core topics in philosophy

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Core Topics in Philosophy
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Why all night? 

• Because at night we see things from a different
  perspective.  Daytime is busy. You have things to
  do. You have to look after the ends of your
  actions.  At night, you sleep, its a break, its
  a parenthesis.  Its a moment when you have time
  and are liberated from busyness.  The link
  between philosophy and night is historical, too. 

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• The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with
  the falling of the dusk

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• What do you think about the fact that you have
  inspired philosophy events around the world, such
  as the recent Night of Philosophy and Ideas in
  Brooklyn? 

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• The Night of Philosophy and Ideas in Brooklyn was
  organized on the model of my event but I did not
  organize it.  I gave the new Brooklyn Public
  Librarys VP of Arts and Culture advice as he
  wanted to use my concept. 

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• But it was very different to my event.  Thats
  why it was called A Night of Philosophy and
  Ideas.  Ideas are not necessarily philosophical
  and they open up to thoughts and methods that are
  not my focus.  My focus is philosophy and art.

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• It depends on the goal of the event, but we are
  at a time when people need to feel more empowered
  and need to experience something different than
  the normal system of thinking. 

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• I view these events as a way to empower people
  to put them at the center of a world and to give
  them choices.  Its not only about giving people
  intellectual food, but rather giving people the
  possibility to listen to a lecture, to drink, or
  to see a performance, and not to impose anything
  on them.  Its a staging, not a festival or
  program.  It is delicate. Its exactly the
  contrary of programming.

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Unprogramming? 

• Its unprogramming through a very tight program,
  but it has to be full and shouldnt be one thing
  imposed on everyone.  It should be like
  presenting a world to the participant, who will
  need to ask themselves do I go left or right?

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• Its not about people or names, either.  Its
  about simultaneity, that is, creating multiple
  ways of looking at things. 

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• Its important not to embrace only one point of
  view, but to create a dialectic which blurs what
  should be thought.  Maybe there is not one right
  thought.  At the core of these events is
  diversity of thinking and different ways of
  looking at things.

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• The Nights of Philosophy are very successful. 
  Thousands of people participate.  Why do you
  think they are so popular? 

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• Yes, each time it is very popular. I have done
  seven Nights of Philosophy so far, and Im going
  to be doing more in Helsinki, Paris, Berlin and,
  probably, central Europe next year. And very soon
  I will go to the next one in Lima on April 21,
  2017.  I would like to come back to do one in a
  museum in the U.S. There is a real thirst for
  these events.

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• Theyre popular because theyre very different. 
  Theyre a novelty.  Philosophy has always been
  privileged and attractive. These events give
  people a chance to judge that by themselves. 

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• I think people also like the multiplicity, the
  opening up, the all-night long experience, and
  the fact that they dont know whats going to
  happen.  Uncertainty is very interesting.  Life
  is like that.  You really dont know whats going
  to happen tomorrow.

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