Psychoanalysis and the Existentialist Mind – draft available

photo of FreudA full draft of chapter 5 is now available to download.

It argues that existentialism is a development of Freudian psychoanalysis, designed to preserve Freud’s insights into behaviour by providing a more explanatory theory of the structure of motivation.

More specifically, it argues that Sartre’s critique of Freud and development of his own theory of mind constitutes an important break with the Cartesian dualism that shapes Freud’s theory of mind, but Sartre retains a part of this Cartesian heritage that Beauvoir’s theory then eliminates.

If you would like to respond, please post in the Comments thread below or send me an email.

Draft chapters are available from the Book page.

 

 

Simone de Beauvoir workshop: 25 November 2015

Simone de BeauvoirOne-day workshop on the philosophy of
Simone de Beauvoir.

Aberdare Hall, Cardiff University.
9.30 – 6.00.

Update: There are no more places available at this workshop.

Talks:

Beauvoir’s Methods of Ethics
Rafe McGregor (Leeds)

Metaphysics, Existentialism and Political Categories in The Second Sex
Stella Sandford (Kingston)

Beauvoir and the Ambiguities of Motherhood
Alison Stone (Lancaster)

Beauvoir on Masculinity: Thinking about the First Sex and Beyond
Ursula Tidd (Manchester)

Beauvoir’s Derivation of the Categorical Imperative
Jonathan Webber (Cardiff)

 

Workshop and conference recordings now on YouTube

Two talks from the Fanon workshop are now available on YouTube –

Fanon at 90 – Lewis Gordon (Connecticut)

Medicine and Colonialism – Azzedine Haddour (UCL)

This workshop followed on from the UK Sartre Society conference on existentialism, race, and gender. All talks from that conference have been posted online by the UK Sartre Society.

All of these are available through the project YouTube channel.

Fanon workshop poster

Why Xavière Is A Threat To Françoise – draft now available

Simone de BeauvoirA full draft of chapter 4 is now available to download.

It argues that Beauvoir’s 1943 novel She Came To Stay presents her distinctive form of existentialism through a critique of Sartre’s theory of freedom.

Her view is that freedom requires a sedimentation of projects and the values they embody. Without this, there cannot be the commitment required for freedom.

Sartre’s theory of freedom excludes the possibility of this sedimentation. Beauvoir dramatises this disagreement in the relationship between Françoise and Pierre.

If you would like to respond, please post your thoughts in the Comments thread below.

Draft chapters are available from the Book page.

Freedom and the Origins of Reasons – draft now available

image of Maurice Melreau-PontyA full draft of chapter 3 is now available to download.

It argues that Merleau-Ponty’s critique of Sartre’s theory of freedom fails. Merleau-Ponty has succeeded in showing that one of Sartre’s claims about freedom is untenable, but has not shown that this requires the rejection of the entire theory rather than just of that one claim.

In arguing for this, the chapter clarifies Sartre’s theory of freedom in Being and Nothingness and argues that Beauvoir’s defence of Sartre’s theory a decade later indicates that Sartre’s theory had developed over that time.

If you would like to respond, please post your thoughts in the Comments thread below.

Draft chapters are available from the Book page.

Frantz Fanon workshop: 19 September 2015

Frantz_Fanon
One-day workshop on the work of Frantz Fanon.

Pearson Lecture Theatre
UCL main entrance
Gower Street
London WC1E 6BT

9.30am – 4.00pm

Speakers
Meena Dhanda
Lewis Gordon
Azzedine Haddour
Jonathan Webber

Free! Just turn up.

Schedule and talk titles will be
announced soon.

This is the day after the UK Sartre Society conference on Existentialism, Race, and Gender, which is also in London.

Event organised in collaboration with Nathaniel Adam Tobias Coleman , Research Associate in the Philosophy of ‘Race’ at UCL.

 

 

Camus chapter draft now available

wikimedia image of Albert Camus in 1957

wikimedia image of Albert Camus in 1957

A full draft of chapter 2 of the book is now available to download.

It argues for a new interpretation of The Outsider, which shows Camus to have been opposed to the foundational claim of existentialism even before Beauvoir and Sartre had published it and before he had met them.

It also argues that this disagreement explains their later public row about the role of political violence.

If you would like to respond to the chapter, please post your thoughts in the Comments thread below.

Draft chapters are available from the Book page.

Sartre Afternoon at Bristol: 20 May

I’ve just added a small event to the project. So if you’re in striking distance of Bristol next week and free on Wednesday …

Sartre Afternoon: 20 May 2015
Department of Philosophy, University of Bristol
(room G.16, Cotham House, Bristol BS6 6JL)

2.00pm – Is Sartre a Dualist? – Matthew Eshleman (UNC Wilmington)

3.00pm – Sartre’s Sketch for a Theory of the Emotions – Jonathan Webber (Cardiff)

Then on to a cafe for tea and cake.

With thanks to Havi Carel and the Bristol Philosophy department for hosting.

Huis Clos materials now online

photo of door sign No Exit Except In EmergencyAll my thoughts (so far) on Sartre’s play Huis Clos (also known as No Exit or In Camera) now have their own page on the project website, along with useful programme notes for a recent production they inspired.

I will be writing a chapter of the book on this in the next few months. I would be very pleased to hear any thoughts anyone has on the thoughts so far in the comments below.

Also, if you are planning a production of the play and would like to discuss it, please do get in touch!

Project has been awarded AHRC funding

link to homepage of the UK Artds and Humanities Research CouncilI am very pleased to announce that the Rethinking Existentialism project has been awarded funding from the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council under their Research Leadership Fellows scheme.

This funding will ensure that the project goes ahead according to its planned timetable.

For more news, watch this space!