According to one of his final letters to Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus\, Spinoza still had &ldquo\;not had the opportunity to arrange in due order anything&rdquo\; on the subject of physics by the time of his death in 1677. \; Although his physics is incomplete\, the concept of the body as it appears in the so-called Physical Digression of Part 2 of the Ethics is one of Spinoza&rsquo\;s most radical\, but also one of his most underdeveloped\, concepts. \; However\, Spinoza uses the term &lsquo\;body&rsquo\; to refer to a variety of types of individuals\, but it is not clear that he always uses the term in entirely the same way throughout his oeuvre. \; In the Ethics\, he mentions the so-called simplest bodies and composite bodies and in his political writings\, he refers to &lsquo\;the body of the state&rsquo\;. \; Additionally\, the facies totius universi\, which Spinoza mentions in a letter to Schuller\, is often characterized as the infinitely expansive body of the universe. \; The aim of this workshop is to facilitate a dialogue between researchers working in different areas of Spinoza&rsquo\;s philosophy by examining\, comparing and assessing Spinoza&rsquo\;s different accounts of the body in his metaphysical\, physical\, ethical and political writings.
\nWe welcome proposals that deal with the concept of body in Spinoza&rsquo\;s philosophy in any respect. \; Topics may include:
\n- Influences on Spinoza&rsquo\;s theory of body (from anatomy\, physics\, physiology\, political theory\, etc.)
\n- Spinoza&rsquo\;s understanding of the relationship between physics\, anatomy and/or physiology
\n- A comparison of Spinoza&rsquo\;s various accounts of the body
\n- Spinoza&rsquo\;s conception of the form of the body as a &ldquo\;union of bodies&rdquo\; or as a &ldquo\;proportion of motion and rest&rdquo\;
\n- The distinction between living and non-living things in Spinoza&rsquo\;s philosophy
\n- Spinoza&rsquo\;s theory of political bodies
\n- Spinoza&rsquo\;s concept of the facies totius universi
\n- The role of the body in Spinoza&rsquo\;s ethical philosophy
\nPlease send a 300-word abstract in .doc or .docx format to workshop-spinozaonthebody@kuleuven.be by 30 November 2015. \; Abstracts should be prepared for double-blind review by removing any identification details. \;The author&rsquo\;s name\, paper title\, institutional position and affiliation should be included in the body of the e-mail. \; Presentations will be 25 minutes in length\, and will be followed by 20 minutes of discussion. \; Submitters will be notified by 18 December 2015 of acceptance or rejection.
For more information\, please visit our website at: \;http://hiw.kuleuven.be/eng/events/1516/thebodyinspinozasphilosophy/.