In Plato’s Republic, Socrates argues that justice is good not only for its consequences but also in and of itself. Challenged by Glaucon and Adeimantus, who suggest that all human interactions are inherently competitive and that being unjust could help you get the better in these conflicts, Socrates establishes that justice is good because it is harmony in the city and in the soul. If justice is a kind of health of the soul, then surely it is better to be just than unjust. This claim might ameliorate the concerns of Glaucon and Adeimantus, but I will argue that Plato does more than address the vision of justice brought forth by Socrates’ interlocutors. Particularly through the contrasts among the different kinds of lives that are either described or depicted in the Republic, Plato points his readers toward a conception of justice that reveals it as the ground of mutuality, reciprocity, dialogue and friendship. In fact, the Republic reveals justice to be necessary to the philosophical life and, hence, to the best kind of life.
A Night of Philosophy & Ideas, at the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, is an all-night marathon of philosophical debate, performances, screenings, readings, music, and virtual reality experiences takes over the entirety of the iconic Central Library.
This year’s participants will consider humanity’s relationship to the world, to nature, to other living beings and species, and to technology. They will ask: What is the meaning of life? How do we live our lives from beginning to end, be it striving or barely surviving? How do we define that experience and how do we situate ourselves in this world?
French-American economist Esther Duflo, winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics, will kick off the evening with a keynote address. The lineup also features a French anthropologist, sociologist, and physician Didier Fassin, professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies and Director of Studies at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales; Catherine Malabou, Professor of Philosophy at Kingston University (UK) and UCI; Maïa Mazaurette, a Brooklyn-based French author, columnist, and illustrator whose work deals with contemporary sexuality and the body’s place in society; and Barbara Stiegler, professor of philosophy at the University of Bordeaux Montaigne and a member of the Institut Universitaire de France.
Performances will include Unnamed, from Jérôme Thomas, a French juggler whose work integrates contemporary dance and theatre, and Armenian-Syrian artist Hratch Arbach’s MAWTINI: lost homelands, in a site-specific installation. The event will also feature a late-night screening of Jacques Rivette’s landmark 1971 film Out 1, and an exhibition of work by New York-based visual artist Mary Mattingly, whose “sculptural ecosystems” in urban spaces include Swale and Pull, and who founded the Waterpod Project (2009), a barge-based public space and self-sufficient habitat that hosted over 200,000 visitors in New York.
Brooklyn Public Philosophers is a forum for philosophers in the greater Brooklyn area to discuss their work with a general audience, hosted by the Brooklyn Public Library. Its goal is to raise awareness of the best work on philosophical questions of interest to Brooklynites, and to provide a civil space where Brooklynites can reason together about the philosophical questions that matter to them.
If you’re interested in finding out more, or if you’d like to give a talk, please e-mail Ian Olasov at his first and last name at gmail.com.
Brooklyn Public Philosophers is a forum for philosophers in the greater Brooklyn area to discuss their work with a general audience, hosted by the Brooklyn Public Library. Its goal is to raise awareness of the best work on philosophical questions of interest to Brooklynites, and to provide a civil space where Brooklynites can reason together about the philosophical questions that matter to them.
If you’re interested in finding out more, or if you’d like to give a talk, please e-mail Ian Olasov at his first and last name at gmail.com.
For those interested, here is the schedule for the rest of the Fall 2022 semester and Spring 2023 semester. All the talks will happen between 4:30pm and 6:30pm EST unless stated otherwise.
Armin Schulz (University of Kansas)
Tuesday Jan 24 2023
TBA
Glenn Shafer (Rutgers University)
Tuesday Feb 14 2023 RESCHEDULE
TBA
Sean Carroll (Johns Hopkins)
Tuesday Feb 28 2023
TBA
Kareem Khalifa (Middlebury College)
Tuesday Mar 21 2023
TBA
Any updates on the schedule, as well as information about the talks will be announced through the MAPS mailing list. To be added to the mailing list please message Diego Arana (da689@rutgers.edu) and Barry Loewer (loewer@philosophy.rutgers.edu).
For those interested, here is the schedule for the rest of the Fall 2022 semester and Spring 2023 semester. All the talks will happen between 4:30pm and 6:30pm EST unless stated otherwise.
Armin Schulz (University of Kansas)
Tuesday Jan 24 2023
TBA
Glenn Shafer (Rutgers University)
Tuesday Feb 14 2023 RESCHEDULE
TBA
Sean Carroll (Johns Hopkins)
Tuesday Feb 28 2023
TBA
Kareem Khalifa (Middlebury College)
Tuesday Mar 21 2023
TBA
Any updates on the schedule, as well as information about the talks will be announced through the MAPS mailing list. To be added to the mailing list please message Diego Arana (da689@rutgers.edu) and Barry Loewer (loewer@philosophy.rutgers.edu).
For those interested, here is the schedule for the rest of the Fall 2022 semester and Spring 2023 semester. All the talks will happen between 4:30pm and 6:30pm EST unless stated otherwise.
Armin Schulz (University of Kansas)
Tuesday Jan 24 2023
TBA
Glenn Shafer (Rutgers University)
Tuesday Feb 14 2023 RESCHEDULE
TBA
Sean Carroll (Johns Hopkins)
Tuesday Feb 28 2023
TBA
Kareem Khalifa (Middlebury College)
Tuesday Mar 21 2023
TBA
Any updates on the schedule, as well as information about the talks will be announced through the MAPS mailing list. To be added to the mailing list please message Diego Arana (da689@rutgers.edu) and Barry Loewer (loewer@philosophy.rutgers.edu).