and businesses. The project aims to create a new and innovative set of interoperable, e-government services that will provide information to all citizens and businesses about all aspects of city life via interactive city-wide Internet based applications. By providing these services, IntelCities will: Address poor quality information that prevents the effective use, management and planning of cities.Support the everyday needs of citizens and business by providing 24 hour access to stransactional city services.Develop more efficient city management by integrating services across city authorities, regional and national government agencies, utility and transport system providers, non-governmental organisation networks and citizens.Enable citizens and businesses to play a far more participative and inclusive role in city planning via more reliable city modelling, predictive planning, and advanced visualisation technologies. Questionnaire about ‘the future of Culture & Religion’ At our recent Club of Amsterdam evening about ‘the future of Culture & Religion‘ we asked the audience some questions: 1. Can the actions of politicians and moreover world leaders be legitimised by there religious convictions? 67 % yes33 % no 2. Is there an overkill of religious and spiritual supply in modern society? 17 % yes83 % no 3. Should separation of state and church be a world standard? 50 % yes50 % no 4. Is religion an inevitable thing for the human kind that survives anyhow? 100 % yes0 % no 5. Are you religious? 33 % yes67 % no 6. Does Muslim culture in Europe have to change? 83 % yes17 % no 7. Is there a need for a new religion? 33 % yes67 % no Club of Amsterdam Upcoming Events September 27, 2004 NanoWater January 26-28, 2005 Summit for the Future 2005 Club of Amsterdam Season 2004/2005 October 27, 2004 the future of ICT November 30, 2004 the future of Developing Countries February 23, 2005 the future of the Service Industry March 30, 2005 the future of Water April 27, 2005 the future of Branding June 1, 2005 the future of Robotics June 29, 2005 the future of Philosophy