Ariadne von Schirach

Ariadne von Schirach is an author, freelance journalist, critic and philosopher. She has lectured on philosophy and Chinese thought in the Studium Generale programme at the Berlin University of the Arts, the Hamburg University of Fine Arts and Danube University Krems. In her essays, articles (e.g. in Spiegel, FAZ, Die Zeit) and non-fiction books, she deals with a wide range of developments in our society.

Whether on inner growth or degrowth, happiness and meaning, spirituality or ethics and irresponsibility in the age of artificial intelligence – her contributions, such as keynotes, impulses or workshops, delve deeper into the question of what it means to be human. Behind it all is the conviction that, despite all our differences, we humans have more in common than divides us – we not only share everyday emotional experiences such as heartbreak or joie de vivre, but we all possess a spirit. We can make decisions; that is our freedom and our responsibility. And if we have to do it anyway, why not make it beautiful?

Schirach's appearances encourage, cheer and inspire. Her words encourage listeners to reflect and participate in a lasting way. In the space she invites us into in her lectures and keynotes, there is a round table where everyone has a voice and can find their voice.

In addition to a sincere commitment to universalism, humour and ambivalence competence, she constantly finds new metaphors to understand our present. The first book in her trilogy on modern life, ‘Der Tanz um die Lust’ (The Dance Around Desire), tells how we have turned our desires into commodities. Du sollst nicht funktionieren (Thou Shalt Not Function) is about how we market everything else: our performance, our relationships and our feelings. How our pursuit of profit and competitive thinking have distanced us so much from the truth of life that we have actually gone mad is described in ‘Die psychotische Gesellschaft. Wie wir Angst und Ohnmacht überwinden’ (The Psychotic Society: How We Overcome Fear and Powerlessness), the third and final volume of her ‘Trilogy of Modern Life’. But the crisis this has triggered also contains an invitation to a different way of dealing with humanity, nature and love.

‘We don't need a new world, but a new, meaningful awareness of the world.’

In addition to her trilogy, she published the psychological textbook ‘Me and You and Müller's Cow: A Short Guide to Character for Anyone Who Wants to Understand Themselves and Others Better’ in 2016. In autumn 2021, ‘Attempts at Happiness: On the Art of Speaking to Your Soul,’ an invitation to start saving the world with yourself. In 2024, she wrote the foreword to the new edition of Viktor Frankl's ‘... Nevertheless, Say Yes to Life.’

Schirach writes a column for Moment by Moment, a magazine about mindfulness. She is also an avid reader with a penchant for cyberpunk. In addition to philosophers and poets, her favourite authors include Terry Pratchett, Tom Robbins and Roger Zelazny. When she writes herself, her texts are entertaining, true to life, often brutally direct and provocative.

Her speech is relaxed, ironic and self-deprecating, extremely intelligent and courageously emotional. Her remarks testify to her impressive expertise, great insight into human nature and deep love for people, the mind and words.