Commencement/Promócie 2025 

Commencement Address

Egon Gál, jún 2025
https://www.bisla.sk/egon-gal/

“More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”
(Woody Allen, ‘My Speech To the Graduates’, The New York Times, 10 August 1979)

This sentiment, Allen noted, was not pessimism, but a realistic depiction of a world caught between Nietzsche’s “God is dead” and the rise of “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”.

Today, we too stand at a crossroads. In front of us are two roads: one of continued progress and democracy, the other of decline and autocracy.

We are incomparably better off than our parents and grandparents. We live longer and better lives; we are freer, healthier, and more educated. Across the world, extreme poverty is decreasing, child mortality is falling, and democratic societies are on the rise.

If human happiness depended on freedom and material well-being, we should be far happier than our ancestors.

But we are not. In advanced democratic countries, the number of angry and anxious people is growing. Fear of the future and distrust of elites are on the rise. People are electing politicians who convince them that liberal democracy has failed and promise to make America great again or Slovakia a sovereign country that will determine its own cultural identity and moral values.

The great Enlightenment ideals—growth, prosperity, justice, and progress—are being replaced by fear and unease, by a growing sense that the best days are behind us.

You are entering a dynamic world where values change faster than generations do.

At the turn of the 21st century, the shelves of bookstores were filled with titles on freedom, justice, neoliberalism, and the decline of the middle class. Today, they are filled with books about anxiety, fear, identity, and human vulnerability.

In the discussions of Western thinkers, progress no longer represents a vision of a wholly different, better future, and the past no longer seems so outdated. You should come to see it as a source of social energy—something you will need as you work to build a better society.

The real cause of our anxiety and fear is not so much the actual state of the world (wars aside), but the fact that we are consuming more social energy than we are able to generate.

Social energy is not the sum of the individual energies of members of society, nor can it be reduced to the sum of their interactions. It is a transcendent source from which hope, meaning, and human aspirations draw their strength.

Scientists and philosophers can formulate theories of justice, human rights, and equal opportunity—but how can one formulate a theory of the sacred, of what binds us to others and fuels friendship and hope, without losing what progress has already brought us?

A surprising insight for the 21st century comes from German sociologist Andreas Reckwitz, who suggests that liberals should try to preserve the achievements of modernity in a way similar to how conservatives have traditionally preserved the values of the premodern past. The difference is that today, it is modern achievements that need safeguarding.

You are heading into a dynamic and fascinating world. At BISLA, you have gained the knowledge and skills that will enable you to respond to rapidly changing social demands. Democracy may no longer be sustainable on inherited truths and values alone.

It would be wonderful if, along with theoretical knowledge, you left this school with the understanding that emotional safety is more important than material wealth, that good friends are more precious than possessions—and that the most important things in life cannot be expressed through any theory or ideology, but instead require a perceptive heart.

Príhovor k absolventom,
Egon Gál, jún 2025
https://www.bisla.sk/egon-gal/

„Ľudstvo stojí na križovatke, vážnejšej ako kedykoľvek pred tým. Pred nami sú dve cesty,
prvá vedie k depresii a úplnej beznádeji, druhá k vyhynutiu. Modlime sa, aby sme boli dosť
múdri a vybrali si tú správnu cestu“ (Woody Allen: Príhovor k absolventom, 1979). Toto nie
je pesimizmus, poznamenal, je to reálny popis situácie v čase medzi Nietzscheho výrokom
´Boh je mŕtvy´ a vznikom hitu I wanna hold your hand.

Aj dnes stojíme na križovatke. Pred nami sú dve cesty, cesta pokračujúceho pokroku a
demokracie a cesta úpadku a autokracie.

Máme sa nepomerne lepšie, ako sa mali naši rodičia a starí rodičia. Žijeme dlhšie a lepšie,
sme slobodnejší, zdravší, vzdelanejší. Vo svete ubúda extrémna chudoba, klesá úmrtnosť detí
a pribúdajú demokratické spoločnosti.

Keby ľudské šťastie záviselo od slobody a hmotného blahobytu, mali by sme mali byť
nepomerne šťastnejší, ako boli naši predkovia.

Nie sme! Vo vyspelých demokratických krajinách pribúda nahnevaných a nervóznych ľudí,
rastie strach z budúcnosti a averzia k elitám. Ľudia si volia politikov, ktorí ich presviedčajú,
že liberálna demokracia zlyhala a že spravia Ameriku opäť veľkou a Slovensko suverénnou
krajinou, ktorá si bude o kultúrnej identite a morálnych hodnotách rozhodovať sama.
Veľké osvietenské ideály, ktoré sľubovali rast, prosperitu, spravodlivosť a pokrok vystriedal
strach a nervozita, že už nikdy nebude tak dobre ako bolo doteraz.

Vstupujete do dynamického sveta v ktorom sa hodnoty menia rýchlejšie, ako sa striedajú
generácie.

Koncom 20. a začiatkom 21. storočia boli pulty kníhkupectiev zaplnené knihami o slobode,
spravodlivosti, neoliberalizme, a zániku strednej triedy. Dnes ich nahradili knihy o úzkosti,
strachu, identite a ľudskej zraniteľnosti.

V diskusiách západných mysliteľov už pokrok nepredstavuje víziu celkom inej, lepšej
budúcnosti a minulosť sa nezdá tak zastaralá. Mali by ste ju chápať skôr ako zdroj sociálnej
energie, ktorú budete potrebovať pri budovaní lepšej spoločnosti.

Skutočnou príčinou nervozity, strachu a úzkosti, ktoré prežívame nie je ani natoľko reálny
stav sveta (ak neberieme do úvahy vojny) ako skutočnosť, že spotrebovávame viac sociálnej
energie, ako sme schopní vytvoriť.
Sociálna energia nie je súhrn individuálnych energií členov spoločnosti, nemožno ju
redukovať ani na súhrn interakcií medzi ľuďmi. Je to transcendentný zdroj, z ktorého nádej,
zmysel a ľudské ašpirácie čerpajú svoju silu.

Vedci a filozofi dokážu sformulovať teóriu spravodlivosti, ľudských práv a rovnosti šancí, ale
ako sformulovať teóriu niečoho posvätného, čo nás spája s druhými ľuďmi a čo živí energiou
priateľstvo a nádej, a nestratiť nič z dosiahnutého pokroku.

Prekvapivým poučením pre 21. storočie môže byť návrh nemeckého sociológa Andreasa
Reckwitza, aby sa liberáli pokúsili udržať dosiahnutý stav podobným spôsobom, ako to
v minulosti robili konzervatívci. S tým rozdielom, že klasický konzervativizmus odkazuje
k predmodernej minulosti. Dnes je skôr potrebné chrániť moderné výdobytky.

Čaká vás dynamický a zaujímavý svet. V Bisle ste nadobudli znalosti a zručnosti, ktoré vám
umožnia reagovať na rýchlo sa meniaca požiadavky spoločnosti. Demokraciu už
pravdepodobne nebude možné zakladať na zdedených pravdách a hodnotách.

Bolo by pekné, keby ste si spolu s teoretickými vedomosťami odniesli z tejto školy aj to, že
citové bezpečie je dôležitejšie ako blahobyt a dobrí priatelia vzácnejší ako majetok. A že tie
najdôležitejšie veci v živote nemožno vyjadriť žiadnou teóriou ani ideológiou, k tomu je
potrebné vnímavé srdce.

Your Magnificence, Esteemed Rector,

Your Spectability, Esteemed Vice-Rector,

Your Honorability, Esteemed Promoter,

Honored Professors,

Dear Parents, Grandparents, Families, and Friends,

And my Dear Classmates,

Today, we stand before you not just as graduates, but as transformed individuals—shaped by the knowledge we’ve acquired, the experiences we’ve lived, the memories we’ve created, and the relationships we’ve nurtured over the past three years.

When we embarked on our journey at BISLA in the fall of 2022, none of us could have anticipated the personal and societal adventures that lay ahead. Some of us arrived with clear professional aspirations, while others sought meaningful education and direction. Together, we have navigated a path filled with growth, challenges, and discovery.

Over these years, we have formed and transformed relationships, grappled with essays and projects, and conquered the monumental task of completing our bachelor’s theses. We balanced personal lives and work with academic responsibilities, all while witnessing a world in constant flux.

But we were never alone. BISLA became more than an institution to us; it became a sanctuary—a place where we could always rely on the love, support, and camaraderie of our classmates and teachers. We engaged in endless conversations on countless topics, in classrooms, in our beloved garden, and in our favorite local hangouts.

BISLA was not just a university; it was a place of self-discovery, laughter, healing, and sometimes tears. It was a place where we learned not only about the world but also about ourselves.

We owe much of this to our professors, some of whom are here with us today. We were not always perfect students, but you never lost patience with us. You gave us your energy, your time, and your unwavering support. You challenged us to think critically, to step out of our comfort zones, to defend our values, and to see the world from multiple perspectives. You provided us with strong academic foundations in political science, international relations, history, philosophy, and sociology. Many of you became our role models, mentors, and even friends. We will forever cherish the personal, formative moments we shared with you.

However, we wouldn’t be standing here today if it weren’t for our loved ones—especially our parents. We owe you our deepest gratitude for your unwavering love, patience, and the foundational upbringing that continues to guide us through life. Many of our families also deserve immense thanks for their personal and financial support throughout our studies at BISLA. And last but not least, we are eternally grateful to our closest friends and partners who stood by us through thick and thin over the past three years. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you all.

Dear guests, today, as a class, we step out of the safe and familiar spaces of BISLA—the faces we saw every day, and for some of us, even the country where we’ve spent most of our lives. But we believe that we are taking this significant step into the unknown as good, value-driven, and critically thinking individuals. Please keep your fingers crossed for us as we strive to make this world a better place.

Thank you for everything.