Birkbeck's Big Ideas: Nihilism: What's Behind the Brexit Vote
When:
—
Venue:
External
No booking required
Description
Join us for another instalment of Big Ideas at City & Islington College's Centre for Lifelong Learning, and come prepared for interesting discussion and fascinating research!
What is Birkbeck's Big Ideas?
A series of thought provoking FREE events, designed to inspire and bring world class academics from Birkbeck, University of London to the local community, with this latest installment from Professor Ken Gemes, of Birkbeck's Department of Philosophy.
About the Talk
This talk diagnoses a particular conflict between our will to truth and our will to meaning. This conflict constitutes the central crisis of modernity. The will to truth prevent us from constructing the types of mythological narratives (e.g. narratives of God's providential plan) which formerly served to give meaning to existence; hence the need to find existence meaningful remains unfulfilled. This leaves us with two possibilities: Dispense with the demand for existential meaning or create new narratives that can somehow either evade or be reconciled with the demands of the will to truth. This dilemma helps illuminate our Brexit situation and the rise of Donald Trump.
Who is Professor Ken Gemes?
Professor Ken Gemes taught at Yale from 1989-2000 before coming to Birkbeck in 2000. He originally specialized in philosophy of science but now works primarily on the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. Professor Gemes' covers a wide range of philosophical issues, from technical concerns about the nature of logical content and how evidence relates to scientific theories, to Nietzsche's account of philosophy as the "last manifestation of the religious ascetic ideal".
Listen to Professor Gemes discussing the ideas in the talk in a podcast here: https://soundcloud.com/birkbeck-podcasts/nihilism-trump-and-brexit-britain-professor-ken-gemes
The event is FREE and open to all, but please note that seating is allocated on a first come first served basis. Registration and refreshments start at 6pm and the talk will commence at 6.15pm. We look forward to welcoming you to this Birkbeck's Big Idea event!
Contact name:
Ken Gemes