zondag 15 oktober 2006, 15.00-17.00 uur
Noam Chomsky & Michel Foucault - human nature: justice versus power

Allard den Dulk, Joep Dohmen, Baukje Prins, Martien Schreurs en Patrick Vlug (o.v.)   geven hun visie, 35 jaar later, op de politieke standpunten van Chomsky en Foucault in het beroemde debat dat plaatsvond in de Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, november 1971, met Fons Elders als moderator.
 
Na een introductie door Fons Elders, geven de hierboven genoemde medewerkers in max. vijf minuten hun visie geven op de politieke ideeën van Chomsky en Foucault, waarna het debat met elkaar en de 'zaal' wordt voortgezet o.l.v. Fons Elders en Jasper Smits.

Inzet van de discussie is de eeuwenoude vraag over gerechtigheid en macht; hun onderlinge verhouding en de 'menselijke natuur'. In 1971 woedde de Vietnam oorlog; nu is er oorlog in het Midden-Oosten en Afghanistan. Het geweld gaat door; de vragen blijven.

In antwoord op een brief van Fons Elders aan Noam Chomsky m.b.t. 15 oktober, antwoordde Chomsky als volgt:
Very good to hear from you. Read somewhere recently about the sharp decline in farmland in Holland, and was wondering what happened to that wonderful spread, where we spent a memorable day. Where I also learned a lot. E.g., about heating homes by keeping cows in an enclosure inside. Where else would I have learned that?
I'll try to think of something to say, but can't promise. One reason is vast crush. A more important one is that I'm not very good at that sort of thing. Will see. Hope it turns out interesting.

Noam

"The second section of this volume begins with Foucault's debate with Chomsky, an event that took place in 1971, broadcast on Dutch national television and moderated by Fons Elders. 1) Divided roughly into two parts, on epistemology and politics, it is remarkable for both the agreements and divergences that it registers. In the end, and no doubt unexpectedly, the most profound disagreements concern the theory of politics. In 1971 Foucault had not yet worked out his strategic analysis of power and still employs a Marxist terminology that he will later forcefully criticize. But he cannot accept Chomsky's use of the idea of human nature in political theory as a basis for the justification of political actions. As Jules Vuillemin recognized when presenting Foucault's candidacy to the Collège de France, Foucault want to "construct a history without human nature," and one should likewise say that he wanted to construct a politics without human nature. 2) He could not but see Chomsky's invocation of human nature here as an instance of that "anthropological slumber," "absolutely inevitable and absolutely fateful," from which he thought we had to awake. 3)"

1) The broadcast version of the debate sometimes differs importantly from this transcript, but I have been informed by Fons Elders that both Foucault and Chomsky approved this written version.
2) Jules Vuillemin, "Rapport de M. Jules Vuillemin pour la création d'une chaire d' Histoire des systèmes de pensée," in Didier Eribon, Michel Foucault (1926-1984) (Paris, 1991), p. 371.
3) Foucault, "Philosophie et psychologie" (1965), Dits et écrits , 1:448.

ELDERS:    Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the third debate of the International Philosophers' Project. Tonight's debaters are Mr. Michel Foucault, of the College de France, and Mr. Noam Chomsky, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Both philosophers have points in common and points of difference. Perhaps the best way to compare both philosophers would be to see them as tunnellers through a mountain working at opposite sides of the same mountain with different tools, without even knowing if they are working in each other's direction.

De gasten ontvangen bij binnenkomst een uitvoerige beschrijving van het debat, geschreven door James Miller

New Press schrijft bij een nieuwe editie Chomsky - Foucault van 31 augustus 2006:
In 1971, at the height of the Vietnam War and at a time of great political and social instability, two of the world's leading intellectuals, Noam Chomsky and Michel Foucault, were invited by Dutch philosopher Fons Elders to debate an age-old question: is there such a thing as "innate" human nature independent of our experiences and external influences? The resulting dialogue is one of the most original, provocative, and spontaneous exchanges to have occurred between contemporary philosophers, and above all serves as a concise introduction to their basic theories. What begins as a philosophical argument rooted in linguistics (Chomsky) and the theory of knowledge (Foucault), soon evolves into a broader discussion encompassing a wide range of topics, from science, history, and behaviorism to creativity, freedom, and the struggle for justice in the realm of politics. In addition to the debate itself, this volume features a newly written introduction by noted Foucault scholar John Rajchman and includes substantial additional texts by Chomsky and Foucault.

U bent van harte welkom

Met vriendelijke groet

Fons Elders

Locatie: Huize Piranesi - IJsselmeerdijk 18 - 1473 PP Warder
Entrée € 10,- ; studenten € 5,-
Reserveren via piranesi@xs4all.nl gewenst