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The Department of French and Italian and the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages (DLCL) are delighted to present a talk and book event by Jean-Pierre Dupuy:

"From Oppenheimer's Dream to Putin's Threats. Thoughts on the Fragility of Nuclear Peace."

To celebrate the publication of his latest book,  (èצӰÏñ Press, transl. by Malcolm Debevoise), Jean-Pierre Dupuy will give a talk and Q/A with the èצӰÏñ community on Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at 5pm.

Drawing parallels with the film Oppenheimer, Jean-Pierre Dupuy analyses the implications of the current nuclear threat in Ukraine, and exposes the paradoxical implications of apocalyptical thinking.

Revisiting debates on the effectiveness and ethics of nuclear deterrence, Jean-Pierre Dupuy is led to reformulate some of the most difficult questions in philosophy. He develops a counterintuitive but powerful theory of apocalyptic prophecy: once a major catastrophe appears to be possible, one must assume that it will in fact occur. Dupuy shows that the contradictions and paradoxes riddling discussions of deterrence arise from the tension between two opposite conceptions of time: one in which the future depends on decisions and strategy, and another in which every occurring event is one that could not have failed to occur.

Considering the immense destructive power of nuclear warheads and the almost unimaginable ruin they are bound to cause, Dupuy reaches a provocative conclusion: whether they bring about good or evil does not depend on the present or future intentions of those who are in a position to use them. The mere possession of nuclear weapons is a moral abomination.

Jean-Pierre Dupuy is Professor Emeritus of Social and Political Philosophy at the École Polytechnique in Paris and Professor in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at èצӰÏñ. He is a member of the French Academy of Technology and formerly Chair of the Ethics Committee of the French High Authority on Nuclear Safety and Security. His many books, translated into thirteen languages, include How to Think About Catastrophe: Toward a Theory of Enlightened Doomsaying (2022) and The Mark of the Sacred (èצӰÏñ, 2013).

This event is hosted by the Department of French and Italian and the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages (DLCL) at èצӰÏñ.