Simon Critchley
Onsdag (Wednesday), 15:30–16:30, H104 (Hörsalen) [Distansföreläsning (distance lecture)]
Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research (New York, USA)
Simon Critchley's work spans over many areas: continental philosophy, philosophy and literature, psychoanalysis, ethics, and political theory, among others. His most recent books include Having Been Born – Tragedy, The Greeks and Us (2020), The Problem with Levinas and Notes on Suicide (both 2015) though he has written on topics as diverse as David Bowie, Derrida, religion, and football. Between 2010 and 2021 he was the moderator of The Stone at The New York Times, where he asked philosophers to weigh in on contemporary issues in art, literature, politics, and popular culture. He is a frequent participant in the intellectual public debate all around the world – in text and on stage as well as in video and audio – and has been ranked as among the 25 Top Influential Philosophers between 2010-2020 by the site AcademicInfluence.com.
He is also a philosopher who has written and thought a lot about humour. In 2002 he published the book On Humour, as part of the Routledge book series "Thinking in action". This book is also the basis for his lecture, which will be given at a distance via live video streaming.
From the book cover of On humour.
"Does humour make us human, or do the cats and dogs laugh along with us? On Humour is a fascinating, beautifully written and funny book on what humour can tell us about being human. Simon Critchley skilfully probes some of the most perennial but least understood aspects of humour, such as our tendency to laugh at animals and our bodies, why we mock death with comedy and why we think it's funny when people act like machines. He also looks at the darker side of humour, as rife in sexism and racism and argues that it is important for reminding us of people we would rather not be. "
Hans Jonas professor i filosofi vid New School for Social Research (New York, USA)
Simon Critchleys arbete spänner över många områden: kontinental filosofi, filosofi och litteratur, psykoanalys, etik och politisk teori, med mera. Hans senaste böcker inkluderar Having Been Born – Tragedy, The Greeks and Us (2020), The Problem with Levinas och Notes on Suicide (båda 2015) men han har skrivit om så olika ämnen som David Bowie, Derrida, religion och fotboll. Mellan 2010 och 2021 var han moderator för The Stone på The New York Times, ett forum för filosofer att kommentera samtida frågor inom konst, litteratur, politik och populärkultur. Han är en frekvent deltagare i den intellektuella offentliga debatten över hela världen – i text och på scen såväl som i video och ljudformat – och har rankats bland de 25 mest inflytelserika filosoferna mellan 2010-2020 av sajten AcademicInfluence.com.
Han är också en filosof som har skrivit och tänkt mycket kring humor. 2002 publicerade han boken On Humour, som en del av bokserien "Thinking in action". En bok som också är utgångspunkten för hans föreläsning under vår konferens. Föreläsningen kommer att hållas på distans.
Utdrag från bokomslaget till On humour:
"Does humour make us human, or do the cats and dogs laugh along with us? On Humour is a fascinating, beautifully written and funny book on what humour can tell us about being human. Simon Critchley skilfully probes some of the most perennial but least understood aspects of humour, such as our tendency to laugh at animals and our bodies, why we mock death with comedy and why we think it's funny when people act like machines. He also looks at the darker side of humour, as rife in sexism and racism and argues that it is important for reminding us of people we would rather not be."
Video:
