By Katrien Schaubroeck (University of Antwerp)

Thursday, 30 November. Sala de reunions, Ramon Llull building, Campus UIB

In Disorientation and Moral Life (OUP 2016) Ami Harbin describes the phenomenon of being disoriented, a feeling known to all but studied by few, as an experience of losing one’s bearings and not knowing what to do anymore spurred by major life shifts like a breakup or the dead of a beloved. She urges society (and philosophy) to be more disorientation-friendly: it is okay to feel lost, to be not wholehearted (Frankfurt), not unified (Korsgaard). In fact, it is not just okay, it can also be positively valuable: it tenderizes people (which she calls a moral value), making them more understanding of the difficulties of life (which points to an epistemic value). Pondering upon other examples of disorientation (to know: being diagnosed with a chronic illness, falling in love, becoming a parent of a child with a disability, getting ostracized by your (work)community), I will argue that there is more knowledge to be gained from the experience of disorientation than Harbin indicates. A difficulty that Harbin does not address, and that is central to my reflections, is that sometimes the right response to (a report of) disorientation seems to question its appropriateness. The extra knowledge to be gained from disorientation exposes social expectations that shape individuals’ responses to life-changing events. If these social expectations turn out to be unjust or distorted it becomes difficult to respond 'in a disorientation-friendly way' to an individual instance of disorientation.

Event date: 30/12/2023

Publication date: 14/11/2023