Francis Wolff Keynote Speaker

French Philosopher and Author
Professor Emeritus at the L'ENS in Paris
Expert in Humanity, Music, Love and Moral Responsibility

Francis Wolff's Biography

Francis Wolff is a celebrated French author and philosopher and Professor Emeritus of Philosophie at L’Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. He has also held the Chair of Philosophy a Departamento de Filosofia at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Since the end of the 1990s, Francis Wolff’s research has sketched out the contours of a personal philosophy, whose method is as argumentative as the so-called analytical philosophy and as deeply rooted in tradition as so-called continental philosophy.

Wolff’s works and publications take three main directions that explore and intersect:

A Logico-Ontological axis, exemplified by his two books: “Telling the World” and “Why is there something rather than nothing?”
An Aesthetic axis, as demonstrated by his work “Why the music?” in which he shows the ontology of telling the world by the triangle of the arts: images, music and storytelling
An Anthropological axis – exemplified by his four works, “Our Humanity, from Aristotle to Neuroscience”, “There is No Perfect Love”, “Three Contemporary Utopias” and “A Plea for Humanity”

All of these works show what human beings share and what makes them all different.

Francis Wolff’s main interests and areas of expertise lie across four areas: Humanity, Music, Love and Moral responsibility. He argues that each of them can be used to describe how individuals interact with the world around them.

Francis is available to speak in French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Humanity, ethics and moral responsibility

Philosophy of music, art and storytelling

Love, relationships and human connection

What it means to be human in the modern world

Classical philosophy and its relevance today

He has built a distinguished academic career as Professor Emeritus at the École Normale Supérieure, shaping contemporary philosophical thought across multiple disciplines.
He translates complex philosophical concepts into clear insights that help audiences understand humanity, ethics and our relationship with the world.
He brings a unique intellectual perspective that bridges analytical and continental traditions, offering depth across themes of identity, art and moral responsibility.
He is an engaging speaker who explores fundamental human questions with clarity, rigour and cultural relevance.
His insights equip audiences to think more deeply about human nature, values and the principles that shape society.