Hans-Georg Moeller: Philosophy, Profilicity, and Wokeism
Hans-Georg Moeller
Abstract
This interview features philosopher Hans-Georg Moeller in conversation with Carlos Garrido on the development of profilicity, critiques of wokeism, and the contemporary role of public philosophy. Moeller traces the conceptual origins of profilicity — an identity technology centered on curated public profiles — to his and Paul D’Ambrosio’s earlier work on Taoist philosophy, especially the Zhuangzi, and to their critique of both Confucian sincerity and Western authenticity. Drawing on Trilling and Luhmann, Moeller explains how Taoist notions of “genuine pretending” informed their understanding of identity beyond authenticity and how profilicity operates within evolving social, technological, and political environments. Addressing the relation between profilicity and capitalism, Moeller argues that social identity formations shape technological and economic developments as much as they are shaped by them, emphasizing a systemic, non-linear view influenced by Luhmann rather than traditional base–superstructure Marxism. On the question of wokeism, Moeller contends that its influence is waning but warns that its right-wing counterpart-what he calls “Jordan Petersonism” represents a parallel form of individualist civil religion. He further elaborates his concept of “pariahism,” linking contemporary mechanisms of moral exclusion and cancel culture to deeper psychological and social pathologies diagnosed in Taoism and Nietzsche. The conversation concludes with Moeller’s reflections on the transformation of academia into an “academic industry.” He argues that this system constrains genuine philosophical activity and that the resurgence of public philosophy, through venues like YouTube, represents a return to philosophy’s historical mode of open, public engagement.
Keywords
Marxism, philosophy, cancel culture, civil religion, public philosophy, academic industry, online philosophy, social identity formation, capitalism and identity, contemporary ideology, Hans-Georg Moeller, Carlos Garrido
