Postgraduate "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 you present?Are you a postgraduate? Then yes, you should present. |
NEXT TALKBen Long (PhD) Scepticism Thursday 04/06/2026 5pm - 6:15pm S1.50 ORGANISERS |
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WiP Seminar
WiP Week 8 - 'An inheritance to come: Derrida on history, the undecidable future, and the metaphysics of presence' - Efan Owen
The next postgraduate Work in Progress (WiP) seminar is taking place this Thursday 13th June from 5-6:15 PM in S2.77 and on Teams. Efan Owen will present 'An inheritance to come: Derrida on history, the undecidable future, and the metaphysics of presence'. Everyone welcome!
Abstract:
In this presentation I will explore the conclusions I came to in a recent essay and the questions they pose for my dissertation. I will give an overview of Derrida鈥檚 understanding of the relationship between that which is already past and that which is yet to come. I will examine here Derrida鈥檚 engagement with Heidegger鈥檚 rejection of a 鈥渕etaphysics of presence,鈥� as well as the specific implications of his own notion of 诲颈蹿蹿茅谤补苍肠别, in the construction of meaning. Derrida holds meaning to be ultimately non-present and always referring to a presence beyond itself, and at the same time grounded in the material trace which signifies it.
In this sense, a future which is truly futural can only be comprehended as an anticipation of that which will never arrive. It is nevertheless determined by its origin, or past, in the trace signifier. I will argue that this leads Derrida to an understanding of the future as taking the form of an inheritance of things passed.
Finally, I will suggest that this approach allows Derrida to think of our relationship both to history and to the future in a manner which refutes the rationalism and calculability which characterise Kant and Husserl鈥檚 philosophies of history. In anticipation of my dissertation, I will also suggest that the decidability of inheritance nevertheless leaves it bearing resemblance to the regulative Idea as employed by Kant and Husserl. I will try to examine avenues I might take in exploring these similarities.
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