London will be the scene for an International Congress known as the Dialectics of Liberation this coming July 15-30. The purpose of the congress, sponsored by London’s Institute of Phenomenological Studies, is to examine societal influence, conditioning, and control of man and the resulting alienation of his true self within that system.
Hoping to delve into various existing preconceptions of mankind and his existence, they will attempt to eradicate any misconceptions and demystify the world as we know or visualize it. The congress will consist of lectures, discussions, and seminars. Weekends and evenings will be given to workshops, readings, and various other programs.
The congress will begin with an introduction by Dr. David Cooper, a director of Villa 21, an experimental unit for the treatment of schizophrenia. Dr. R. D. Laing, psychoanalyst and author of “The Divided Self” and “interpersonal Perception,” will present the opening address. Laing and Cooper are founder members of the Institute of Phenomenological Studies along with Dr. Joseph Berke (who helped to establish the Free University of New York) and Dr. Leon Redler, both noted psychiatrists.
Also participating in the congress will be Paul Goodman, Allen Ginsberg, Mircea Eliade, Paul Sweezy, Herbert Marcuse, Ernest Mandel, John Gerassi, and many others. Registration for Dialectics of Liberation has already begun, and anyone interested may write for information the Institute of Phenomenological Studies, 65a Belsize Park Gardens, London, N.W.3.