The London Lecture Series

In this episode Kieron O’Hara examines how digital technology shapes our memories and alters our perception of the past, questioning the integrity of human memory in the age of social media and AI.Part of TRIP's London Lecture Series 2024-25, on Remembering and Forgetting.

In this episode, Erich Matthes navigates questions of conservation, and how some easily overlooked aspects of conservation can render its relationship with remembering more complex than it initially appears.Part of TRIP's London Lecture Series 2024-25, on Remembering and Forgetting.

In this lecture, Lucy Allais considers the reasons philosophers have given for thinking that forgiveness is puzzling, and argue that they are key to understanding why we need it – but also why we don’t always have to forgive.Part of TRIP's London Lecture Series  2024-25, on Remembering and Forgetting.

In this talk Alessandra Tanesini explores how Social Networking Sites, especially Facebook, act as platforms where memories can be shared, individuals memorialised, and where at times some feel shunned and forgotten. Alessandra delves into the potential consequences of offloading one’s private memories onto public digital platforms .Part of TRIP's London Lecture Series  2024-25, on Remembering and Forgetting.

We all have treasured memories, but what, exactly, is it that makes them so valuable to us? In this talk, Marya Schechtman explores this question, proposing that one source of value is the role such memories can play in constituting and maintaining both personal identity and intimate social relationships. But what are the implications of this, ethical or otherwise, for our practices of remembering?Part of TRIP's London Lecture Series  2024-25, on Remembering and Forgetting.

James Dawes, a Professor at Macalester College, delves into the intricate ties between trauma, memory, and post-traumatic growth. He unpacks how memory can catalyze personal growth following adversity, drawing from historical and cultural contexts. The conversation explores societal shifts in understanding trauma, from individual experiences to collective narratives, and scrutinizes the evolving definitions shaped by cultural perceptions. Dawes also discusses the genetic impacts of trauma and challenges within mental health treatment, revealing the complexities of recognizing and addressing these experiences.

In this engaging discussion, Rima Basu, a philosophy professor at Claremont McKenna College, dives into the ethics of forgetting. She argues that forgetting is essential for fostering forgiveness and privacy, allowing us to build healthier identities. Basu highlights the dangers of our digital age, where memories can be inescapably preserved. She explores how selective forgetting can liberate us from past grievances and discusses the implications of technology on our memories, emphasizing the importance of balancing remembrance with the necessity to let go.

Many people suffer from psychiatric disorders and mental distress. But how are we to understand these problems, and how are we to treat them? Sanneke de Haan argues that we need to look at their developmental history, the social and cultural practices they take part in, and their existential (self)understanding. Part of the London Lecture Series 2023-24 | “Madness and Mental Health"

Is mad life possible? Constrained by everyday mentalism, and controlled by various forms of psychiatrization of our biographies, we ask – can we live the lives we dream rather than dreaming that we live? Jasna Russo looks at the processes of knowledge making on what is considered madness and our ability to address each other in the second person, as you and me. Erick Fabris revisits a life of activism, from mutual aid to identity politics, and asks if Mad culture is possible in our time.Part of the London Lecture Series 2023-24 | “Madness and Mental Health"

Since the 1970s, psychiatry has been in the grip of a paradigm I call ‘madness-as-dysfunction’. In this view, mental disorders happen when something inside the person isn’t working as it should, or is ‘broken.’ In his previous work, Justin Garson has identified an alternate paradigm, which he calls ‘madness-as-strategy,’ which sees mental illness in terms of purpose, adaptation and function. In this lecture, Justin contrasts these frameworks and outlines their implications for research, treatment and stigma.Part of the London Lecture Series 2023-24 | “Madness and Mental Health"