PG "Work In Progress" Seminar
Postgraduate Work-In-Progress SeminarA weekly seminar for Philosophy postgraduates to present their in-progress work, followed by a well-spirited trip to the pub. OverviewThe WIP provides a risk-free and supportive space for postgraduates to present their work and receive feedback from other graduates and faculty.
Attendance optional but highly recommended. All postgraduates are welcome to present or attend -- whether MA, MPhil, PhD, Visitors, etc. Useful InfoThe WIP is a unique opportunity for graduates to develop their presenting and writing skills, take risks, test out ideas, and receive constructive feedback from peers.
Presentations need not be watertight or polished pieces at all. You are encouraged to present work at all stages of the writing process. "Should I present?"1. If you are a postgraduate, then you should present. 2. You are a postgraduate. 3. Therefore, you should present. |
NEXT TALKOscar Jenkinson (MA) Kant/Hegel Wednesday 01/07/2026 5pm - 6:15pm S0.08 ORGANISERS |
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Abstract:
The fundamental problem for political philosophy today, Deleuze and Guattari claim in Anti-Œdipus, remains the one that Spinoza saw so clearly when he raised the question of the conditions under which “human beings fight for their own servitude as if they were fighting for their deliverance, and will not think it humiliating but supremely glorious to spill their blood and sacrifice their lives for the glorification of one man.” The question, in other words, is that of knowing how, independently of the exercise of physical force or coercion, subjects can desire their own servitude. This paper (co-written with C. Bottici) aims to do three things: a. define voluntary servitude and reveal the mechanisms of what Spinoza calls “superstition;” b. show how Spinoza sees the creation of the Hebraic state in the Theological-Political Treatise as an example of superstition; draw an analogy between the theocratic organisation of desire described by Spinoza and neoliberalism as the contemporary and dominant regime of desire.