Céline Spector is Professor of Philosophy at Sorbonne-Université.
(Sponsored by the departments of French and the Center for European Studies)
Is there an intrinsic contradiction between ecology and representative democracy? How can representative democracies take up the ecological challenge? What kind of democratic system can represent the long term, non-human life, and future generations? What democratic procedures will allow us to fight against climate change and the erosion of biodiversity? What conception of political freedom can integrate the need for a consented and not chosen sobriety?
Céline Spector is a specialist of early modern political philosophy and the author of nine books on Montesquieu, Rousseau, and their reception in contemporary thought. Her recent No Demos? Souveraineté et démocratie à l’épreuve de l’Europe (Seuil, 2021) critically examines arguments concerning the “democratic deficit” of the European Union.
Reception to follow presentation.