CFP: Evil, Freedom, and Time: A Conference on Schelling's Freedom essay and Ages of the World

In recent years, there has been a rapidly growing interest in the thought of F.W.J. Schelling, in the United Kingdom as well as abroad. In order to contribute to this ‘Schelling renaissance’, the University of Warwick will hold a conference on two of Schelling’s most significant works, the fundamental texts of the so-called ‘middle period’: Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom and Ages of the World. By focusing on this central period of Schelling’s thought, the conference aims to expose the significance of Schelling’s philosophy to the wider philosophical community while providing a platform for faculty and students already working on Schelling to collaborate on two of his essential projects.

In some ways, the Freedom essay and the Ages of the World make an odd pair: the Freedom essay is a ‘mere’ essay and the last of Schelling’s major works to be published during his lifetime, while the Ages of the World is Schelling’s incomplete magnum opus, only three drafts of which remain in existence. However, between these texts, an entire constellation of concepts emerge which define the singularity of Schelling’s philosophical stance. We are seeking submissions based on (but not restricted to) the following fundamental themes of Schelling’s Freedom essay and Ages of the World:

• The relationship between freedom and necessity
• The logic of pantheism
• The problem of evil
• The nature of time and eternity
• The ‘doctrine of the potencies’

We also encourage submissions that relate Schelling’s work to the thought of his intellectual forebears (e.g., Plato, Leibniz, and Kant) and idealist peers (e.g., Fichte, Baader, and Hegel), as well as post-idealist philosophers conceptually indebted to Schelling (e.g., Peirce, Heidegger, and Deleuze).

There are a limited number of travel bursaries available for graduate student presenters.

Please send abstracts of no more than 500 words to Charlotte Alderwick by 24th January, 2014.