The Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture is a US$1-million award given each year to a significant individual in the field of philosophy. It is awarded by the Berggruen Institute to "thinkers whose ideas have helped us find direction, wisdom, and improved self-understanding in a world being rapidly transformed by profound social, technological, political, cultural, and economic change."
The Berggruen Prize was first awarded in 2016 with the overt purpose of becoming a "Nobel prize for philosophy". The first recipient of the Berggruen Prize was the Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor, whose work "urges us to see humans as constituted not only by their biology or their personal intentions, but also by their existence within language and webs of meaningful relationships."Rothman, Joshua. "How to Restore Your Faith in Democracy", The New Yorker, November 11, 2016.
The prize is awarded annually in October, with a ceremony at the New York Public Library. In 2016, ceremony speakers included University of Pennsylvania president Amy Gutmann and journalist Fareed Zakaria.Gordon, Amanda L. "Billionaire’s Supper Club Directs Philosopher’s Arrow at Trump", Bloomberg, December 2, 2016. The ceremony honoring Japanese philosopher Kojin Karatani was held in Tokyo, Japan. In 2024, the ceremony was held in Washington, D.C., at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, with journalist Michel Martin serving as a speaker.
Berggruen Prize Laureates YearRecipientCountryCitationFields2016(born 1931)"whose work urges us to see humans as constituted not only by their biology or their personal intentions but also by their existence within language and webs of meaningful relationships."Political philosophy, cosmopolitanism, hermeneutics, philosophy of religion, philosophical anthropology2017(born 1941)for "her works have elevated the quality of public life and improved the very vocabulary of public discourse."Political philosophy, ethics2018(born 1947)for "her transformative work as an academic philosopher into public debates about key questions of national and global political significance, making her one of the world's leading public philosophers." Liberal theory, political philosophy, feminism, ethics, social liberalism2019(1933–2020)for being "a lifelong trailblazer for human rights and gender equality and a constant voice for justice, equal and accessible to all."Law, political science, feminism, liberalism, social justice2020(1959–2022)"leader in the development of public anthropology, as well as in improving health care for the world's poorest people."Internal medicine, infectious disease, medical anthropology2021(born 1946) "for promoting the idea of 'effective altruism,' which encourages people to have reason, rather than empathy, guide their philanthropy."Applied ethics, bioethics, utilitarianism, environmental ethics, philosophy of life2022(born 1941)for his "radically original contributions to modern philosophy, the history of philosophy, and political thinking—making Karatani’s work particularly valuable in the current era of troubled global capitalism, crisis in democratic states, and resurgent but seldom self-critical nationalism."Political philosophy, history of philosophy, deconstruction, comparative literature, literary criticism2023(born 1948)for how her work "provides a powerful analytical lens through which we can envision the different and intersecting ways in which our material, social, and cultural worlds produce injustice," and has given us "original vocabulary with which to think about social power and contestation."Social theory, Sociology of knowledge, Feminism, Feminist sociology, Gender studies, Black feminism2024No award2025(born 1953)for his "use philosophy as an invitation to a more robust citizenship than we've become accustomed to, to prompt public deliberation about big questions that matter, such as what makes for a just society and how can we seek the common good."Contemporary philosophy, Ethics, Jurisprudence, Political philosophy, Communitarianism
Berggruen Prize Jury Current Prize Jury Members ImageJuryBerggruen Prize Jury berggruen.orgCountryDetailsEnteredOther GroupsDavid Chalmers (b. 1966)Professor of Philosophy and Neural Science, New York University2018Antonio Damasio (b. 1944)Professor of Neuroscience, Psychology and Philosophy, University of Southern California2016Bio/Tech FuturesThe Berggruen NetworkTransformations of the Human Advisory Board Yuk HuiProfessor of Philosophy, Erasmus University Rotterdam2020TofTH Senior FellowsSiri Hustvedt (b. 1955)Novelist, Poet, and Essayist; Recipient, 2019 Princess of Asturias Awards for Literature2021The Berggruen NetworkPratap Bhanu Mehta (b. 1967)Laurance S. Rockefeller Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching2021The Berggruen NetworkElif Shafak (b. 1971)Novelist, Essayist, and Activist; Recipient, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres2018Noema Magazine Editorial BoardWang Hui (b. 1959) Professor of Chinese Language, Literature, and History, Tsinghua University2016The Berggruen NetworkCarlo Rovelli (b. 1956) Physicist, writer, Aix-Marseille University2020The Berggruen Network
Berggruen Prize Jury Emeriti ImageJuryEmeriti Jurors, Berggruen Prize berggruen.orgCountryDetailsEnteredWithdrewOther GroupsKwame Anthony Appiah (b. 1954)Professor of Philosophy and Law, New York University20162022The Berggruen Network "Kwame Anthony Appiah", Berggruen Institute.Leszek Borysiewicz (b. 1951) Vice Chancellor, University of Cambridge20162020The Berggruen NetworkAmy Gutmann (b. 1949)President of the University of Pennsylvania20162021The Berggruen NetworkAmartya Sen (b. 1933)Professor of Economics and Philosophy, Harvard University; Recipient, 1998 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences20162020The Berggruen NetworkAlison Simmons (b. 1965) Professor of Philosophy, Harvard University20162021The Berggruen NetworkMichael Spence (b. 1943)Professor of Economics and Business, New York University; Recipient, 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences20162020The Berggruen NetworkGeorge Yeo (b. 1954)Former Foreign Minister of SingaporeSenior Adviser to both Kuok Group and Kerry Logistics Network20162020The Berggruen Network
See also Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy
References
External links
Berggruen Prize Winner Charles Taylor on the Big Questions; series of videos produced by the Berggruen Institute on occasion of Charles Taylor winning the inaugural prize. The Berggruen Prize; commentary of Berggruen Prize jurors such as Amy Gutmann, Antonio Damasio, and Wang Hui on the significance of the Prize.