University of Oulu revives a culture of civilized debate – featuring leading public figures
The series is led by Professor of Philosophy and Director of the University of Oulu’s Eudaimonia Institute, Jouni-Matti Kuukkanen, who is familiar with this traditional format from the University of Oxford.
“The aim is to deepen our understanding of interesting but contentious topics. At its best, a debate held in good spirit can ease tensions and promote a more rational culture of discussion,” Kuukkanen says.
The structure of the debates loosely follows the Oxford model. “Structured debate is rare in Finland, but it makes discussion engaging, focused, and easy to follow,” Kuukkanen notes.
The series will consist of four debates: two in the autumn and two in the spring. Each event will focus on a single proposition, with two speakers defending it and two opposing it.
Each session includes roughly five-minute opening statements for and against, about three-minute rebuttals, a period of moderated open debate, and finally questions and comments from the audience.
The first debate will take place on Wednesday, 24 September at the University of Oulu’s Linnanmaa campus in the Agora Hall, 16:00–18:00. The proposition “Strong strategic steering threatens the idea of the university” will be debated by Anita Lehikoinen, former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Taina Pihlajaniemi, former Vice Rector for Research at the University of Oulu, Janne Saarikivi, linguist, nonfiction author, and member of the University of Oulu Board and Sami Pihlström, philosopher and professor.
The discussion will be moderated by Professor Jouni-Matti Kuukkanen.
Future debates will address topics related to technology, militarism, and the conquest of space. Participants will include Sanna Järvelä, Professor of Learning and Educational Technology, Martti Koskenniemi, Professor Emeritus of International Law and Academician of Science, Minna Palmroth, Professor of Space Physics, Katri Saarikivi, neuroscientist and Esko Valtaoja, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy.
The debate on technology will be held in English, the others in Finnish.
The events are organized by the University of Oulu’s Eudaimonia Institute, which focuses on high-level interdisciplinary research in the humanities.
The events are open to all and require no registration. Discussions will also be streamed via the newspaper Kaleva at kaleva.fi/live