Normativity & Experience

Course Brief

Instructor: Dr. Vivek Dhareshwar

An inquiry into the emergence of ontologically peculiar entities

There are different kinds of objects and domains. Some are abstract, sets and numbers, for example. Others are concrete, chairs and trees, for example. Yet others, such as the state or the university, are different from both the abstract and the concrete objects, while sharing some properties with them. Then there are the ”theoretical entities” of the sciences such as “quarks” or “centre of gravity.” What about “human rights” or “civil society” or even “history” and ‘self”? Theoretically and practically, we have or develop different ways of understanding these domains and handling the objects therein. Or alternatively, we could say that these objects/domains have their own ways of being known. Such questions relating to the existence-claims of these very different kinds objects fall within an inquiry that can be broadly termed ontological.

In this seminar we will be taking the ontological route to figure out the peculiar status of moral norms and normativity. “Sexuality” will serve as a paradigmatic example as well as a point of departure. For several reasons (to be explored in the seminar) normativity is one of the hardest theoretical or philosophical question to tackle. We will get an initial conceptual handle on the idea of a “normed” object and the process by which a domain gets normativized by studying the domain “sexuality” through the work of Foucault. With the help of the insights and heuristics developed from that study, we will then explore other objects/domains.

In this course, participants will more actively engage in research by beginning to construct their own questions. The writing they do will be research-based. This course requires you to have taken Course 01: Philosophy of Culture as a pre-requisite.

Readings

Friedrich Nietzsche, Michel Foucault, John Searle, Elizabeth Anscombe, Ludwig Wittgenstein, S.N. Balagangadhara, Michael Thompson, Immanuel Kant.

Assignments

Short reflective notes every week and end-term essay on a topic inspired by the course/reading (8-10pages).

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First Batch Dates TBA

Pre-requisites: Course 01: Philosophy of Culture

Mode: Virtual sessions over Google or Zoom

Duration: Total 10 weeks – Meetings will be held once a week for 3 hours (To enable working folk to participate, the weekly meeting will take place on Saturdays, 5-8 pm).

Capacity: 10-12 participants per batch

Course Fees

Tiered fee structure depending on your income/ability:

Rs. 2,500/- for students
Rs. 5,000/- for doctoral researchers
Rs. 10,000/- for post-doc and professionals

If you are very keen on participating but cannot afford the fee, please write to Vivek at contact@indianslate.in

Payment details (UPI / bank transfer) will be sent over email after registration and gauging your eligibility for this course.