Berggruen Prize Essay Competition
The Berggruen Prize Essay Competition is an annual contest organized by the Berggruen Institute.
History
[edit]The Berggruen Prize Essay Competition was established by the Berggruen Institute in early 2024. Nathan Gardels, editor-in-chief of Noema, introduced the essay competition in February 2024, describing it as complementary to the Institute's existing Philosophy & Culture Prize.[1] It draws inspiration from historical precedents, such as the Académie de Dijon competition of 1750, won by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and seeks to identify new thinkers and innovative ideas.[1]
The inaugural Berggruen Prize Essay Competition opened submissions in spring 2024, accepting essays in English or Chinese. Initially, one winner in each language category was to be awarded US $25,000.[2] Organizers specified that submissions should be accessible and intellectually engaging essays, rather than formal academic papers.[2] The 2024 theme was 'planetarity," defined as humanity's shared existence on a finite planet and the development of new conceptual frameworks. Essays addressed issues related to human interactions, technology, and ecological systems.[1]
In October 2024, the Institute announced the results. Due to the quality of submissions, two winners were selected in each language category instead of one, each receiving US $12,500.[3] The winners in English were astrophysicist Adam Frank for his essay "The Coming Second Copernican Revolution" and writer Pamela Swanigan for "It’s Time to Give Up Hope for a Better Climate & Get Heroic."[4] In Chinese, the winners were Lin Yichao for "Planetary Mechanism and Its Conceptual Manifestation" and philosopher Xu Yingjin from Fudan University for "How to Make Confucianism Digitalized on a Planetary Scale"[4][5] The winning essays were published in Noema (English) and Cui Ling (Chinese).[3] An awards ceremony was held at the Berggruen Europe Center in Venice, Italy, during a conference titled "Planetary Summit" in November 2024, featuring discussions between winners and established scholars.[3]
Following its first year, the Berggruen Institute announced that the competition would become an annual event. For the second edition in 2025, the prize increased to US $50,000 for the winning essay in each language category.[6][7] The 2025 theme was "consciousness," inviting entrants to explore the topic from scientific, philosophical, and cross-cultural perspectives.[6][7] Participants were asked to address questions regarding the origins, material nature, and limitations of consciousness among humans and artificial systems.[6] As of April 2025, the results of the second competition have not yet been announced.[6][8]
Competition
[edit]Participants submit essays addressing philosophical and cultural questions in accessible language. The competition accepts essays written in either English or Chinese, with prize awards initially set at US $25,000 per language category and scheduled to increase to US $50,000 by 2025. It operates alongside the separate Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture, valued at US $1 million, but differs by specifically targeting new ideas from diverse cultural perspectives rather than recognizing established scholars.[9] Winning essays are published in the Institute’s journals: Noema for English-language essays and Cui Ling for Chinese-language essays.[3]
Recipients
[edit]- 2024 (Theme: "Planetarity")
- English: Adam Frank, "The Coming Second Copernican Revolution";[10] Pamela Swanigan, "It's Time to Give Up Hope for a Better Climate & Get Heroic."[11][12]
- Chinese: Lin Yichao (林逸超), "Planetary Mechanism and Its Conceptual Manifestation”; Xu Yingjin (徐英瑾), “How to Make Confucianism Digitalized on a Planetary Scale?"
Each received US $12,500 and was honored at a ceremony in Venice.[13][14]
- 2025 (Theme: "Consciousness")
- TBA[15]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Gardels, Nathan (February 23, 2024). "Announcing The Berggruen Prize Essay Competition" – via Noema.
- ^ a b Weinberg, Justin (March 6, 2024). "Berggruen Launches New Philosophy Essay Competition". Daily Nous.
- ^ a b c d Weinberg, Justin (October 22, 2024). "Berggruen Institute Announces Winners of Its New $25,000 Essay Prize - Daily Nous". Daily Nous.
- ^ a b Frank, Adam; Lin, Yichao; Swanigan, Pamela; Xu, Yingjin (March 20, 2025). Becoming Planetary: 2024 Berggruen Prize Essay Competition Winning Essays. Berggruen Press. ISBN 979-8-9914102-1-2.
- ^ "首届博古睿论文奖得主 徐英瑾：未来多少人会对小数据主义感兴趣，将取决于多少人能居安思危 | 专访_哲学_人工智能_维特根斯坦". Sohu.
- ^ a b c d Weinberg, Justin (April 16, 2025). "Berggruen Increases Essay Competition Prize to $50,000 - Daily Nous". dailynous.com.
- ^ a b Kerfoot, Brittany (April 7, 2025). "Submissions Open: Berggruen Prize Essay Competition 2025". Closer to Truth.
- ^ "第二届博古睿论文奖征稿正式启动_The_Affairs_of". Sohu.
- ^ Bilefsky, Dan (December 8, 2022). "Kojin Karatani Wins $1 Million Berggruen Prize" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Frank, Adam (October 15, 2024). "The Coming Second Copernican Revolution" – via Noema.
- ^ "Adam Frank, Professor of astrophysics".
- ^ Swanigan, Pamela (October 15, 2024). "It's Time To Give Up Hope For A Better Climate & Get Heroic" – via Noema.
- ^ "行星机制及其概念开显-萃嶺网". Cuiling.
- ^ "儒家视域中的行星级数字化生活-萃嶺网". Cuiling.
- ^ "Berggruen Prize Essay Competition". Fundit.