You can't think well on an empty stomach. So come eat your fries and sharpen your thinking at this greasy philosophy workshop. In this third edition, we’ll talk about humor and video games.
In our Philosophy and Fries workshop series, we invite a philosopher to campus to enlighten your mind while you indulge in fried goodies. Once both your body and your brain have been fed, you and your fellow students will be able to approach philosophical topics with a fresh perspective.
Edition 3: Humor in Videogames
In this workshop, philosopher Nele Van de Mosselaer will explore with you why playing video games is so much fun. Drawing on the history of the philosophy of humor, Nele will discuss how comedy arises from self-contradictory situations.
When we play a game, we are both immersed in our gameplay activities and aware that we are just playing. Video games also offer epic quests in vast fictional worlds.
At any moment, however, a glitch can reveal that this world is just a flawed artifact, causing in-game characters to run into walls, flail around, and be randomly thrown across the map.
Nele will connect these in-game situations to the thoughts of philosophers like Plato, Kant, and Freud to show why playing games, failing at games, and watching others play can make us laugh. And of course, the evening wouldn't be complete without doing some actual gaming ourselves.
So come join us for some good food, some good fun, and some good discussion.
Nele van de Mosselaer is assistant professor at the Department of Philosophy at the Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences. Her research explores the relationship between imagination, emotion, action and desire in the context of (interactive) fictional experiences. Her fields of interest are philosophy of fiction, game studies and narratology. She is particularly interested in how the boundaries between reality and fiction can be blurred in virtual environments.
Ticket reservation: TU/e students, PhD’s and EngD’s only
Only TU/e students, PhD’s and EngD’s can attend this excursion/workshop. Before you reserve a spot, please check out the rules for workshops. You can order a student ticket using the black order button on this page. There are a limited number of tickets available, so be quick to purchase your ticket if you are sure you can make it.
SG & USE/ITEC registration
Please register for SG & USE/ITEC by scanning your student ID at the venue prior to the start of the program.
More information about SG & USE/ITEC can be found here.