Next talk is 'Liberty and Harm: can utilitarianism save us from each other?' Tuesday 12 April 2016

Abstract:

You can't keep all the people happy all the time, but it seems plausible to aim to keep as many people as happy as possible. From Epicurus through to Mill, many philosophers have identified "the good" as whatever causes pleasure, or reduces pain. But where does this leave justice and integrity, and can pleasure really be a noble enough foundation for our ethics and politics? 

I will explore various criticisms of utilitarianism - that it's impossible in practice, leads to absurd conclusions, fails to explain some fundamental aspects of human morality, and in some situations could even prove dangerous. As we seek to shore up and defend utilitarianism, it tends to retreat to the sidelines, providing less practical assistance than we might hope.

'Friends and Friendship' - a talk by Dr Sean Cordell - Tuesday 8 March 2016

Abstract:

Two friends, Tina and Selina, have some obligations to each other that are not specified or agreed just by Tina or Selina themselves but also by the social structure, the institution, of friendship. That is, there is a sense in which ‘friend’ can be said to be a kind of social role: a set of expectations that pre-exist and endure particular individuals in particular relationships. Thus Tina’s angry rebuke to Selina “but I thought we were friends!” can make perfect sense without their having made any specific agreements about how they behave towards each other.

Or at least that’s what I think….Interestingly, philosophical accounts of friendship have tended to overlook, play down or in some cases explicitly doubt, this institutional dimension. Contrarily, I will argue that proper consideration should significantly inform our understanding of friendship, particularly in light of some longstanding arguments about friendship’s value and place in moral theory. 

Philosopher Queens: On Being a Philosopher in Practical Politics" a talk by Prof Beverly Clack 9 February 2016, Bull's Head. Barnes, 7.30pm - 9pm

Abstract:

In the Republic, Plato suggests that the best ruler for his ideal society would be a philosopher: or, as countless translations have put it, he advocates placing power in the hands of the ‘Philosopher King’. In this talk, I will be examining his claim in two ways: both draw upon my experience of being a philosopher of religion who was elected in May 2012 as a City Councillor in Oxford.  First, I will consider the effect of my philosophical training on the experience of being a practical politician, as well as the effect being a practical politician had on my philosophical interests. Second, I will consider the experience of being a woman in practical politics.

Updated schedule for the rest of Season 6

'Slavoj Zizek: the Elvis of Philosophy' a talk by Chris Bainbridge Tuesday 12 January 2016

Abstract:
"The Elvis of philosophers", "the Giant of Ljubljana", and "the thinker of choice for Europe's young intellectual vanguard" are just some of the descriptions of 66-year-old Slovenian-born philosopher Slavoj Zizek. "To witness Zizek in full flight is a dizzying and at times alarming experience, part philosophical tightrope walk, part performance-art marathon, part intellectual roller-coaster ride" (Sean O'Hagan, the Observer).

Zizek has published some 60 books in his lifetime, 6 in 2014 alone. You meet the same ideas and identical chunks of text in several of his works, but it's still a Stakhanovite feat. There is even an institute of Zizek studies.

He illustrates his points with an extremely wide range of cultural references, including Jane Austen, Alfred Hitchcock, Agatha Christie, G.K. Chesterton, Wagner, Eric Satie, and recent films such as  "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer" ( a lesser known aspect of the great US president's early career).

His great influences are Hegel, Marx, Christianity and the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. But does it all add up to a coherent philosophy? Some argue that beneath the firework displays of provocative jokes and unconventional use of language his thoughts are unoriginal and banal. Are they right? "