Recovering the Middle Voice (or How to Act in a World that Surpasses Us) with Valentin Gerlier

Thursday September 25th
Doors & drinks at 6.30pm; Talk starts 7pm

Our current situation has led to radical despair about the value and limits of human action. For some, faced with a bewilderingly complex set of interlocking crises, daily actions feel like ‘too little, too late’. For others, this moment calls for ever more urgent, radical action and monumental changes at all levels. Caught between these nihilist and epic extremes, many of us, with good reason, feel disoriented about the value of our action.

In this talk, music, literature and philosophy scholar Valentin Gerlier will creatively explore the concept of the ‘middle voice’ to help us rethink the notion of action. In certain languages such as ancient Greek or Sanskrit, the middle voice offers an alternative to either passive or active tenses, and suggests that every 'doing' is also an 'undergoing'.

Whatever else it may be, our existential crisis is enmeshed in myths of progress as a kind of active, heroic achievement and of power as complete autonomy. These have led us to equate agency and identity with the active life, and to look on passivity as an abdication of responsibility or even a moral vice.

The ‘middle voice’ - an attentive, yet highly creative way of being and acting in the world - offers an alternative way through. It suggests both partnership and participation in a reality that, at the same time, also exceeds us. Learning to inhabit the world differently doesn’t just entail system change and theoretical overhaul. When we let go of the bias for heroic activity, approach action in a different way and come to inhabit the middle voice, a surprising way forward opens up.

Valentin's talk will be followed by a one-pot vegan supper and discussion.

Kairos, 84 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4TG

Doors open at 6.30pm for drinks. Talk starts at 7pm. 

£8 Kairos Club Member, £15 Standard (Non-member), £10 Struggling financially, £20 Supporter, £8 Under 30. Food complimentary. (To apply for membership, visit our Membership page.)

Before requesting a discounted ticket, please consider sincerely: Are you struggling to meet your basic needs? Would you have to make a genuine sacrifice to buy a full priced ticket? Do you have reduced earnings through a lifestyle choice or rather because you're dedicating your time to unpaid work relating to the climate and nature crises or as a result of structural inequality?

Please note that most of our events take place in our basement space and we do not have a lift so our venue is not fully accessible. Please get in touch if you have accessibility issues via events@kairos.london.

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