Modern working life is characterized by constant change, demands for optimization, and social acceleration. As a result, there is an increasing demand for people who are flexible, adaptable, and innovative. But not everyone can live up to these expectations, and more and more individuals suffer from work-related stress.

In this keynote, Svend Brinkmann explores how we can structure a work life that better accommodates human diversity, creating a more meaningful experience for more people. There must be room for creative individuals who think outside the box and change the world, but also for those with the skills to maintain the world we live in.

Svend Brinkmann is co-editor of the book series “The Dilemmas of Working Life”, which highlights the everyday challenges and paradoxes that can stand in the way of finding meaning at work. Neither the keynote nor the book aims to define the problems or offer definitive solutions, because such answers don’t exist. Instead, Svend Brinkmann seeks to inspire dialogue about what we want from modern working life, and how we, both individually and collectively, can create greater meaning in it.

Regardless of our perspectives, depending on industry, workplace, role, or position, we all share the responsibility of relating to our work as a life task and an existential condition.

More than anything, what the modern human lacks is reflection. That is the central premise of Svend Brinkmann’s latest keynote, which offers a powerful defense of a thoughtful way of life in an increasingly thoughtless world.

As human beings, we possess the capacity for deep and critical thinking but rarely are we given the time or space to exercise it. In today’s fast-paced society of constant acceleration, we are expected to produce, consume, and optimize without pause. Meanwhile, we’re continuously bombarded by stimuli from media, advertisements, and social platforms, so when do we actually get the chance to think?

While many turn to Eastern traditions such as meditation and mindfulness to be present and think less, Svend Brinkmann instead draws on the rich tradition of Western philosophy to champion the importance of thinking better as essential to living a good life.

This keynote is based on Svend Brinkmann’s book “Think” (2022).

“Know thyself!” was inscribed above the Temple of Apollo at Delphi in ancient Greece. In modern times, this phrase has often been interpreted as a call to explore one’s inner self, to understand oneself in order to grow personally, unlock inner potential, or become the best version of oneself. Self-development is frequently seen as a necessity, not only in private life but also in the workplace.

However, the ancient Greeks likely meant something different: that we must first and foremost know ourselves as human beings, as creatures with shared characteristics, living life in relation with others. To know oneself as a human being is a cultural and philosophical project, distinct from individual self-optimization.

But what, in fact, is a human being? Where can modern individuals find the resources to understand what it means to be human? And how can we fully realize our humanity?

These are the essential questions Svend Brinkmann addresses in this thought-provoking keynote, based on his book of the same title. Through the talk, he introduces various conceptions of the human being from the biological and rational to the emotional, social, and spiritual and questions whether today’s society truly allows space for us to be human.

Brinkmann also explores how technological development is putting pressure on the human condition, as we are increasingly expected to optimize ourselves psychologically, medically, neurologically, and digitally.