As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which begins with the words “We hold these truths to be self-evident…”, Night of the Ideas 2026 in Miami proposes to revisit one of the Enlightenment’s central commitments: the belief that democratic societies rest on reason, open debate, and shared principles.
On both sides of the Atlantic, the American and French revolutions were shaped by the idea that political legitimacy derives not from divine authority or inherited power, but from truths accessible to human reason and debated in the public sphere. Two hundred and fifty years later, that shared foundation faces new pressures. In a world shaped by social media, polarized information ecosystems, and artificial intelligence, where texts, images, and even voices can be generated or manipulated, the conditions of common understanding feel increasingly fragile. If democracy depends on shared facts and reasoned disagreement, what happens when the very idea of truth is contested?
Hosted at Books & Books, this 2026 edition of Night of the Ideas in Miami will bring French and American voices into conversation around a simple but urgent question: Who decides what is true, and what does that mean for democracy today? This event is free and open to all.