Interview with Edgar Morin

Abstract

The interview with the French thinker Edgar Morin was part of the production of materials intended for the preparation process of the 3rd Latin American Philosophy Olympiad, held in the city of Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, in October 2012. It may seem strange to some to hear about philosophy Olympiads, especially coming from a curricular component historically marked by critical thinking. Is philosophy reinforcing the banner of individual competition among young people?
However, it is worth mentioning that although it originated in Bulgaria, more precisely at the University of Sofia, aiming at the production of individual philosophical essays among students of basic education, the Philosophy Olympiad gained a new design when adapted to the Latin American reality. Philosophers and teachers from Uruguay made a qualitative leap by resignifying the Olympiad and giving it a solidarity character. That is, to solve a specific philosophical problem, young people from different schools came together to seek and find a solution, at the end of which everyone was valued and certified.
This was also the case with the problem proposed for the year 2012: What is the social cost of progress? As Edgar Morin was visiting Rio de Janeiro, at a reference school institution, we requested an interview with him aiming to produce reflections that would fuel the discussion of the aforementioned problem.
More than ten years later, the proposed question about the social cost of progress remains a relevant topic, especially now, in times of investment in technology, with a focus on artificial intelligence, for example, which could potentially replace human labor.