Emerson’s ‘Self‐Reliance’ and political self‐education
Léa Boman (Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne) 

5.30-7.00 pm

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Meeting ID: 818 1350 6541
 
In the light of Emerson’s ‘Self‐Reliance’, this paper explores a perfectionist interpretation of modern forms of self‐education as political and ordinary practices – first, in relation to conspiracy theories, and second, through the explicit claim to self-education made by activists in ecological, anti‐racial or feminist organisations. These examples reveal a new kind of efficient and ordinary political power at the edge of civic commitment. This leads to an alternative conception of pedagogy, in which equality in self‐reliance matters. Informed by Stanley Cavell’s interpretation of Emerson’s essay, but crossing American and French perspectives, my discussion provides a perfectionist account of activism.
 
Léa Boman is a PhD Candidate in Philosophy at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, with a doctoral thesis in progress on Emerson’s moral philosophy and his conception of subjectivity. She is a former student of the Ecole Normale Supérieure (Lyon), and Agrégée de Philosophie. Her research interests are moral perfectionism and the philosophy of the ordinary, Emerson, Cavell, democracy, education and transatlantic cultural and philosophical relations.
 
A paper is attached here.
 
For further inquiries: Yuxin Su (yuxin.su.16@ucl.ac.uk)
 
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