28 September 2006

Kant was wrong

The Berlin Opera is hesitant about a performance of Mozart's Idomeneo, as the scenography includes the cut off head of the prophet Mohammad. This, it is said, generates a security threat, considering the ardent responses to the Mohammad cartoons in Jyllandsposten.

Anyone who thinks the answer here is clear, is wrong. Kant's idea of a categorical imperative, which is supposed to be applied to all situations that resemble each other, is an idea for lazy people, who do not bother looking into all the circumstances of each individual case.

Whether the Berlin Opera should perform this scenography of Idomeneo or not, is impossible to tell. Anyone who says they have an answer is wrong.

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