What Makes a Philosopher Good or Bad? \;
\nIntellectual \;Virtues and Vices in the History of Philosophy
\n> \;Two-day \;conference \;| \;Thursday 25 &ndash\; Friday 26 \;November 2021
\n
> \;Keynote \;speakers
Adeshina Afolayan (University of Ibadan\, Nigeria) \;
\nMichael Beaney (University of Aberdeen\, UK \;/ \;Humboldt University Berlin\, Germany) \;
\nQuassim Cassam (University of Warwick\, UK)
\nLisa Shapiro (Simon Fraser University\, Canada) \;
> \;Description
This \;conference \;raises \;two \;simple but provocative \;questions. What makes a philosopher \;good \;or bad? And how have \;views \;on \;what counts as a good or bad philosopher changed over time? \;
\nThese meta-philosophical questions \;offer an \;opportunity to introduce \;recent \;historical \;and philosophical research on intellectual virtues and vices into the study of the history of philosophy. \;This combination \;provides \;a promising new way of bridging the gap between history\, philosophy\, history of philosophy\, and historiography. \;
\nIn recent years\, \;the notions of \;intellectual \;virtues and vices have \;become \;hotly \;debated topics\, owing in large part to the \;groundbreaking \;work of\, among others\, Herman Paul and Quassim Cassam. \;Taking a cue from their writings\, this workshop seeks to \;explore \;virtues \;(open-mindedness\, intellectual courage\, \;rigor\, \;etc.) and vices (closed-mindedness\, intellectual arrogance\, \;sloppiness\, \;etc.) as key characteristics of &ldquo\;philosophical personae&rdquo\;\, that is\, of historically changing ideal-typical models of what it takes to be a \;(good or bad) \;philosopher \;and of \;different \;ways \;of &ldquo\;being a philosopher&rdquo\;. \;
\nThis approach to the history of philosophy \;makes it \;possible to raise new questions and to answer \;old questions in \;new ways. \;How\, for example\, have \;(changing views on) \;intellectual \;virtues and vices shaped the philosophical canon and \;in what sense was the analytic-Continental divide \;primarily \;a clash between different understandings of what it means to be a philosopher? At the same time\, the approach \;goes \;against the grain of \;more \;established ways of \;studying \;the history of philosophy\, insofar as it turns the attention away from \;what philosophers think (&ldquo\;ideas&rdquo\;) \;toward \;the philosophers \;that do the thinking \;(&ldquo\;people&rdquo\;). For example\, one might \;polemically \;ask whether the history of philosophy \;could be rewritten as \;a story of meta-philosophical \;changes in what it means to do philosophy &ndash\; as opposed to\, say\, \;science or fiction-writing \;&ndash\; and for thinkers and \;ideas \;to count as philosophical.This\, in turn\, puts \;strong \;emphasis on processes of \;inclusion and exclusion\, and the various factors involved therein \;(gender\, race\, culture\, language\, etc.)\, in \;philosophical canon formation.
> \;Aims
The \;conference \;aims to get a better understanding of \;the \;fruitfulness and implications of introducing the notions of \;intellectual \;virtues and vices into the \;(study of the) \;history of philosophy. We invite \;papers \;on the following and other questions: \;
\n- \;What are \;paradigmatic \;or otherwise interesting \;case-studies of \;(the role of) \;intellectual \;virtues and vices in the history of philosophy? \;For instance\, what are \;examples of \;debates or controversies which\, implicitly or explicitly\, revolved around \;different views on what it means \;to be a (good \;or bad) philosopher? \; \;
\n- \;Why have \;certain \;intellectual \;virtues and vices and \;some \;ways of being a (good or bad) philosopher \;gained in popularity\, whereas others became redundant or \;deemed \;old-fashioned? \;
\n- \;How have views on \;intellectual \;virtues and vices shaped the \;initial and posthumous \;reception of \;major and \;forgotten philosophers? Similarly\, \;what role did changes in these views \;play in the \;creation of the \;canonical status (the &ldquo\;greatness&rdquo\;) of certain philosophersand the exclusion or marginalization of others? \;
\n- \;Can certain major schools and traditions \;in the history of philosophy be linked to specific \;intellectual \;virtues and vices?How \;was \;their \;rise or fall \;informed by \;changing views on \;what it means to be a (good \;or bad) philosopher? \;
\n- \;Are there \;intellectual \;virtues or vices\, and philosophical personae\, that may be said to transcend history? If so\, what can these teach us about the nature of philosophy? If not\, what does this say about the \;development of \;the discipline? \; \;
\n- \;What are the \;main \;challenges and prospects of introducing \;intellectual \;virtues and vices into the \;historiography of philosophy? \;How\, for instance\, is it related to attempts to rethink \;and remake \;the canon? \;
\n- \;How can a focus on \;intellectual \;virtues and vices \;connect \;the history of philosophy more closely to the \;history of science and \;the \;history of the humanities? Are there \;historical \;examples ofcases where &ldquo\;philosophical personae&rdquo\; where shaped around \;intellectual \;virtues and vices borrowed \;from science or the humanities &ndash\; or \;vice versa?
> \;Practical information \;
The \;conference \;will \;take place on Thursday 25 and Friday 26November 2021 from 9:30-18:00 \;(CET). \;It will in principle \;be held online\, but \;it may \;be \;turned \;into a hybrid event when Covid (travel) regulations allow for it. \;
\nPlease send a 200/250-word (anonymized) abstract\, including title\, to \;l.m.verburgt[at]uu.nl before \;21 August 2021. The author&rsquo\;s name\, institutional position and affiliation\, as well as contact information\, should be included in the body of the email. Notification of acceptance or rejection by 14 September 2021. \;
\n> \;Conference \;organizer \;
\nLukas M. Verburgt (Utrecht University/NIAS/Leiden University) \;
\n> \;Conference \;committee
\nLukas M. \;Verburgt (Utrecht University/NIAS/Leiden University)\, \;James \;McAllister (Leiden University)\, \;Annemarije Hagen (University of Amsterdam) and \;Paul Ziche (Utrecht University)
ORGANIZER;CN=Lukas M. Verburgt: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR