What is Public Philosophy?; Identity and Non-Belonging; Newcastle event

Essay by Todd McGowan; event with Peter Adamson, Evelyn Brister, and Lucia Ziglioli

Dear all,

The event tomorrow will be the first of over 100 we have hosted since 2020 that I will not be hosting. Having hosted them when really unwell, when on holiday, and even when on my honeymoon (really bad idea), I have finally got organised enough to train up a stand-in as I am currently in Morocco where thoughts of philosophy are (hopefully) far from my mind. The event should be excellent and I’m very grateful to Dan Taylor for agreeing to step in. For those of you in or around Newcastle upon Tyne, we are hosting another in-person event there on Wednesday 7th June. More details below. Hope you can join us!

Your Sunday Read
“The Universality of Non-Belonging” by Todd McGowan. Looking to thinkers like Adorno and Foucault, this essay argues that we have misunderstood the idea of universality. In the face of strong resistance to the impulse towards thinking in terms of universals, McGowan, a renowned scholar of film and psychoanalysis, looks to movies like the teen classic Heathers to argue that we can in fact re-imagine universality and even build a universalist politics. But in order to do this, we must accept that there is only one universal: non-belonging. You can read Todd’s essay here.

Event: Monday at 11am PDT/2pm EDT/7pm UK
“What is Public Philosophy?”: If public philosophy is, as the name suggests, philosophy for the public, it is worth considering what “the public” would like philosophy to do for them. Tying into our forthcoming issue on “Where is Public Philosophy Going?”, this conversation between Peter Adamson, Evelyn Brister, Lucia Ziglioli, and Peter West will consider the aims of public philosophy, what good public philosophy looks like, and the challenges and merits of taking philosophy to the public. This is a unique opportunity to engage in a public philosophy event about public philosophy. Full details and registration here.

If you missed Bernard Harcourt and Amna Akbar’s brilliant discussion on “A Theory of Cooperation” earlier this week, you can watch it here.

Finally, for those of you who were disappointed that the recent “Latina Feminist Philosophy” event was cancelled due to speaker illness, it has now been rearranged for Tuesday 27th June. Full details and registration here.

Newcastle Event
When: Wednesday 7th June from 6.30pm to 8.30pm (doors at 6.15pm)
Where: Lit and Phil, Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne
Topics/Speakers: "Philosophical Misanthropy" by Ian James Kidd (University of Nottingham); "Normativity and Climate Governance" by Simona Capisani (University of Durham)
Cost: £5/£3 (concs) - Payable by cash or card on the door
More details: Contact us at: thephilosopher1923@gmail.com

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Wishing you all a lovely Sunday, wherever you are.

Anthony Morgan
Editor