Vietnamese readers gain a broader perspective on life through philosophical movements

DNHN - Recently, the "Story of Concept" booktalk series was held in Hanoi by a group of young scholars from Inbook Bookstore, organized by MA Duong Quynh Anh (University of Sussex) at Inbook Hanoi.

"Story of Concept" began with a youthful academic spirit, wishing to delve deep into the transformation of concepts to better connect books in the social sciences. It is necessary to distinguish this from "applying theory to life," because applying books is purely technical, whereas here, the goal is to build a panoramic view of the world, thereby seeing the impacts on oneself.

There is a special state that has been frequently mentioned since the 20th century, when World Wars and genocides shook not only the physical environment but also the conceptual superstructures of the world. It can be described as a sense of being taken aback: when humanity has not yet formed an explanation for what has happened, is happening, and will happen, and when people first grasp the fear coming from the specific chaos of civilization - something once thought to help humanity escape from nature. It is a type of extremely opaque disturbance that, for example, when the oil supply is disrupted, people suddenly realize that “oh, it is real!” - truer than the consciousness of truth they had before when watching the news. What surprises people by their helplessness is a lack of an awareness close to a physical law: the departure of meaning comes before its absence.

When concepts are transformed and no longer retain their original forms, human discussion becomes fragmented. In previous times, we had philosophers who could discuss together what the soul is, what faith is, and the essential nature of love. But today, when these same questions are raised, they are scrutinized through various different social science disciplines and become increasingly fragmented. This is the source of the feeling of information overload and disorientation for humans when receiving knowledge, especially for readers who are no longer general readers but are not specialized researchers either. If the world of books has always been this way, then life reflects exactly that. For a long time, many young people have felt the urge to "leave the city for the countryside" to escape, perhaps not just from the urban environment, but from the noisy voices of the modern era.

A question was raised but perhaps not yet satisfactorily answered in the program (and will continue into another program): why in the modern era do people always feel insecure and restless to a greater or lesser degree? Are we living in a "disaster" according to the theory of Maurice Blanchot? The reference to Maurice Blanchot’s concept of "The Writing of the Disaster" (French original title: L'Écriture du désastre) is crucial. For Blanchot, the "disaster" is not necessarily a single catastrophic event, but a state of being where the horizon of meaning has collapsed. It is "that which escapes the very possibility of experience." The restless "topicality" of modern life - the constant stream of news and "problems" - is a distraction that masks this deeper ontological void. The modern era makes us always feel as if life constantly has "problems." And that "problem" always carries a sense of topicality. Because the human mind favors details, it often notices a passerby, a slip of the tongue, and thousands of colorful objects. To satisfy this, the contemporary world immediately provides tons of information that we cannot possibly digest. We are often invited to be angry, to condemn, to empathize. We are also often told by the world around us that we have problems, many shortcomings, many things that need improvement - and that we need to buy the products of that world immediately.

However, the discussing readers do not aim for the pessimism of the contemporary world like Continental philosophy during and immediately after the two World Wars. In times of insecurity, people find their way to reading, writing, and unique expressions such as art and personal contemplation. These actions aim to revive the vitality of language and art, which are increasingly viewed through a skewed lens in the age of consumerism. After all, that is the root of the subtle motivations of knowledge - not just considering knowledge as something external to be "added on."

Discussions based on theoretical foundations, bolstered by increasingly high-quality books available in Vietnamese translation or foreign language books present in Vietnam, will open up the restoration of the original spirit of reading culture. The "Story of Concept" represents a manifestation of Intellectual Autonomy. It reflects a generation that is no longer satisfied with "technical" applications of theory but is seeking a "panoramic view" to navigate a world that feels increasingly fragmented and "opaque." Every great thing begins with the smallest steps.

Xuan Nguyen