The London Lecture Series

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.

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"

Somogy Varga and Andrew J. Latham report results from a series of experimental philosophy studies which aimed to examine how people understand and deploy  concepts of health and disease, and the factors that influence their health-related judgments.Part of the London Lecture Series 2023-24 | “Madness and Mental Health"

Why is it so tempting to understand spirituality / religion as counter to our conception of mental health, both in terms of its causality and its therapeutic restoration? Camilia Kong seeks to provide a philosophical diagnosis of the problem through Taylor’s discussion of the ‘immanent frame’ in Western modernity, and in so doing, provide the conceptual space for enriching understanding of divergent explanatory frameworks of mental disorder and cognitive disability in other sociocultural contexts. 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"

Over six decades of research confirm there are ethnic inequalities in the experiences and outcomes of severe mental illness.  The reasons for these differences have been debated, some arguing they meet treatment needs, others say they are manifestations of structural racism. Kim Bhui shares his views on conceptual confusions, causes, and remedies by drawing on recent Lived Experience Data on compulsory treatment, other research, and campaigns over three decades.Part of the London Lecture Series 2023-24 | “Madness and Mental Health"

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"