Philip Manow Shortlisted for the Tractatus-Preis 2024
News10.07.2024
Philip Manow has been shortlisted for the 2024 Tractatus-Preis for Philosophical Essay Writing for his book Under Observation: The Definition of Liberal Democracy and its Allies.
The Tractatus-Preis was established in 2009 by the association behind Philosophicum Lech, an annual symposium held in Vorarlberg, Austria. Konrad Paul Liessman, co-director of Philosophicum Lech, states that the prize »is awarded in recognition of outstanding essays or essayistic non-fiction books that discuss philosophical topics in ways that make them accessible to a broader readership and that help to fuel debates that go transcend the confines of academic discourse. Particular attention is paid to the originality of the conceptual approach, the elegance of the language, and the importance of the topic.«
Since 2023, the jury has included the Austrian literary scholar, critic and essayist Daniela Strigl, the Swiss philosopher and cultural journalist Catherine Newmark, and the German literary critic and author Ijoma Mangold. Mangold wrote of Under Observation: »There are not too many non-fiction books that actually contain new insights. This is because most of them reproduce a commonly recounted narrative that they believe to be true. After reading Philip Manow’s perceptive book Under Observation, however ... you feel like you’ve just been through a spin cycle: you find yourself rubbing your eyes because you've lost all sense of orientation and no longer know what’s left and right, back and front, up and down.«
Thanks to the generous support of private donors, the Tractatus-Preis is endowed with €25,000 in prize money and is one of the few awards for philosophical essay writing in the German-speaking world. Previous winners include Christoph Möller, Marie Luise Knott, Hartmut Rosa, and Peter Bieri.
The prize is also accompanied by an annual symposium, where this year’s theme will be »Sand in the Gears: A Philosophy of Disruption«, and will be held between 17 and 24 September 2024. The winner will be announced on 4 September, with the award ceremony to take place during the symposium, on 20 September 2024.
For more information on Under Observation, please contact the foreign rights manager for your region.
The Tractatus-Preis was established in 2009 by the association behind Philosophicum Lech, an annual symposium held in Vorarlberg, Austria. Konrad Paul Liessman, co-director of Philosophicum Lech, states that the prize »is awarded in recognition of outstanding essays or essayistic non-fiction books that discuss philosophical topics in ways that make them accessible to a broader readership and that help to fuel debates that go transcend the confines of academic discourse. Particular attention is paid to the originality of the conceptual approach, the elegance of the language, and the importance of the topic.«
Since 2023, the jury has included the Austrian literary scholar, critic and essayist Daniela Strigl, the Swiss philosopher and cultural journalist Catherine Newmark, and the German literary critic and author Ijoma Mangold. Mangold wrote of Under Observation: »There are not too many non-fiction books that actually contain new insights. This is because most of them reproduce a commonly recounted narrative that they believe to be true. After reading Philip Manow’s perceptive book Under Observation, however ... you feel like you’ve just been through a spin cycle: you find yourself rubbing your eyes because you've lost all sense of orientation and no longer know what’s left and right, back and front, up and down.«
Thanks to the generous support of private donors, the Tractatus-Preis is endowed with €25,000 in prize money and is one of the few awards for philosophical essay writing in the German-speaking world. Previous winners include Christoph Möller, Marie Luise Knott, Hartmut Rosa, and Peter Bieri.
The prize is also accompanied by an annual symposium, where this year’s theme will be »Sand in the Gears: A Philosophy of Disruption«, and will be held between 17 and 24 September 2024. The winner will be announced on 4 September, with the award ceremony to take place during the symposium, on 20 September 2024.
For more information on Under Observation, please contact the foreign rights manager for your region.