Denkraum.

Theater & Philosophie

Thinking Space
Theatre & Philosophy

Theatre and philosophy address existential questions of being. And both thrive on lively exchange – whether through emotion in aesthetic events between stage and spectator or through discourse in argumentative dialogue between interlocutors.

The new Thinking Space. series launched at Theater Oberhausen in November 2023 is designed, curated and moderated by Dr Eva Weber-Guskar, Professor of Ethics and Philosophy of Emotions at the Ruhr University Bochum.
We will offer further THINKING SPACE. THEATRE & PHILOSOPHY sessions this performance season, again led by Professor Dr Eva Weber-Guskar.

THINKING SPACE. THEATRE & PHILOSOPHY #3

In the first session of the new performance season, she will invite Dr Katja Crone, Professor of Philosophy of Mind at TU Dortmund University, to think aloud with her about the themes of the Milch und Kohle (Milk and Coal) production – the power of memory, what it means for us to remember and whether we can trust our memories. 

Dr Eva Weber-Guskar is Professor of Ethics and Philosophy of Emotions at the Ruhr University Bochum. She designs, curates and moderates the THINKING SPACE. series for Theater Oberhausen. In addition to her research and teaching, Dr Eva Weber-Guskar has long been committed to promoting academic philosophy to the public, including by writing journalistic articles and as a founding member of the philpublica.de online portal. In her recent book Gefühle der Zukunft (Feelings of the Future), published by Ullstein, she addresses what the idea of sentient machines means for us humans.

SUNDAY, 19/01/2025, 6:30 PM, BAR, FREE ADMISSION

THINKING SPACE. THEATRE & PHILOSOPHY #2

Based on the play Sauer (Acid) by Asja Krsmanović, the second edition focuses on philosophical questions relating to the family. Our discussion partner is Dr. Barbara Bleisch, known as the presenter of the SRF programme Sternstunde Philosophie and for her philosophical research on the topic of family. We will talk to her about the special kind of love between parents and children, as well as between siblings and other relatives, and about why it is often so particularly tense despite or precisely because of its great depth. There are also moral questions: how often an adult daughter should visit her father, whether a son should contribute financially to his mother’s care or whether children owe their parents anything at all. But also: How can parents relinquish responsibility for their children so that they can meet as adults without paternalistic behaviour? No one chooses the relationship between children, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, yet it is existential and complicated. It is never free of problems and yet can be a source of great happiness.

The event on 16 June at 11 a.m. will be co-organised by students from the Ruhr University Bochum and, as always, the audience is invited to join in the discussion.

SUNDAY, 16/06/2024, 11 AM, BAR, FREE ADMISSION

THINKING SPACE. THEATRE & PHILOSOPHY #1

In the first edition of Thinking space., Eva Weber-Guskar invited the philosopher Prof Dr Jan Slaby (Freie Universität Berlin) to think aloud about the philosophical themes of the production Zeit für Freude: forgiveness, disappearance and the temporality of emotions. A further event on the production Serenade für Nadja is planned for June 2024.