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Get Free Drinks and Debate Aliens at All-Night French Philosophy Fete

"A Night of Philosophy" will include over 80 events happening from Friday night throughout Saturday morning at the Cultural Services of the French Embassy on April 24, 2015.
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UPPER EAST SIDE — Pull an all nighter drinking cocktails, dancing to a live DJ and attending lectures from dozens of philosophers — including one on what it would be like to be an extraterrestrial.

A Night of Philosophy, a free event hosted by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy at 972 Fifth Ave., will offer a full night of 20-minute lectures, art exhibitions and a dance party from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday. Free croissants and cocktails will also be served, organizers said.

“There’s no need to be a philosophy fan or even familiar with philosophy to attend this event,” said Emilie Cabouat-Peyrache, a spokeswoman for the Cultural Services of the French Embassy. “The general idea is to make philosophy open to anyone."

There will be 62 lectures throughout the night. English philosopher Simon Critchley will be discussing suicide at 4 a.m. and American philosopher Susan Schneider explores what it would be like to be an extraterrestrial at 9 p.m.

Some of the conferences will be held at the Ukrainian Institute of America located around the corner from the embassy at East 79th Street and Fifth Avenue. Even though roughly half of the philosophers are French, all the talks will be in English, organizers said.

In addition, six musicians, including live music by DJ Zenon Marko, will perform until 5 a.m. at the French bookstore Albertine located on the first floor of the French embassy.

Complimentary cocktails with tequila or gin will be handed out at different hours throughout the event, along with charcuteries. Free drinks are limited to one per person but additional drinks can be purchased from a bar that will be set up in the Ukraine Institute of America, according to the event's website.

Hundreds of free croissants will be handed out around 5:30 a.m., shortly before the sun rises, the organizer said.

The event was first hosted in Paris in 2010 then opened in London and Berlin. This is the first time it's being held in America.

All events will be filled on first-come, first-served basis. Roughly 13,000 people joined the event's Facebook page, so there could be a wait to get in, organizers said.