Lena Papasabbas: What we can learn about radical confidence from a futurologist

BRIGITTE: Ms. Papasabbas, there's a lot to worry about right now. How do you perceive that?

Lena Papasabbas: In science, we try to look beyond next year. We are currently undergoing an epochal change. Wars, epidemics, a shift in societal values – historically speaking, these are symptoms we have seen many times throughout human history. They are signs that the old truths no longer work and the new normal doesn't yet have clear contours.

Sounds like an unpleasant situation.

That's it. Mass consumption and the throwaway mentality are also reaching their limits. Many things are breaking down. For example, the current division of labor, in which men primarily pursue careers and women do the majority of care work.

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Nevertheless, you advocate for radical confidence . What does that mean?

I find this knowledge a relief: It's normal for a period of upheaval to feel confusing and stressful, because so much of normality is disappearing. But if you look beyond the crisis and imagine that a new era, a new society, is emerging—then it's a really cool time to be alive.

You're describing a new zeitgeist. What characterizes it?

The world we live in is full of opposites and contradictions and is therefore enormously complex. At the same time, there are no longer any belief systems like the church used to have that dictate how things should be. "Metamodernism," as we call it, attempts to deal with the fact that things can seemingly contradict each other, yet both be true. For example, I am a very scientific person, but also spiritual. Tolerating ambivalence and simultaneity is part of this attitude to life.

Black-and-white thinking is considered a means of simplification because it identifies the supposed culprits. You contrast this with "circular thinking." How does this work?

The term comes from Ursula K. Le Guin, one of the few female science fiction authors. It means that you explore different perspectives, allowing yourself to jump back and forth a bit in your mind. If, for example, someone claims that the pandemic was invented by the pharmaceutical industry, then I could—as difficult as it may be in this case—consider what reasons this person has for seeing things that way. Whether there's a grain of truth in it. It's true that there were profiteers, and not all measures were good for the population.

In your view, radical confidence is also part of the metamodern attitude. Why is it so important?

First, you have to understand why we are naturally inclined to be pessimistic. We humans are creatures of the future. Our brains are designed this way for evolutionary reasons, because, especially in our earliest days, planning ahead ensured survival. Where might a predator be lurking? Is my sleeping place safe? How do I survive the winter?

Fortunately, we no longer have to worry about that today.

Exactly. Instead, we look anxiously at global politics, the environment, or the economy. But if I look into a future that is dark and gray, with nothing good in store for me, nothing good can come of it. I won't strive to bring about change, but will either play dead or live by the selfish motto "after me, the deluge." Fear of the future is fodder for populism, hatred, and violence. If we choose to see the future as something we can shape, we remain open, curious—and capable of action.

If this is difficult for me, how can this perspective be successful?

Human history is characterized by trial and error. If we can't imagine how to stop the climate crisis, then we should think back a few centuries. Could anyone have dreamed back then that penicillin would one day cure diseases or that humans would be able to fly to the moon? The core of optimism is the belief that things can get better.

Brigitte