About the lecture
In this year’s Examen philosophicum lecture, associate professor Agnes Callard explores a Socratic answer to this question, which rejects many of the standard liberal models of free speech – free speech as open debate; free speech as the marketplace of ideas; free speech as openness to persuasion – on the grounds that they fail to guard against the politicisation of speech. Callard explains what politicisation is; why it is coercive, i.e., unfree; and how Socrates' approach to conversation offers a way of avoiding it.
Programme
Kl. 14:15–15:00: The Exphil Lecture by Agnes Callard.
Kl. 15:00: Comments by invited panel:
- Franco Trivigno is a professor of philosophy at the University of Oslo. He researches Plato's philosophy and neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics.
- Anine Kierulf is an associate professor at the Department of Public Law at the University of Oslo. She researches freedom of expression, constitutional law, and human rights.
Kl. 15.45: Q&A
Agnes Callard
Agnes Callard (b. 1976) is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago. Callard primarily works on ancient philosophy and ethics, and actively engages in public philosophy. She writes for publications such as The New Yorker and The New York Times, in addition to organising the lecture and debate series called Night Owls in Chicago.
Callard has authored numerous research articles on practical reasoning, reasons for action, and moral psychology. She has also published the books "Aspiration. The Agency of Becoming" (Oxford University Press 2018) and "On Anger" (MIT Press 2020). The latter book was named one of the books of the year in 2020 by The New Yorker.
About the Exphil lecture
Every year, an influential philosopher and skilled speaker is invited to give a lecture on a theme relevant to the exphil syllabus.
The lecture is open to everyone.
The lecture will be recorded and posted online. It will also be published in Inquiry - An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy.
Read more about UiO's Annual Examen philosophicum lecture 2023 published in Inquiry. Kwame Anthony Appiah: "Understanding Racism", with an introduction and comments by Aness Webster and Anna Smajdor.