The BU Workshop on Late Modern Philosophy is an annual forum for presenting new work on late-eighteenth through early-twentieth-century philosophy. \; \; \; \;
THEME FOR 2017 WORKSHOP: \;
The theme for the 2017 workshop is \;nihilism and cultural decadence. \;Early in the nineteenth century\, Friedrich Jacobi argued that Enlightenment humanism inevitably leads to nihilism. \; This charge resonated with the thinkers of the time: discussions of nihilism began appearing in works of literature (e.g.\, in works by Turgenev and Dostoevsky) and philosophy. \; The concept of nihilism was not univocal. \; It was variously characterized as a loss of commitment to values\; a sense of the ultimate futility of life\; an inability to be guided or informed by a sense of what is worthwhile\; a collapse of value in the face of rational inquiry\; and one could go on and on. \; Interestingly\, though\, there was a common thread: many thinkers treated nihilism as primarily manifest in culture. \; Thus\, to cite one example\, Nietzsche&rsquo\;s rich reflections on nihilism evince little concern with whether any particular individual embraces nihilism\; rather\, he focuses on showing that modern culture exhibits distinctive forms of collective pathology that give rise to nihilism. \;This idea of a distinctively cultural illness\, either produced by or consisting in nihilism\, plays a prominent role in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. \; \;This workshop will examine these discussions as they emerge in thinkers including Kierkegaard\, Nietzsche\, Dostoevsky\, and Heidegger\, as well as in contemporary philosophical work. \;
2017 Workshop Schedule
Friday\, May 5
10:00-11:20 \;Keren Gorodeisky \;(Auburn)
"Affective Nihilism?"
11:30-12:50 \;Ken Gemes \; \;(Birkbeck)
"Nietzsche\, Nihilism\, and the
Paradox of Affirmation"
\;
2:30-3:50 \; \;Paul Katsafanas \;(BU)
"Nihilism and the Indeterminacy
of Practical Reason"
\;
4:00-5:20 \;Andrew Huddleston \;(Birkbeck)
"Nietzsche on Nihilism: A Unifying Thread"
5:30-6:30 \;Reception
~~~
Saturday\, May 6
10:00-11:20 \;Yuri Corrigan \;(BU)
"Nihilism as Refuge: The Dostoevsky
that Nietzsche Couldn't See"
11:30-12:50 \;Scott Jenkins \;(Kansas)
"Pessimism and Nihilism in
Nietzsche's Late Writings"
2:30-3:50 \;Maudemarie Clark \;(UC Riverside/Colgate)
"Nietzsche's Nihilism"
4:00-5:20 \; \;Ben Crowe \;(BU)
"'...endless \;void \;all around': Jacobi on the
Nature of Ethical Nihilism"
5:30-6:30 \;Reception
Supported by the BU Center for the Humanities \;