ABSTRACT
In this paper, I use Brazilian thinker Costa Lima’s ideas concerning the “control of the imaginary” in literary theory to reexamine Pierre Hadot’s history of philosophy, as involving the progressive loss of the connection between theoretical discourse and existential practices, following the end of the classical-hellenistic period. In Control of the Imaginary, The Dark Side of Reason and elsewhere, Lima advances a sweeping claim that the Western heritage of literary theorising, from the Romans onwards, has been characterised by a series of, political and theoretical, operations of “controlling” the creative imagination operative in the creation and reception of literary fictions; subordinating this creativity, and its capacity to generate alternative “as if” worlds, to accepted notions of truth, verisimilitude, decorum, and morality. In Lima’s narrative, Aristotle’s Poetics with its notion of mimesis represents a resource to which literary theory should return to theorise what he terms the “criticity” (criticidade) of poetic and literary writings, as means to hold at a distance, and challenge, prevailing epistemic and other norms. In Hadot’s account of Western philosophy, ancient Greek philosophy’s pedagogic and existential concern with forming, as much as informing, students was correlated to the rich variety of distinctly literary forms that ancient texts take: up to the penning of tragedies by a philosopher like Seneca, but including Plato’s and Aristotle’s dialogues. Indeed, Hadot explicitly argues that in the ancient philosophical paradigm, the “imagination”, the literary and the rhetorical, found a place in philosophical discourses—particularly concerning the figure of the sage— which has since been largely lost. Does Hadot’s narrative, linking the atrophy of philosophy as a way of life with the diminution of the literary forms of philosophy, speak to or even echo Lima’s concerns in the literary field? This paper will address the question, not without noting significant qualifications that need to be appended to such a claim.

Dr MATTHEW SHARPE
Matthew Sharpe is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Deakin University. His ongoing research interests include political philosophy, psychoanalysis and critical theory, epistemology, and conservative and reactionary political thought. He is the author of Slavoj Žižek: A Little Piece of the Real (Ashgate, 2005), the co-author with Geoff Boucher of Žižek and Politics (Edinburgh UP, 2010) and The Times Will Suit Them: Postmodern Conservatism in Australia (Allen & Unwin 2008), and the co-author with Jo Faulkner of Understanding Psychoanalysis (Acumen 2008).

The 2012 Deakin University seminar series is hosted by the Alfred Deakin Research Institute, the Centre for Citizenship and Globalisation and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University.

This Deakin University seminar series is free to attend and open to all. Please direct any inquiries to Dr Sean Bowden at s.bowden@deakin.edu.au.

ABSTRACT
This paper examines the importance of time to the tradition of continental philosophy and the Continental-Analytic ‘divide’.

Dr Jack Reynolds
Jack Reynolds is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at La Trobe University. He is the author of Merleau-Ponty and Derrida: Intertwining Embodiment and Alterity (Ohio UP, 2004), Understanding Existentialism (McGill-Queens, 2006), Analytic Versus Continental: Arguments on the Methods and Value of Philosophy (Acumen, 2010, with James Chase) and, most recently, Chronopathologies: Time and Politics in Deleuze, Derrida, Analytic Philosophy and Phenomenology (Lexington, 2011).

The 2012 Deakin University seminar series is hosted by the Alfred Deakin Research Institute, the Centre for Citizenship and Globalisation and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University.

This Deakin University seminar series is free to attend and open to all. Please direct any inquiries to Dr Sean Bowden at s.bowden@deakin.edu.au.

ABSTRACT
The place of work in the contemporary theoretical field is a paradoxical one. Many empirical inquiries continue to be based on the assumption that work and employment are key factors in the study of major social phenomena such as inequality (economic, sexual or cultural), or shifts in family structures. This assumption is largely relayed in public discourse and policy discussions. On the other hand, there is widespread consensus in the theoretical arms of the humanities and social sciences that the work paradigm is now obsolete, both on descriptive and normative grounds. Adding to this complexity, substantive new models have emerged, notably the “psychodynamics of work” in France, which challenge this theoretical consensus. This paper places itself within this overall project to reaffirm and redescribe theoretically the centrality of work. I focus in this paper on the historicist assumptions at the heart of the theoretical consensus against the centrality of work. I identify four major reference points for these historicist objections: Marxist, Foucauldian, social-theoretical and anthropological. In a final part, I make some suggestions to indicate the contours of a rejoinder against such powerful objections.

A/Prof JEAN-PHILIPPE DERANTY
Jean-Philippe Deranty is Associate Professor in Philosophy at Macquarie University. He is the author of Beyond Communication: A Critical Study of Axel Honneth’s Social Philosophy (Brill, 2009), and is the editor of a number of volumes including Jacques Rancière: Key Concepts (Acumen, 2010) and, with Alison Ross, Jacques Rancière and the Contemporary Scene (Continuum, 2012). Jean-Philippe is also a member of the editorial board of Critical Horizons.

The 2012 Deakin University seminar series is hosted by the Alfred Deakin Research Institute, the Centre for Citizenship and Globalisation and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University.

This Deakin University seminar series is free to attend and open to all. Please direct any inquiries to Dr Sean Bowden at s.bowden@deakin.edu.au.

In 2012, Deakin University will be hosting a series of philosophy seminars. These seminars are planned for each Tuesday afternoon. For a full schedule of coming presentations, visit http://deakinphilosophicalsociety.com/calendar.

Today, Tuesday 6 March from 3.30-5pm in c2.05 on the Burwood campus (videolinked to ic1.108 on the Waurn Ponds campus), Dr Patrick Stokes from Deakin University will presents ‘The Naked Self: Some Kierkegaardian Contributions to Analytic Philosophy of Personal Identity’.

ABSTRACT
Kierkegaard is a philosopher with striking — and often confronting — things to say about the nature, structure, constitution and importance of selfhood, yet he his work has been almost totally absent from contemporary discussions of self and identity. I argue that Kierkegaard’s reflexive understanding of memory and anticipation, particularly his discussions of ‘contemporaneity’ as an experience of phenomenal co-presence with past and future events, offer useful insights for these discussions. However, Kierkegaard’s understanding of selfhood also challenges contemporary accounts of the self (both metaphysical and practical) due to its fundamentally normative, eschatologically-oriented nature, and its corresponding dual temporality. Ultimately, Kierkegaard offers an irreducibly first-personal, temporally-emplaced model of selfhood that points beyond some of the current impasses in personal identity theory.

Dr PATRICK STOKES
Patrick Stokes is Lecturer in Philosophy at Deakin University. His current research is concerned to bring Kierkegaard into dialogue with contemporary analytic philosophy, as well as to explore the temporal and perspectival aspects of the question of selfhood. He is the author of Kierkegaard’s Mirrors: Interest, Self and Moral Vision (Palgrave, 2010) and, with Adam Buben, the co-editor of Kierkegaard and Death (Indiana UP, 2011).

The 2012 Deakin University seminar series is hosted by the Alfred Deakin Research Institute, the Centre for Citizenship and Globalisation and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University.

Deakin University School of international and Political Studies is hosting a free public presentation by renowned author Noam Chomsky.

The presentation will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and will be Professor Chomsky’s only public appearance in Melbourne.

Registration for the event opens in September and is essential. You can keep abreast of event information on the event’s Facebook page.

Kind regards,

Dylan Nickelson,
President, Deakin Philosophical Society.

On Thursday 22 September, Greg Sheridan will speak on the topic ‘What role can or should religion ploy in a modern nation?’. This event is a Deakin University public lecture.

Greg Sheridan is Foreign Editor for The Australian and arguably the most influential foreign affairs analyst in Australian journalism. He has also written actively and constructively on the question of religion in modern society. Mr Sheridan’s work has always been thought-provoking, and this event (sponsored by the Alfred Deakin Research Institute) provides a forum to address a topic of great national and international importance.

The lecture will be followed by a cocktail reception.

Date: Thursday 22 September 2011
Time: from 6pm
Venue: Conference Theatre, Deakin University Melbourne City Centre
Level 3, 550 Bourke Street
Melbourne (Melways Ref: 43 F8)

To register your attendance for this public lecture please email Dr Sam Koehne samuel.koehne@deakin.edu.au

This Wednesday 31 August from 7-9pm at The Barking Dog hotel, Dr Francis Kung, author of Ways to better living presents ‘Ways to better living and the way life works’.

Dr Kung introduces his presentation as follows.

Understanding the way life works is essential to living a balanced and satisfied life. This is because our views of the way life works can affect our thoughts and interpretations of events, which in turn may have either positive or not so positive impacts on our emotional, physical, social and spiritual wellbeing.

Our views of the way life works are dependent on our experiences, upbringing, education and spirituality. Therefore, we may have to drop some of our outdated assumptions and beliefs that limit us in one way or another, because our map is not the territory.

1. The way life works
   • Life is difficult. If we accept this concept, then life is no longer difficult, because even if it is difficult, it does not matter anymore. Then, we will take our daily challenges as lessons to be learnt and respond in a mature way rather than wishing that everything is sweet and cared for.
   • We are in control of our lives. Those who believe that they are in control of their lives are more likely to take positive actions to solve their problems. They will take responsibilities rather than blaming others.
   • Nothing very good or very bad lasts for very long. Once we realize, then we would not be too concerned if our world changes every now and then, sometimes in our favour, sometimes not.
2. Ways to better living
   When we set meaningful goals for ourselves, then we would not be busy doing things that are not important. If we want happiness, give happiness to others. The way to get what you want is to help others get what they want.
   • Our purpose is giving ourselves to care for others and help them grow.

Philosophy Café takes place on the last Wednesday of each month, February to November.

Entry is free and includes a glass of wine and nibbles.

Dr Kung’s book, Ways to Better Living, is available from Readings Melbourne or as an E-book from the publisher.

This Wednesday 13 July from 5-6.50pm in ib3.307 the Deakin Philosophical Society will meet for the first time in Trimester 2. For the first week back we’ll discuss a topic that is more political than philosophical at the moment: the new carbon tax. Take a look at cleanenergyfuture.gov.au for the latest information. If your after an opposing position, go to nocarbontax.com.au.

Kind Regards,

Dylan Nickelson,
President, Deakin Philosophical Society.

DPS meeting
Melancholy and other business
Wednesday 1 June from 5-6.30pm in ib3.307 on Deakin’s Waurn Ponds campus

This Wednesday 1 June the Deakin Philosophical Society will meet to discuss melancholy. We’ll focus on Robert Burton’s verse ‘Author’s Abstract of Melancholy’ from his 1628 The Anatomy of Melancholy. However, you may also like to consider Denis Diderot’s entry on melancholy in the 1765 Encyclopaedia of the Sciences, Art and Crafts.

Wednesday’s meeting is our last for the first trimester, so we will also discuss topics for next trimester. We’ve focussed quite heavily on science and politics so far this year. It would be good to spend some time on other areas of philosophy in trimester two. All suggestions are welcome.

So are good spirits.

Hope to see you there,

Dylan Nickelson,
President, Deakin Philosophical Society.

On Wednesday 30 March John Calvert will talk at Philosophy Café on the topic ‘Adam Smith 255 years on’. A period of questions and discussion will follow the presentation.

Philosophy Café is held from 7-9pm on the last Wednesday of each month, February to November, in the (newly refurbished) ‘Kennel’ at The Barking Dog hotel, 126 Pakington st, Geelong West.

Entry is free and includes a glass of wine and nibbles.

Kind regards,

Dylan Nickelson,
President, Deakin Philosophical Society.