Philosophy lunch: The truth according to Foucault

Presented by Raphael Zagury-Orly, philosopherWith Paul Audi, philosopher Didier Ottinger, curator, expert in modern and contemporary paintingThe meeting will begin with a screening of Grosse fatigue, a 13-minute colour video with sound created by Camille Henrot in 2013 and acquired the same year by the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco.If truth has to do with knowledge, it is, in its basic sense, the agreement between a thought, a judgement or a theory and reality (or a segment of reality, given reality is infinite) and is therefore opposed to falsehood and sometimes with morality, as truth-telling opposed to lying, then its relationship with art is enigmatic in both cases. How can art capture a part of reality, even momentarily – as science does – and how can it (not) lie? Yet, things are not so simple in reality because art, whether plastic, visual, graphic or sound, allows us to see or hear something of the world, if not what cannot be heard or seen in the world. It is generally objected that this is some type of illusion since the ‘meaning’ we attribute to art is a matter of subjectivity and the interpretation that each person gives or makes of a work of art, which, at best, would allow us to say that art produces and brings a multiplicity of truths into coexistence. But this view is also tenuous because, if we accept it, we would not understand how a work of art could continue to produce meaning, question, disturb, delight and please, even as it endures through the centuries and as the regimes of subjectivity, sensibility and intellect have changed a thousand times over the centuries. Therefore, the truth of art cannot be that of the 'individual' who produces or receives it, but a truth of the world and of humanity that 'contains' even what humanity, with its tools of knowledge, sensation and 'feeling', cannot say about the world or about itself.In collaboration with the Centre Pompidou and the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco.

Presented by Marc Crépon, philosopher And Théo Schumer, journalistWith daily guest speakers and Jean-Philippe Vinci, Director of Education, Youth and SportIn collaboration with Monaco Info and Monaco City HallThe morning sessions held during PhiloMonaco Week are organised by The Monaco Philosophical Encounters, in collaboration with Monaco Info and Monaco City HallPresented each morning by Marc Crépon, philosopher and Théo Schumer, journalist, these morning sessions provide an opportunity for reflection, debate and discussion, based on questions posed by members of the public to the guest speakers of PhiloMonaco Week."Teaching the truth" is an unusual concept. It could even be considered a misguided one, despite its appeal to those with rigid beliefs, if it meant that educators, parents, teachers, and professors were to impose and instil their own truths upon those who are still learning.There is nothing worse, as the proverb says, than giving children and students a fish rather than teaching them how to fish. After all, no one would ever become a mountaineer if they were willing to be flown directly to the mountain top by helicopter. Educating people about the truth therefore seems to be something of a contradiction in terms, as teaching falsehoods and lies is hardly education. Education is sufficient if it imparts knowledge, or at least the means to distinguish knowledge from opinion, prejudice and preconceived ideas – in other words, critical thinking.

Presented by Marc Crépon, philosopher And Théo Schumer, journalistWith daily guest speakers and Jean-Philippe Vinci, Director of Education, Youth and SportIn collaboration with Monaco Info and Monaco City HallThe morning sessions held during PhiloMonaco Week are organised by The Monaco Philosophical Encounters, in collaboration with Monaco Info and Monaco City HallPresented each morning by Marc Crépon, philosopher and Théo Schumer, journalist, these morning sessions provide an opportunity for reflection, debate and discussion, based on questions posed by members of the public to the guest speakers of PhiloMonaco Week."Teaching the truth" is an unusual concept. It could even be considered a misguided one, despite its appeal to those with rigid beliefs, if it meant that educators, parents, teachers, and professors were to impose and instil their own truths upon those who are still learning.There is nothing worse, as the proverb says, than giving children and students a fish rather than teaching them how to fish. After all, no one would ever become a mountaineer if they were willing to be flown directly to the mountain top by helicopter. Educating people about the truth therefore seems to be something of a contradiction in terms, as teaching falsehoods and lies is hardly education. Education is sufficient if it imparts knowledge, or at least the means to distinguish knowledge from opinion, prejudice and preconceived ideas – in other words, critical thinking.