Lecture by Berthold-Beitz-Fellow Prof. Dr. Zachary Shore: Learning from history
On November 11, Prof. Dr. Zachary Shore, the first Berthold Beitz Fellow, gave a lecture in English at Villa Hügel. Under the title “Learning from Folly: Can History Help?”, Prof. Shore showed how historical experience can help us make wise decisions in uncertain times.
As part of the lecture, Prof. Shore provided insights into his current research on the topic of “A Wiser World: The Global Quest for Good Judgement”. In this context, he examines which factors – from personal characteristics to group dynamics and historical conditions – favor wise decisions. Particularly in light of today’s global challenges, such as climate change and authoritarian tendencies, Shore argues that a deeper understanding of wisdom and its application could be crucial to tackling current problems.
In his presentation, Shore highlighted three key conditions that favor wise decisions: First, wise decisions often emerge from the “ashes of failure” – they build on previous mistakes (“folly”). Secondly, differences of opinion and conflict (“friction”) are necessary to produce lasting wisdom. Thirdly, “pain” plays a major role: intense emotional experiences and suffering can create a basis for wisdom. In the absence of wisdom, governments can make decisions that have serious consequences and cost lives.
Shore cited the Marshall Plan as an example of a wise decision: The U.S. changed its original plan to harshly punish Germany into a strategy aimed at stability and reconstruction. This decision was not only based on rational considerations, but also on the compassion of some US decision-makers for the suffering of the population.
About the Berthold Beitz Scholarship
The Berthold Beitz Fellowship, established by the Krupp Foundation and the American Academy in Berlin, was created in memory of the former chairman of the Krupp Foundation, Berthold Beitz. The scholarship focuses on economic and political history and enables one scholarship holder each year to complete a research stay at the Hans Arnhold Center of the American Academy in Berlin. Prof. Zachary Shore is the first fellow of this program and will take up the fellowship in fall 2024.
About Prof. Zachary Shore
Zachary Shore (*1971) is Professor of History at the Naval Postgraduate School, Senior Fellow at the Institute of European Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and National Security Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Oxford and completed his postdoctoral studies at Harvard University. Shore has published six books, including his most recent work “This Is Not Who We Are: America’s Struggle Between Vengeance and Virtue” (2023). His articles have appeared in Time, Politico, Foreign Policy, Los Angeles Times and The National Interest, among others. Blind since his youth, Shore is also an active advocate for improving opportunities for blind people.