Philosophical conference: Work: violation or alliance? The question of "Prometheanism"

February 14, 2024, 5:00 p.m. - February 14, 2024, 7:00 p.m.

Organized by the Languages, Literatures, Societies, Transborder and International Studies (LLSETI) at the University of Boumediene in Algiers and the Association of Philosophy Teachers in Public Education, the series of philosophical lectures entitled "What work in a finite world?" continues on Wednesday, February 14, at 5 p.m. with a lecture entitled "Work: intrusion or alliance? The question of 'Prometheanism'". This lecture will take place in room 3, at the University of Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB), in Chambéry. It is open to all and no registration is required. 

Confusing and obscure statements about work continue to circulate in the political arena, to the extent that some people view work as something harmful to both humans and nature. At the same time, too many people talk only about the "value of work," thereby reducing work to an economic dimension and commodification.  

The cause of environmental problems is even attributed to "Prometheanism," suggesting that work and the transformation of the world are inherently "hubris." By viewing work solely in terms of productivity, we end up wanting to restrict its role, even though its inventive and creative dimensions could expand the human world. 

This lecture will be led by Martine Verlhac, honorary professor of philosophy in the upper sixth form at Lycée Berthollet in Annecy. 

About the series "What work in a finite world?" 

We only took note of the devastation caused by our unrestrained transformation of nature and the world when that world threatened to become uninhabitable. But is it the transformation of the world in general that is at fault, or is it an economic model that subjects everything to commodification while perpetuating the logic of domination? In short: are humans not expelling themselves from the world by failing to question these models? We have begun to feel afraid, and with good reason. Understanding why and how we got to this point is, in any case, necessary if we want to take action to change the course of events, which is not inevitable. Discussing this question would reveal its political dimension as well as the social issues at stake. 

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