Is There Intelligent Life on This Planet?

What does it really mean to be intelligent and why does human behavior so often seem to contradict it? This weekend we’ll explore the ideas of Carlo Cipolla and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who offer striking perspectives on stupidity, intelligence, and evil.

Cipolla’s provocative framework challenges us to reconsider how irrational actions shape society, while Bonhoeffer examines the deeper moral and social roots of what he calls “stupidity” in times of crisis. Together, they raise unsettling questions: Is harmful behavior a failure of intellect, morality, or something more complex? And what does that say about us as a species?