Forum for Philosophy

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November 2018

Biography (the Forum)

14 November 2018, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House, 99 Aldwych
London, WC2B 4JF United Kingdom
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When the French philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau set out to write his Confessions in 1782, he proposed ‘to set before my fellow-mortals a man in all the truth of nature; this man shall be myself’. Philosophers have long engaged with the confessional form, from Plato and Augustine to Derrida and Cixous. Is biography an inherently philosophical medium? How does life inflect the philosophy of any given thinker? Or should we make a distinction between the facts of a philosopher’s life and their philosophical thought? Join us at the Forum for this discussion of philosophy and the art of biography.

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Black Holes (the Forum)

21 November 2018, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House, 99 Aldwych
London, WC2B 4JF United Kingdom
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What are black holes, why are physicists so sure they exist, and how did we come to know about them? Can we know, or at least imagine, what happens inside a black hole? The science of black holes has long inspired science fiction writers, but might science fiction help us understand science fact? We discuss black holes, philosophy, and the long-standing and productive relationship between science and sci-fi.

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Being Disabled (the Forum)

28 November 2018, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House, 99 Aldwych
London, WC2B 4JF United Kingdom
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What is disability and how has it been understood through history and across different cultures? How is disability presented in the arts and in our changing idea of what it means to be human? Is the term ‘disability’ useful for the development of disability rights or does it fail to capture the diversity of disabled experience? We will address these questions and consider the nature of disabled experience and the ways in which society is disabling.

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December 2018

Bad Language (the Forum)

3 December 2018, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Old Theatre, Old Building, London School of Economics, Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE United Kingdom
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Language allows us to communicate. It also allows us to charm, shock, delight, and offend. It is political and we can use it to harm and manipulate. And some words are just not okay in polite company. Should there ever be restraints on what can be said? If so, what kind? We navigate the deeper issues around swearing, slurring, and slander. Swear-jars at the ready!

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Protest Art (the Forum)

10 December 2018, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Old Theatre, Old Building, London School of Economics, Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE United Kingdom
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What is protest art? What are its limits and what are its possibilities? Might there be a unique role for art in protest or does the political statement diminish the art? And once a piece of art becomes popular in the art world, can it still be protest art? We bring together those at the forefront of making and thinking about protest art to discuss what it has been, what it is, and what it might be.

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January 2019

War (the Forum)

15 January 2019, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, London School of Economics
London, WC2A 3LJ United Kingdom
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War scars human history and continues to mar lives across the globe. Is war part of human nature? Is it ever morally justified? And with the development of advanced weapon technologies, will future wars be more destructive than ever before? We bring together philosophers, a historian, and a cultural evolutionist to discuss the past, present and future of war and ask what, if anything, can be done to make war less likely.

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W. E. B. Du Bois (the Forum)

21 January 2019, 6:00 pm8:00 pm
Old Theatre, Old Building, London School of Economics, Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE United Kingdom
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W. E. B. Du Bois is usually remembered as a sociologist and civil rights campaigner, and his analysis of race and racism continues to shape the way social scientists think about these issues today. But a genuine polymath, he was also a skilled philosopher and in this event we will consider Du Bois’s philosophical thought, from art, propaganda, and science, to the very purpose of philosophy itself.

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The Politics of Memorials (the Forum)

29 January 2019, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, London School of Economics
London, WC2A 3LJ United Kingdom
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Memorials have been fiercely debated in recent times. What roles do memorials play in a society and how do these acts of remembering contribute to a communities’ sense of identity? What gets remembered and what forgotten, and who decides? When, if ever, should memorials be removed? The panel will discuss past and present controversies around public memorializing, from Ground Zero to Confederate monuments, from Rhodes Must Fall to Trafalgar Square.

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February 2019

Philosophy and Psychiatry (the Forum)

4 February 2019, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Old Theatre, Old Building, London School of Economics, Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE United Kingdom
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Mental disorders are widely held to have a chemical basis best treated with medication, and contemporary psychiatry is more closely allied with the neuro- and behavioural sciences than with philosophy. So what, if anything, does philosophy have to offer psychiatry today? Exploring both historical examples and contemporary psychiatric practice, we ask what the theoretical and therapeutic benefits of a philosophically informed psychiatry might be.

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Being an Ally (the Forum)

13 February 2019, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House, 99 Aldwych
London, WC2B 4JF United Kingdom
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Many people see themselves as allies, not themselves marginalised but nonetheless standing alongside members of marginalised groups in their struggle for social justice. The role of more powerful groups can be important, but some attempts at solidarity can also badly fail the very people they intend to help. We reflect on the significant questions and challenges involved in being an ally amidst the changing nature of social movement in the twenty-first century. What does being an ally means? When and why are allies important? And why do some attempts end in failure?

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Doping (the Forum)

18 February 2019, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Old Theatre, Old Building, London School of Economics, Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE United Kingdom
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World-class athletes push themselves beyond normal limits and transform their bodies through training and diet. But in the wake of various scandals across the world of sport, we know pharmaceuticals can also play a role. Doping is considered a form of cheating, but should it be? And with the arrival of ‘smart drugs’, this is no longer only a worry for sports. Can we ensure a level playing field, in sports and beyond, or will the advances in drug development always outpace regulation? We explore the philosophy behind all things doping, competing, and cheating.

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The Haunting of Neo-liberalism (the Forum)

28 February 2019, 6:00 pm7:00 pm
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, London School of Economics
London, WC2A 3LJ United Kingdom
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Marx famously wrote of the spectre of communism haunting Europe in the nineteenth century, and the end of the Cold War might be considered to mark its exorcism. But has communism really been laid to rest? Despite the fall of the Berlin Wall, Derrida certainly thought not. He argued that in the ‘new world disorder’, ideologies like neo-liberalism were enmeshed with communism, haunted by the spectre of communisms yet to come. Is Derrida’s analysis still applicable to the post-9/11 world? And have new spectres appeared in our midst?

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March 2019

Brave New World (the Forum)

2 March 2019, 11:00 am12:15 pm
Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, London School of Economics
London, WC2A 3LJ United Kingdom
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In this age of utopian technologies, we can design mechanical limbs for amputees and chemically engineer happiness for depressives. But should we? From the fluoride in our water to genetically modified babies, scientific advances pose complex new ethical questions. We ask discuss the major bioethical issues of our time. Is philosophy braced for this brave new world? Are scientists and engineers morally obliged to design a utopia? Or are things best left to ‘nature’?

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The Irish Enlightenment (the Forum)

4 March 2019, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, London School of Economics
London, WC2A 3LJ United Kingdom
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Though often overlooked in discussions of the Enlightenment, Ireland was a vibrant centre for intellectuals of many stripes. Jonathan Swift, Edmund Burke, George Berkeley, and many others made lasting contributions to literature, philosophy, politics, and science. How did the turbulent political times of eighteenth-century Ireland affect the intellectual landscape? Is there something distinctively Irish about their writing? Join us to discuss the thought and times of this remarkable group of thinkers.

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Mood (the Forum)

13 March 2019, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, London School of Economics
London, WC2A 3LJ United Kingdom
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Mood is an ephemeral thing, changing with the seasons and eluding our control. Why are our moods so susceptible to drugs, the weather, and music alike? Hegel wrote of Geist and Heidegger rhapsodized over Stimmung, so can an age have a mood too? And if so, how do we read a Zeitgeist or measure the spirit of a time? Join us to discuss what philosophy, science, and music can tell us about moods.

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Disgust (the Forum)

25 March 2019, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, London School of Economics
London, WC2A 3LJ United Kingdom
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Disgust is deceptively simple: physical repulsion to something revolting or potentially contagious. Behind this straightforward exterior, however, lies the ‘rich universe of the disgusting’ (William Ian Miller). Within this universe dwell questions about ugliness and beauty, the animal and the civilized, even life and death. In this event, we delve deep into disgust and the many ways it has shaped our thought, our art, and our sense of self.

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April 2019

Plants (Forum for Philosophy)

30 April 2019, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, London School of Economics
London, WC2A 3LJ United Kingdom
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Philosophers have long assumed that plants are inferior to humans and animals: static, inert, and unreflective. But recent scientific advances suggest that we may have underestimated plants. They can process information, solve problems, and communicate. We explore what plants can teach us about intelligence and agency, and ask whether plants think.

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May 2019

Schopenhauer (Forum for Philosophy)

7 May 2019, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, London School of Economics
London, WC2A 3LJ United Kingdom
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Schopenhauer’s work prefigured important developments in philosophy, psychology, and political thought. On the two-hundredth anniversary of the publication of his The World as Will and Representation, we examine the life and work of Arthur Schopenhauer. How can we better understand his relationship with Eastern philosophy? How can his work help us address current questions in art and ethics? And what can he teach us about human suffering?

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On Strike (Forum for Philosophy)

14 May 2019, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Old Theatre, Old Building, London School of Economics, Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE United Kingdom
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Workers of the world, unite! We discuss the history, politics, and ethics of strikes, and their place in the labour movement. Why do they happen and what makes for a successful strike? What justifies workers in withdrawing their labour to push bosses for improved pay and conditions? And will this event be cancelled due to strike action?!

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Philosophers’ Book Club: Deborah Levy (Forum for Philosophy)

20 May 2019, 6:30 pm8:00 pm
Old Theatre, Old Building, London School of Economics, Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE United Kingdom
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At the Philosophers’ Book Club, we select a work of fiction or non-fiction and our panel discusses its philosophical themes. For this inaugural gathering, we’ll be reading Deborah Levy’s new memoir, The Cost of Living. ‘Levy explicitly recuperates De Beauvoir’s position, not only by engaging closely with The Second Sex, but by going deeply into the philosopher’s personal struggles to reconcile sexual love with intellectual liberty’, says Kathryn Hughes.

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