Kant and the Stoics: Practical Philosophy

The 9th edition of the St Andrews Kant Reading Party will take place between the 4th and the 6th of July 2016 at the Burn House in Edzell (http://theburn.goodenough.ac.uk/). The title of this year’s edition is ‘Kant and the Stoics’, and the focus will be on practical philosophy.  

Questions about the two philosophies abound already if each is considered in its own right; and even if one grants a certain degree of diachronic coherence to Kant’s theory, and assume a simplified version of Stoicism, determining the philosophical relations between the two remains a multi-faceted and complex task. Kant’s own reception of Stoicism involves both acknowledgment of its merits and attempts at distancing himself from it. This is further complicated by the fact that Kant rarely discussed specific passages from Stoic texts, and that his knowledge of Stoicism is thought to have come mainly from readingRoman Stoics (Cicero and Seneca).

This year, there will be up to five discussion sessions (all the relevant texts will be made available in English) and up to four paper sessions (see CFA below). In addition to these, we will also hold an informal 'Kant in Progress' workshop on the 7th of July at the St Andrews Philosophy department (a separate CFA will be circulated in due course).

Fees: The participation fee is 120 GBP for staff members and 65 GBP for students. Students invited to give papers will be reimbursed the entire participation fee. The fee covers transportation from St Andrews to the Burn House and back, as well as accommodation and full board.

Registration: The number of participants is limited to 25, and the deadline for registration is the 17th of May. To secure your place, please register at the link provided (or go to http://onlineshop.st-andrews.ac.uk/ → Product Catalogue → Schools → Philosophy → Trips → Kant Reading Party 2016) and e-mail a short, informal application to Stefano Lo Re ([email protected]). To be put on the waiting list, please only send the application. Members of the BSHP are entitled to a 10% discount (if you are a member, please mention it in the e-mail to Stefano).

Call for abstracts: Students are invited to send anonymised abstracts of no longer than 750 words and a separate cover sheet including name, position, institutional affiliation, and e-mail address to Lucas Sierra ([email protected]) by the 17th of May. Abstracts will be selected by blind review, and all applicants will be notified by the 31st of May 2016.

Papers should be suitable for a presentation of approximately 40 minutes. Preference will be given to abstracts on both Kant’s and Stoic practicalphilosophy that have a historiographical and/or comparative approach (or at least makes substantial references to both practical philosophies), and strong preference will be given to abstracts addressing topics from the following list: the nature of moral value; living in accordance with nature (κατὰ φύσιν ζῆν) and the universal-law-of-nature formulation of the Categorical Imperative; virtue and virtues; the highest good and the sensuous side of human nature; teleological reasoning in ethics and meta-ethics; moral psychology and practical reasoning; free will, determinism and moral responsibility; moral expertise (the figure of the sage, ­ὁ σοφός); sympathy and compassion; the moral status of suicide.

Please, do not hesitate to contact Stefano Lo Re ([email protected]) if you have any questions.

Organisers: Stefano Lo Re, Pärttyli Rinne, Professor Jens Timmermann

The Kant Reading Party is made possible by the support of the British Society for the History of Philosophy, the Scots Philosophical Association, the UK Kant Society, and the St Andrews Philosophy Department.

http://www.bshp.org.uk/

http://www.scotsphil.org.uk/

https://sites.google.com/site/ukkantsociety/