Danish philosopher Lene Rachel Andersen: Russia must start behaving like a normal country

Danish philosopher, writer, and economist Lene Rachel Andersen visited Lviv for an interview with Ukrainska Pravda as part of the Lviv Media Forum. She is the author of over a dozen books, including the European bestseller “Bildung: The Nordic Secret of Beauty and Freedom,” which focuses on social philosophy and cultural evolution. In recent years, she has studied how democracies can maintain resilience during global crises.

Outdated Education

Andersen argues that current education systems were designed in the 20th century, some even in the 19th, and fail to keep pace with rapid modern changes. Our cognitive tools, she says, reflect roughly 1995 reality. This gap between old institutions and the digital age leads to inadequate responses to contemporary problems.

Bildung or Lifelong Learning

She explains Bildung as lifelong learning that helps individuals become complete personalities. She distinguishes two types of knowledge: transferable (e.g., grammar rules) and non-transferable, based on life experience (first love, motherhood). A Bildung teacher focuses on each student’s unique potential. For example, a student interested in music can learn math through the physics of strings. However, this becomes impossible with class sizes over 24, reducing education to mere knowledge transfer.

AI and Creativity

Andersen criticizes AI use in creative fields. She describes attempting to translate her own book with AI, only to find the text lost her voice and spirit. She believes AI turns creative work into tedious fact-checking, stripping joy from writing, music, and art. She predicts public resistance will soon emerge, as AI benefits mostly tech giants.

Postmodernism and Cultural Heritage

Andersen contends education has erred by prioritizing efficiency over cultural heritage. Literature like the Greek tragedy “Medea” helps people understand extreme emotions and life dilemmas. Without such stories, young people facing challenges may feel isolated.

Hard Choices in War and Russia

Discussing the war in Ukraine, Andersen notes Ukrainians are forced to make choices not of their own making—foreign aggression places them in situations requiring decisions with severe moral consequences. She concludes: “I want Russia to start behaving like a normal country.”