Public Engagement

Cattedra Rotelli

Presentation

Since 2017, the Rotelli Lectures at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University have fostered dialogue on the major questions of our time, bringing together some of the most influential voices in international philosophy.

Established by the Faculty of Philosophy in memory of Professor Giuseppe Rotelli, founder of the San Donato Hospital Group, who passed away in 2013, the Lectures provide an opportunity for intellectual exchange among scholars, faculty members, researchers and students through annual lecture series addressing philosophical, ethical, political and social issues of contemporary relevance.

From reflections on otherness and language to questions of social justice, democracy and freedom, each edition offers new perspectives on the transformations of the present and encourages critical engagement with the challenges facing contemporary society.

The Lectures: Research, Dialogue and New Philosophical Perspectives

Each edition of the Rotelli Lectures features an internationally renowned philosopher, invited to deliver a series of lectures open to the academic community and the wider public.

The Lectures provide an opportunity to explore original insights and new philosophical perspectives, building on the invited scholar's main areas of research while investigating further implications and connections with other disciplines and contemporary issues.

A distinctive feature of the Rotelli Lectures is the direct exchange between invited speakers and the UniSR philosophical community. With faculty members and students serving as discussants, each lecture becomes a forum for critical dialogue, where questions, observations and different perspectives contribute to enriching the philosophical discussion.

Alongside the lecture series, the Rotelli Lectures also support research and academic engagement through preparatory seminars and a postdoctoral research fellowship dedicated to the themes explored in the different editions.

Previous Editions of the Rotelli Lectures

Ten editions, ten leading figures in international philosophy.

Since 2017, the Rotelli Lectures have welcomed scholars who have made significant contributions to contemporary philosophical debate, addressing fundamental questions about the relationship between individuals and society, knowledge and language, freedom and responsibility.

Explore the previous editions and discover the themes at the heart of each lecture series.
 

2017 | François Jullien

Altérités

Otherness as a philosophical resource for rethinking relationships between cultures, identity and difference through a dialogue between Western and Chinese thought.
 

2018 | Rae Helen Langton

Speech Acts and the Accommodation of Injustice

The power of words in shaping social norms, exploring hate speech, discrimination and the possibilities of challenging injustice.
 

2019 | Julian Nida-Rümelin

Perspectives and Limitations of Cosmopolitan Humanism

The possibilities of cosmopolitan humanism and the relationship between human dignity, democracy, global responsibility and local autonomy.
 

2020 | Philip Pettit

How Language Powers the Mind

The role of language in the development of thought, consciousness, responsibility and personal identity.
 

2021 | Seyla Benhabib

The Seduction of Sovereignty. A Democratic and Cosmopolitan Critique

A critical examination of political sovereignty, exploring democracy, international law, political membership and the universal protection of human rights.
 

2022 | Steven Nadler

Spinoza as Moral Philosopher

A reassessment of Spinoza's moral philosophy through the concepts of reason, freedom, goodness, moral motivation and friendship.
 

2023 | Jean-Luc Marion

Reconsidering Descartes' Cartesianism

A renewed interpretation of Cartesian philosophy, exploring the relationship between subjectivity, infinity, transcendence and value.
 

2024 | Nancy Fraser

Three Faces of Capitalist Labor: Uncovering the Hidden Ties among Gender, Race, and Class

The connections between capitalism, labor and inequalities of gender, race and class, exploring new possibilities for social emancipation.
 

2025 | Vittorio Hösle

The Crisis of Liberalism

The origins and crises of liberalism, examining individual freedom, democracy, the market economy and international relations.
 

2026 | Amia Srinivasan

Critical Genealogy: History, Knowledge, and the Politics of Unmasking

Critical genealogy as a philosophical tool for examining the origins of our beliefs and the relationship between history, knowledge, ethics and social transformation.

From Lectures to Research: The Rotelli Publications

The philosophical dialogue fostered by the Rotelli Lectures continues beyond the lecture series through a publishing initiative dedicated to preserving and disseminating the scholarly contributions developed across the different editions.

Published by Mimesis Edizioni in the "Minima Volti" series, the volumes bring together the reflections of invited philosophers alongside critical commentaries by UniSR faculty members and external scholars.

The publications thus reflect the dialogical nature of the Lectures, encouraging exchanges between different philosophical perspectives and offering students, researchers and interested readers the opportunity to explore the themes discussed in greater depth.

By preserving and sharing the intellectual contributions of each edition, the publications help ensure that the philosophical discussions initiated during the Lectures remain accessible and relevant over time.

Published Volumes

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