Wittgenstein and Ancient Philosophy

Call for papers open

Wittgenstein and Ancient Philosophy (29.6–1.7.2026 Athens, Greece)

Ludwig Wittgenstein’s relation to the history of ancient philosophy constitutes a riddle. Wittgenstein was certainly not a scholarly oriented philosopher, who would have commented at large on classical works like Aristotle’s Metaphysics, or entered disputes concerning their correct interpretation. On the other hand, it is well known that Wittgenstein had read select classical philosophical authors and was deeply impressed by them: after all, he started his Philosophical Investigations with a Latin quotation from St. Augustine’s Confessiones, and he refers or alludes to Plato’s dialogues in many contexts (e.g. PI §46). Some manuscripts and typescripts contain further references to various ancient philosophers.

The conference “Wittgenstein and Ancient Philosophy” invites scholars to discuss Wittgenstein’s relation to the heritage of ancient (Greek and Roman) philosophy. We invite contributions that explore the topic understood in a broad fashion. Possible themes include – but are not limited to – Wittgenstein’s references to ancient authors; connections and parallels between Wittgenstein and early Greek philosophy, Socrates, Plato and Platonism, Aristotle, and Hellenistic and Roman schools of thought; or classics of ancient philosophy revisited in the light of Wittgenstein’s insights (and vice versa). We are also open to promising papers that discuss Wittgenstein in relation to other genres of ancient Greek literature.

We welcome paper proposals for the conference. Abstracts up to 500 words should be submitted by email to [email protected]. 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 31 January 2026.
Notification of acceptance will be sent out by 28 February 2026.

There is no conference fee. However, selected speakers should be prepared to pay for their own travel and accommodation.

Invited keynote speakers:
James Conant (University of Chicago)
Constantine Sandis (University of Hertfordshire)
Thomas Wallgren (University of Helsinki)

Organizing committee:

Prof. Vasso Kindi (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)

Dr. Lassi Jakola (Finnish Institute of Athens and University of Helsinki)