180056 VO-L French contemporary philosophy (2023W)

This course is devoted to selected approaches in contemporary French philosophy. The focus is on recent publications. The selected approaches include works by French philosophers Corine Pelluchon, Hélène Cixous, and Anne Dufourmantelle. The aim is to show the rich, innovative potential of contemporary French philosophy and to use it to discuss cutting-edge contemporary issues.

Corine Pelluchon enters the field of environmental and food philosophy. In her study Wovon wir leben (2020), Pelluchon, drawing on Emmanuel Levinas and Martin Heidegger, outlines a phenomenological philosophy of existence dedicated to food in a comprehensive, existential meaning. In her reflections, environmental philosophy, philosophy of ecology, philosophical animal studies, and not least political philosophy (keyword: social contract) overlap.
Hélène Cixous combines a philosophy of animals with a feminist approach. In Cixous's work, at first, mainly cats are mentioned, however, as quite central animal figure can be considered the first dog in the author's life, which left a wound since childhood. Therefore, we deal with the text Dear Animal by Hélène Cixous, in which the complex relationship between man and dog is made the subject. Cixous claims a "humanity" of the animal, referring to that ability to see others beyond preconceived judgments. This capacity, he argues, is an attack on those boundaries that racial exclusion creates and a rejection of the false humanism of the colonial project. Dear Animal is a living testimony to the intersection of animal studies and postcolonial theory and anti-Semitism-critical positions.
With Anne Dufourmantelle we look into the hidden, which sometimes seems to have disappeared in the permanent presence of contemporary phenomena such as Facebook, Instagram, GPS, personal, but also on a structural level. What else is a secret, asks Dufourmantelle, and why do we currently shy away from it so much? We learn about the power and risks of secrets in this philosophically and psychoanalytically informed approach, as well as rediscovering "wonder" about secrets. In Dufourmantelle's critique of surveillance society and the age of transparency, we learn about the chance to bet on the survival of the secret in a world that seeks to create permanent certainties, as well as a plea for risk and the uncertain-as Dufourmantelle puts it in Praise of Risk (2018).

Overall, this course therefore offers an insight into recent French approaches to a phenomenological philosophy of nutrition, a gender-theoretical philosophy of animals, and a socio-critical philosophy of mystery. Urgent contemporary issues of global importance (food, human-animal relations, digital world) can be philosophically addressed. Last but not least, the course will be able to show how much the future of a livable world (Judith Butler) depends on a critical engagement with the issues of nutrition, animality and digitality.

The course is introductory in nature and is suitable for all audiences. No prerequisites are necessary. Three units will be reserved for each philosophical approach. We will work with PowerPoint presentations and videos. Students will have access to comprehensive learning materials on Moodle. 15 minutes will be reserved for concluding discussions. Reflection exercises may also be expected.