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Explore a different reading of the history of Western philosophy, away from the great metaphysics of the ego or subjectivity, and taking the path less travelled: an inquiry into forms of life and modes of existence.
A series of 10 webinars featuring the recent recipient of the Grand Prix de Philosophie, Professor Claude Romano, and an exciting line-up of Australian and international conversation partners.
Dates: August and September 2021 (see details in table below)
Time: 4 – 5pm (SYD/MEL/BNE), 8 – 9am (Paris) (view a different time zone)
Unfortunately, we are no longer accepting registrations to attend this webinar series. However, if you are interested in this event, please let us know via email by using the Register your interest button below.
The Odyssey, the most ancient poem of Western culture, depicts the metamorphosis by which Ulysses is changed into himself under the gaze of those who hitherto failed to recognise him, thus allowing him to reintegrate the radiance of his own truth. Ulysses is, therefore, the first in a long series of characters who undergo this mysterious operation: the passage from an existence in obscurity or falsehood to an existence ‘in person’, in a form of truth. How can such a passage be understood? How does such a transition take place? What forms has the idea of an existence ‘in person’ taken in Western thought?
Professor Claude Romano questions the sometimes-hidden sources of this idea of ‘true existence’ that underlie the modern ideal of personal authenticity, in tracing a genealogy of that ideal and in bringing some of its more remote forms to light. Along the way, you will be involved with different types and regimes of discourse: philosophical, of course, but also theological, spiritual, rhetorical, literary, and aesthetic.
In this way, Professor Romano sketches a very different understanding of the history of Western philosophy, away from the great metaphysics of the ego or subjectivity, taking the less travelled path of an inquiry into forms of life and modes of existence.
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Date |
Topic |
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Monday 16 August |
Introduction: When and why does the ideal of authenticity emerge? |
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Thursday 19 August |
Magnanimity and the virtue of the man who is himself (authekastos) in Aristotle |
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Monday 23 August |
Stoic virtue and stoic truthfulness |
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Thursday 26 August |
Cicero and the doctrine of the four roles (personae) |
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Monday 30 August |
Naturalness in ancient rhetoric |
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Thursday 2 September |
Saint Augustine on making the truth in one’s life |
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Monday 6 September |
Social grace as unity with oneself and with others: Castiglione |
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Thursday 9 September |
Naturalness as perfect freedom in Montaigne |
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Monday 13 September |
Personal truth (and falsity) according to the French Moralists |
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Thursday 16 September |
Rousseau and the revolution of authenticity |
Professor Claude Romano is Maitre de Conferences (HDR) in Philosophy at the University of Paris-Sorbonne and Professorial Fellow at Australian Catholic University (ACU). He works in contemporary philosophy, and in 2020 was awarded the Grand Prix de Philosophie by the prestigious Académie Française. It is widely regarded as the highest award for a philosopher in France.
His current research attempts to approach the problem of personal identity from the viewpoint of truthfulness or authenticity. This webinar series will explore the concepts in his recently completed volume on the history of the idea of ‘personal truth’, or truth ‘in life itself’, from Aristotle and Augustine to Heidegger (Être soi-même. Une autre histoire de la philosophie, Paris, Gallimard, 2019).
We're available 9am–5pm AEDT,
Monday to Friday
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