Les séductions de l'esprit

To conclude, in tribute to Jacques Serrano, founder of the Pop Philosophy Week, who died in 2025, the Week will end with a group reflection on “pop philosophy,” past and present.

• 11:00—12:00 At Les Rotatives, headquarters of the newspaper La Marseillaise. Marketing: A School of Manipulation A discussion with two marketing theorists and historians, in conversation with Mathieu Garling.

Benoît Heilbrunn, professor of marketing Thibault Le Texier, economic historian Mathieu Garling (moderator), director of Pop Philo programming

Thibault Le Texier: “The Power to Seduce, from Marketing to Management”

We often hear that the customer is king. Consumer society is not a dictatorship; it is an amusement park. Marketing is not about coercing or imposing. It offers, persuades, encourages, stimulates and influences. Marketing is not a power imposed from above or an oppressive force; on the contrary, it relies on consent, agreement and seduction. “Marketing is the philosophical alternative to coercion,” sums up Philip Kotler, the pope of modern marketing. But marketing still exercises power, and we will look at its particular mechanisms.

Management, by contrast, resembles a dictatorship. Employees are required to obey under their employment contracts, are subject to bosses, governed by their job descriptions and various rules, and are always threatened with dismissal or punishment. But that does not mean management should not also seduce, especially when faced with a new generation that often seeks personal fulfillment through work.

Benoît Heilbrunn: “Manipulate Me If You Can”

You are free. Free to choose your sneakers, your evening’s TV series, your candidate and even the person you’re going to sleep with. Or so you think. Because while you’re choosing, a crowd of people are working to help you choose well. Advertisers, marketers, influencers, designers and other engineers of desire are obsessed with manufacturing your desires and winning your consent. The whole history of marketing tells of this attempt to get a grip on consumers while leaving them with the feeling that they are still in control. But can we still call it manipulation when we take pleasure in being manipulated? That is marketing’s genius: it does not oppose our freedom; it makes it its greatest ally. It imposes nothing, but subtly organizes the game of seduction until it becomes indistinguishable from our own desires. The game is won at the precise moment when the guiding hand disappears. Power no longer commands: it circulates through signs, images, interfaces and desires. It no longer forces our hand. It shapes the world toward which we believe we are reaching of our own accord.

14:30 — 16:00 Centre de la Vieille Charité When Philosophy Goes “Pop!” Conversation with Martin Legros, journalist Françoise Gaillard, philosopher and president of the association Francesco Masci, philosopher

Philosophers occupy a distinctive space in public life, between the transmission of knowledge, self-presentation and the circulation of ideas on media platforms. At a time when scholarly discourse is spreading through increasingly fast, short and personalized formats, is philosophy still an authentic exercise in thought, or is it becoming one form of visibility and engagement among others? What does the figure of the philosopher owe to contemporary dynamics of influence? The work of being present, the crafting of a signature, the relationship with the public, the stylization of discourse… philosophical speech is certainly no longer confined to the distinctive charisma of a philosophy professor captivating their students. From Deleuzian “pop philosophy” to its contemporary digital avatars, thought has become more mobile, more widely circulated, and sometimes more desirable. The question remains: what does it still have to gain, risk and defend in the 21st century?

Martin Legros is editor-in-chief and co-founder of Philosophie Magazine. A longtime companion of Pop Philosophy, he will lead this open discussion about the future of Pop Philo with Françoise Gaillard and Francesco Masci.