Roger Berkowitz: The Power of Friendship in a Broken Political World
How can we stay in relationships with people with whom we disagree in polarized times?
Friendship is a private comfort. But it is also political work–the daily, unglamorous business of talking with people whose views unsettle us and whose reasoning we may never fully understand.
What can the friendships sustained by the famous philosopher Hannah Arendt— including with people whose politics she found troubling—teach us about sustaining democracy today? What has eroded our capacity to stay in dialogue across differences? In an age of mass loneliness and ideological certainty, what would it mean to treat friendship, rather than political consensus or moral purity, as the foundation of democratic life?
The distinguished scholar of Arendt’s thought, Roger Berkowitz, pursues these questions in conversation with Sanjay Ruparelia.
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Time: 7:00-8:30PM
Location: Appel Salon, Toronto Public Library (789 Yonge Street)
