La Semaine de la Pop Philosophie : séduction et fantasme

The Pop Philosophy festival in Marseille brings together philosophy, sociology, economics, neuroscience, geography, anthropology, biology, art and music. This edition is held under the patronage of Edgar Morin.

La Semaine de la Pop Philosophie, conceived in 2009 by Jacques Serrano, returns for its seventeenth edition with an invitation to think against the reductive currents of simplistic thinking and the easy seductions of populism. More than a theme, it is a moral imperative calling us to collectively articulate, with figures from the intellectual, scientific, artistic and political worlds, a celebration of complexity.

It is accepted that we live in an ever more complex world. Nevertheless, or perhaps as a consequence, a certain taste for simplification seems to prevail today in every field. “Simple” is promoted as synonymous with clarity. More than that: simplification is seen as a prerequisite for action. It is true that complexity calls for caution, slowness and even doubt, while others rely on emotion, urgency and certainty. Under these conditions, simplistic thinking almost inevitably leads to populism.

He had borrowed this notion of “pop philosophy” from Gilles Deleuze, who saw the excursion of scholarly practices beyond their field as reinvigorating creative thought.

Jacques Serrano sadly passed away at the very end of last year, leaving us not only with the responsibility of continuing his work, but also with the title he had chosen for 2026: Séduction et fantasmes.

Seduction often has a bad reputation because of its Latin etymology. Se-ducere indeed means to lead away from the straight path and, by extension, to deceive, abuse and manipulate. To seduce is to foster in another person a relationship with illusion, Plato says in Gorgias.

The myth of Don Juan does not help its cause! Yet seduction, which is too often reduced to the realm of sexuality alone, is also a biological, moral and political bond; it is therefore at the heart of all social relationships.

For better or worse, it exercises the power it owes to its mastery of desire in the political and economic spheres, and even in our relationship with images, fictions and algorithmic creatures.

It is a complex phenomenon which, through the diversity of its fields and modes of operation, challenges philosophy as well as the humanities as a whole.

This new event, together with its speakers and audience, will endeavor to think about it, articulate it, represent it and question it.

Venues: Les Rotatives, home of the La Marseillaise newspaper Bibliothèque de l’Alcazar Bibliothèque et Archives Départementales Gaston-Defferre Centre de la Vieille Charité Cinéma L’Alhambra Cité de la musique Le Makeda Muséum d’Histoire

Reservations are recommended for all talks by email or telephone.