UNIVERSITY OF BUCHAREST

FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY
THE RESEARCH CENTRE FOR THE
HISTORY AND CIRCULATION OF
PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS
www.filosofie.unibuc.ro

“SMART CITIES NEED UPGRADED HUMANS”. PROFESSOR STEFAN LORENZ

SORGNER LECTURES AT THE FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY, UNIVERSITY OF
BUCHAREST

The Research Centre for the History and Circulation of Philosophical Ideas (CCIIF) and the
Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Bucharest are pleased to inform you that our institutions
will organize and host the conference “Smart Cities Need Upgraded Humans”, held by Stefan
Lorenz Sorgner, Professor at John Cabot University (Rome). The event starts at 11 P.M. at the
Faculty of Philosophy, Splaiul Independenței 204, Bucharest (Amph. Constantin Rădulescu-
Motru).

Stefan Lorenz Sorgner is a philosophy

professor at John Cabot University in Rome
and is director and co-founder of the Beyond
Humanism Network, Fellow at the Institute
for Ethics and Emerging Technologies
(IEET), Research Fellow at the Ewha
Institute for the Humanities at Ewha
Womans University in Seoul and Visiting
Fellow at the Ethics Centre of the Friedrich-
Schiller-University in Jena. He is author and
editor of more than 10 books, e.g.
Metaphysics without Truth (Marquette
University Press 2007), Menschenwürde
nach Nietzsche (WBG 2010),
Transhumanismus (Herder 2016), Schöner
neuer Mensch (Nicolai, 2018), Übermensch
(Schwabe 2019). In addition, he is Editor-in-Chief and Founding Editor of the “Journal of

Splaiul Independenței nr. 204 Tel.: +40 21 318 15 56; +40 21 318 29 74 E-mail: office@filosofie.unibuc.ro
060024 Bucureşti, ROMÂNIA Fax: +40 21 318 52 89 Web: www.filosofie.unibuc.ro
 UNIVERSITY OF BUCHAREST
FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY
THE RESEARCH CENTRE FOR THE
HISTORY AND CIRCULATION OF
PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS
www.filosofie.unibuc.ro

Posthuman Studies” (a double-blind peer review journal, published by Penn State University Press
since 2017). Furthermore, he is in great demand as a speaker in all parts of the world (e.g. TEDx;
World Humanities Forum, Global Solutions Taipei Workshop) and a regular contact person of
national and international journalists and media representatives (e.g. Die Zeit).

„In Stefan Lorenz Sorgner’s work, the profound originality is accompanied by a

vast knowledge of the philosophical tradition. His exploration of the
philosophical meanings of post-humanism has become a point of reference that
contemporary culture cannot ignore.”

Gianni Vattimo, University of Turin

The abstract of the conference “Smart Cities Need Upgraded Humans”

„We have always been cyborgs. Now, it occurs that computers are in the process
of getting smaller and of entering our bodies so that we turn into upgraded
humans, who can interact efficiently with their environment within smart cities,
and have the appropriate means for dealing with aging, the worst mass murderer
in the world. This development goes along with new challenges related to
digitalization, whereby the coming about of the internet panopticon is the most
serious of all of them. I will reflect upon how these developments relate to post-
and transhumanist discourses, and what can be done to successfully deal with
the ethical challenges related to this development. Will we also end up with a
social credit system, as it will be in place in all of China from 2020 onwards?
Would it make a difference, if we start seeing social credits as a way of gaining
data capital? The Black Mirror episode “Nosedive” reveals some implications
of what is happening right now….”
Stefan Lorenz Sorgner, John Cabot University

Further information regarding Professor Sorgner`s research projects and expertise can be
consulted by visiting his official webpage: https://sorgner.weebly.com/further-information.html

Splaiul Independenței nr. 204 Tel.: +40 21 318 15 56; +40 21 318 29 74 E-mail: office@filosofie.unibuc.ro
060024 Bucureşti, ROMÂNIA Fax: +40 21 318 52 89 Web: www.filosofie.unibuc.ro
 UNIVERSITY OF BUCHAREST
FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY
THE RESEARCH CENTRE FOR THE
HISTORY AND CIRCULATION OF
PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS
www.filosofie.unibuc.ro

“It is the second time when Professor

Sorgner visits our faculty and gets into
contact with our students and academic
community. Meeting him can be a great
opportunity for those who are passionate
about posthumanism to express their
curiosities on his work and main topics of
research, to find more about his annual
conference on “Beyond Humanism” (that
reached its 11th edition which is to be held
in Lille, this summer) or about the Journal
of Posthuman Studies, with a board formed
by experts in contemporary philosophy and
posthuman studies, such as Gianni Vattimo
and Luciano Floridi.”

Oana Șerban, University of Bucharest, Faculty of

Philosophy, The Research Centre for the History
and Circulation of Philosophical Ideas

Splaiul Independenței nr. 204 Tel.: +40 21 318 15 56; +40 21 318 29 74 E-mail: office@filosofie.unibuc.ro
060024 Bucureşti, ROMÂNIA Fax: +40 21 318 52 89 Web: www.filosofie.unibuc.ro