Salongen: A conversation between Øyvind Aase and Emil Perron about philosopher Arild Haaland

This event by Salongen welcomed a large audience for an intellectual promenade in the footsteps of the pedestrian philosopher Arild Haaland. Many in the audience also shared funny and memorable anecdotes about the times they themselves had met the urban philosopher. The evening offered a philosophical, engaging and funny conversation about Arild Haaland and the rich intellectual biography Aase has written about him, which highlighted the philosophy and legacy of philosophy from Bergen. "It is difficult to be human. Second only to God, it is the most complicated thing there is.” wrote Haaland in Samtiden in 1966. Perhaps our recurring look at Haaland's gait can inform us about how we ourselves can step steadily and philosophically into the future.

In the past year, several discussions have appeared about the history and place of philosophy in Norway. The question of whether there is a Norwegian philosophy has been discussed in journals, newspapers and podcasts. With this as a backdrop, we want to explore what place philosophy has had in our city. Did you know that Bergen has in many ways had its own city philosopher?

The philosopher Arild Haaland (1919-2012) was a well-known figure in the cityscape, where he often strolled across the historical city centre market on his way to Høyden, where he taught philosophy at the University of Bergen from 1961 to 1987. On the way, he willingly stopped to talk to the common citizen, in an image reminiscent of Socrates' work in the marketplace agora in ancient Athens. He spent the rest of his time researching, lecturing or writing debate articles in the city's newspapers. Haaland also worked as a cultural conservationist and participated, among other things, in the rehabilitation of two pleasure spots in Bergen. In 1979 he was appointed a knight of the 1st class of the Order of St. Olav. He received the Fritt Ords Honnør in 1993 and in 2007 he was honored with the Melzer Foundation's special prize for his efforts at and outside UiB.

"I also have an oral form in writing, and people are not used to that. That's why they think I mean what I write, and that's terrible!", Haaland wrote in the newspaper Bergens Tidende in 1987. How should we understand Haaland and what he wrote today? What place did philosophy get in Bergen? And is there a Bergen philosophy? Non-fiction writer Øyvind Aase has dealt with Arild Haaland's multifaceted life and work in his book Filosof på rød lys. About the thinker and pedestrian Arild Haaland as an intellectual deviant (Bodoni Forlag, 2017). In the book, Aase brings out the serious thinker, his social commitment and his humour, and shows how the philosopher's thoughts manifested themselves in practice in Bergen society.