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his travel experiences clearly and without bias, but also provides magnificent lessons on poverty
and on something worse than poverty itself, the despair of the world’s underprivileged, for want of
horizons and opportunities to free themselves from their poverty.
We welcome the bestowing of the Award for Literature on the writers Fatema Mernissi and
Susan Sontag, for it is comforting to observe how two women from such contrasting cultures each
base their work upon the same foundations of dialogue and mutual understanding when frictions
and confrontation are rife, when sadly terror rears its ugly head far too frequently, when the will to
annihilate and crush others’ beliefs is ever greater.
The need to understand their worlds and the quest for true communication lie at the heart of
both writers’ approach to life. Fatema Mernissi has stated so, for she views the written word as the
main means of achieving harmony. Her idea leads us to a better understanding of the path —by no
means devoid of difficult challenges and personal conflicts— that this Moroccan writer has forged
with subtle intelligence, opening no wounds, so that women from her culture can take up their
rightful place in today’s society.
Within her own culture, she participates in and encourages change in her country, Morocco
—a country of extraordinary vitality—, wich is changing and opening up with hope towards a
better future, something we fervently support.
Morever, with her different perspective, irony, understanding and a sense of humour, Fatema
Mernissi has highlighted many of the contradictions she has observed in the Western world,
bringing to light the shortfalls she observes in a culture like our own, which on occasions is
imposed upon women, who become prey to manipulation and fashion victims. Such behaviour is
an offence to their dignity.
Susan Sontag wrote a very perceptive line, one that serves to throw light on her career to date: “I
think it is still worthwhile resisting,” she has said. She has indeed lived her life resisting, anchored
firmly to her deepest convictions, opposing all types of fanaticism, being sensitive to everyday
problems and, in short, remaining free and extremely intellectually independent. She has proved
her case by writing numerous books resorting to such literary genres as the essay, the novel and
journalism. Such books are admirable in their originality and wealth of ideas, for, as has been said,
the more points of view we have access to, the closer we will be
to the essence of things and the truth we all strive for.
The writers who share this Award are women who are
prepared to fight in difficult times, when extremist societies
are still reluctant to accept women on an equal footing. The
difficulties they encounter in their efforts to defend their beliefs
have thus been twofold and have called for great determination;
it is nevertheless a cause for celebration to see that awards such as
the one presented to them today, champion their perseverance
and that their tenacity reaps the rewards of rightful dignity. It is our belief, as expressed by an
Arabic-Spanish poet, that they come here “as the very best of envoys”.
From the outset, our Awards aspired to be at the forefront of the burning issues of our times.
We are therefore pleased at the Award bestowed upon the towering work of Jürgen Habermas,
which has left a profound mark —so it has been said— on fields as diverse as philosophy, sociology,
political science, legislative theory, history, pedagogy and theology. For this reason, he has touched
upon our most pressing issues in his philosophy and thinking. He has been granted this year’s
Award for Social Sciences.
Habermas is a champion of the particularly rich and creative German language and culture,
which has bequeathed us the greatest fruits of science, language and literature, arts and philosophy.
A direct disciple of the so-called Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School, where he grew and
developed intellectually, he has produced work of great significance and scope which he has
presented to us as the philosophical discourse of modern times. In such discourse, Habermas has
explained the roots and structure of social knowledge, the phenomena of science and technology,
“Human rights would be of little use if we did
not also protect the rights of Nature in which
those same rights are exercised and enjoyed.”
24
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ctober
2003
