Speaker: Kurtul Gülenç
At the heart of the theoretical and political project of the Frankfurt School (Critical Theory) lies the transformation of the concept of critique. Kant’s critique, which in essence serves autonomy, was transformed by Critical Theory and brought closer to the practice of the human being, and the revolution in Western thought initiated by Kant was continued. The living representative of the Frankfurt School, Jürgen Habermas, has embraced this tradition and through the framework of different aspects and possibilities of the concept of critique he has sought answers to the crises of legitimacy experienced by advanced industrial societies, and in this process, he has engaged with a multitude of thinkers in the context of different subjects and debates, from his teacher Adorno to Gadamer, from Rawls to Derrida. In this talk, Habermas’ pursuit and his affirmative critique towards the crises of legitimacy will be analysed and discussed alongside a historical and theoretical background.
Kurtul Gülenç completed his undergraduate studies at the Department of Philosophy of Boğaziçi University in 1997, and went on to obtain his master’s degree from the same university in 2005, and his doctorate degree from the Department of Philosophy of Hacettepe University in 2010. Gülenç is the author of the books titled Marksizmde Ahlak Tartışmaları: Adalet, Özgürlük, Mutluluk [Deliberations on Ethics in Marxism: Justice, Freedom, Happiness] (Tekin Yayınları, 2016), Frankfurt Okulu [The Frankfurt School] (Ayrıntı Yayınları, 2015) and is the co-author of Marx ve Sonrası [Marx and Beyond] (İthaki Yayınları, 2017) with Önder Kulak. He is also the co-editor of Siyaset Felsefesi Tarihi – Platon’dan Zizek’e [History of the Philosophy of Politics – From Plato to Zizek] (Doğu Batı Yayınları, 2013) with Ahu Tunçel, and Yargıya Felsefeyle Bakmak [Contemplating Jurisdiction Through Philosophy] (YKY, 2016) with Özlem Duva. His research interests include social and political philosophy, philosophy of social sciences, the Frankfurt School and the philosophy of Enlightenment.
The event is free of charge. Invitations available from the Akbank Sanat ticket office on the event day, one hour before the event begins.