CFP: 13th Annual Conference of the Nordic Wittgenstein Society

13TH Annual Conference of the Nordic Wittgenstein Society

Wittgenstein: Aspects and Interpretations

Helsinki, Finland, June 17–18 2024

Questions related to aspect-seeing and interpretation occupied Ludwig Wittgenstein throughout his philosophical career – all the way from the Necker cube of the Tractatus to the duck-rabbit of the “Philosophy of Psychology – A Fragment”, previously known as Part II of the Philosophical Investigations. In the latter, Wittgenstein asks, “Do I really see something different each time, or do I only interpret what I see in a different way?” (PPF § 248.) The purpose of the 13th Annual Conference of the Nordic Wittgenstein Society, Wittgenstein: Aspects and Interpretations, is to provide a platform for philosophers to discuss this and related questions in Wittgenstein’s work. The title of the conference may also be read as pointing to different aspects and interpretations of Wittgenstein’s philosophy itself, which is notoriously difficult to decipher and has given rise to a number of interpretative traditions. Topics to be discussed may thus include but are not limited to:

·       aspects, aspect-seeing, and aspect-blindness

·       perception and the role of concepts therein

·       method of projection

·       interpretation and its limits

·       rule-following

·       interpretative reception of Wittgenstein

·       influences of different philosophical traditions in Wittgenstein’s work.

The keynote speakers of the conference are:

Annalisa Coliva (University of California Irvine)

David Stern (University of Iowa)

We welcome paper proposals for the conference to be held in Helsinki, Finland, on June 17–18 2024.Abstracts up to 500 words should be submitted by email to hanne.appelqvist[at]helsinki.fi. Please title your email: NWS Conference Proposal. Abstracts should include the author’s name, affiliation, contact information, and the title of the paper. Accepted proposals will be given a presentation time of 40 minutes (25 minutes for presentation and 15 minutes for discussion). The deadline for proposals is Friday December 15 2023. Notification of acceptance will be sent out by January 15.

There is no conference fee. However, selected speakers should be prepared to pay for their own travel and accommodation. The organizers are grateful to the Emil Aaltonen Foundation and the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies for supporting the event.

Organizing committee:

Hanne Appelqvist (University of Helsinki)

Martin Gustafsson (Åbo Akademi)

Lassi Jakola (The Finnish Institute at Athens)

For further information, please contact hanne.appelqvist[at]helsinki.fi.