Despite continuous privatisation, the world of the elements—water, earth, air, and fire—resists appropriation. Its distinguishing feature is precisely its public character. Among the classical elements, fire has a special relationship with the public sphere.
It makes beings visible and energises them with its warmth. In various cultural traditions, the ancients saw the sun as a condensation of celestial fire, or as a divine eye in the sky (or, sometimes, as the eye of a gigantic cosmic animal at the origin of the universe) observing events and endowing them with visibility. Meanwhile, the public sphere, rather than being a fully illuminated space, is a zone of chiaroscuro. Preserving and nurturing its opacity could sometimes be as vital as insisting on the ideals of transparency, universality, and equality of access.
Exploring this paradox, philosopher Michael Marder will speak in this session about the public nature of sun and light, and will examine how they connect with the civic sphere.
Prices
3 € Free – Friends of the CCCB, unemployed people, holders of the Generalitat teacher ID, retirees with the Pink Card.
