1st International Conference Perspectives from Stanley Cavell: Skepticism and the Ordinary

The North American philosopher Stanley Cavell (1926-2018) was a member of the Harvard Society of fellows, endowed aesthetics chair at Harvard, president of the Eastern APA, and received multiple honorary degrees during his lifetime. Starting with his inheritance and transformation of the method of ordinary language philosophy in the 1960's, Cavell's work paved the way for new developments in multiple areas of investigation. His ability to integrate ideas from major exponents of different philosophical traditions - Ludwig Wittgenstein and J. L. Austin, Nietzsche and Heidegger, Emerson and Thoreau, just to name a few - combined with his interest in a variety of disciplines that have been central to (Western) scientific, cultural, artistic and philosophical developments since modernity make Cavell’s work a prime source of insights concerning our contemporary condition. We believe the task of understanding and pursuing the full implications of Cavell’s work is just at its infancy, and this conference intends to contribute to that end by bringing together for the first time a number of international and Brazilian scholars focused in the Cavellian corpus.

The 1st International Conference Perspectives from Stanley Cavell: Skepticism and the Ordinary is primarily aimed at researchers interested in ordinary language philosophy in its intersection with the study of modern skepticism and its repercussions for contemporary philosophy and contemporary culture more generally. The discussions should also be of interest for anyone seeking a better understanding of the nature of specifically (finite or) human knowledge, language, and mind, as well as of human relations and the role of art in our forms of life.

The conference will be held online, live-streamed on the event's page on Youtube and on the IFCH / UFRGS platforms on Youtube and on Facebook. It will take place from March 3 to 5, 2021 (Wednesday to Friday), with a first session entirely in Portuguese, followed by sessions in English.