Spinoza: the Political and the Metaphysical

Spinoza: The Political and the Metaphysical (3)
Ghent University
June 23, 2016

Location: Simon Stevin Room, Plateau-Rozier, Jozef Plateaustraat 22, 9000 Gent

Program:

9:30-10:00: Welcome/coffee

10:00-11:00: Daniel Schneider (Cambridge University), “Spinoza’s Ontological Argument: Essence, Thought, and Existence”

11:00-12:00: Michael Rosenthal (University of Washington), “Spinoza on ‘Civil Orders,’ or What is an ‘Ideal Constitution’?”

12:00-13:00: Tinneke Beeckman (author) , “Spinoza, contemporary philosopher”

 

Attendance is free. All are welcome!

Website: http://www.philosophy.ugent.be/workshops/spinozapoliticalmetaphysical3

“Spinoza et ses amis” Workshop

Spinoza et ses amis:

A Workshop organized by the Spinoza Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’études sur Spinoza

Mc Gill University, Room LEA 927

June 17, 2016

 

Participants and affiliations:

Rodolfo Garau (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science)

Syliane Malinowski-Charles (Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières)

Jon Miller (Queen’s University)

Andrea Sangiacomo (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Hasana Sharp (McGill University)

 

Organizers:

Oberto Marrama (UQTR) and Torin Doppelt (Queen’s University)

 

Schedule:

9:40 – 10:00: Coffee and welcome

10:00 – 11:00: Rodolfo Garau: “Spinoza’s Theory of Self-Preservation in its Historical Context”

11:10 – 12:10: Andrea Sangiacomo: “A Spinozistic Approach to Relational Autonomy: The Case of Prostitution”

14:00 – 15:00: Syliane Malinowski-Charles: “On the Difference Between Consciousness and Idea Ideae in Spinoza”

15:10 – 16:10: Hasana Sharp: “Generosity as Freedom in Spinoza’s Ethics”

16:20 – 17:20: Jon Miller: “”Cosmopolitanism in Spinoza’s Ethics”

 

Spinoza Society of Canada meeting

First Meeting of the Spinoza Society of Canada: Current Debates and Ongoing Research

CPA Congress 2016, University of Calgary

Scurfield Hall, Room 268

June 1, 2016

 

Recent scholarly interest in Spinoza has been increasing in both volume and notoriety. As a result of this increased interest, we have founded the Canadian Spinoza Society to promote and connect Canadian English and French-language research and scholars with each other and the rest of the world. In this spirit, the symposium will present papers in both languages, from both Canadian and American scholars. These papers will cover topics in Spinoza’s ethics, method, metaphysics, physics, politics, and psychology, as well the interrelations between these domains, which are a key characteristic of Spinoza’s unique contribution to the history of philosophy, and which help highlight his continuing value today.

 

Participants and affiliations:

Ericka Tucker (Marquette University)

Karolina Hübner (University of Toronto)

Torin Doppelt (Queen’s University)

Alexandre Rouette (Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières)

Sarah Kizuk (Marquette University)

Oberto Marrama (Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières)

 

Schedule:

14:00 – 14:40: Ericka Tucker: Power and Freedom in Spinoza’s Democratic Theory

14:40 – 15:20: Karolina Hübner: Spinoza on Expression

15:30 – 16:00: Torin Doppelt: Spinoza’s Seemingly Absurd Love of God

16:00 – 16:30: Alexandre Rouette: Le concept de « corpora simplicissima » dans la physique spinoziste

16:30 – 17:00: Sarah Kizuk: Bodies in Spinoza’s Metaphysical Theory of Individuation: Fixed Movement and the Drive to Persevere in Being

17:00 – 17:30: Oberto Marrama: Common notions and common properties in Spinoza’s theory of knowledge

Please see attached document for full information: First Meeting of the Spinoza Society of Canada (Schedule)

Colloquium “Spinoza France Etats-Unis”

A very exciting event in Paris, June 3-4, 2016, with many prominent speakers. See the attached PDF2016 05 10 programme SFEU pour diffusion for programme, registration and contact information.

A short description from the programme:

“Though philosophy may not know nationalities, it does know languages. It is in this manner that traditions of interpretation are created, traditions that share common references but whose differences make their confrontations necessary. The development of Spinoza research in the United States over the last decades, from often profoundly renovated historical, ontological, logical, moral, and political perspectives, justifies the organization of a discussion with contemporary French interpreters of Spinoza, heirs to the French Spinozist tradition. The International Colloquium Spinoza France États-Unis, will be the site for such a discussion, both friendly and scientific.”

Equal by Design: London screening June 15

A film about Spinoza, equality, and the UK housing crisis. London screening just announced. All welcome. Free but ticketed via link below.

Equalities of Wellbeing in Philosophy and Architecture

Please join us for a screening of Equal by Design, the project film of the Equalities of Wellbeing project, followed by a Q&A and reception.

Wednesday, 15 June 2016, 7:00-9:00 PM

UCL Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre – Wilkins Building UCL Main Campus, Gower Street, London

This event is open to all. Tickets are free but must be booked in advance via Eventbrite

Equal By Design is a 25-minute documentary film about equality, wellbeing and the UK housing crisis. Made with Lone Star Productions, it examines economic and housing inequality in the UK housing crisis, with contributors from the architectural profession, national charities, journalism and academia.

The film shows how Spinoza’s theory of wellbeing and equality can be used to analyse housing and income inequalities, and how his ideas relate to post-war and current-day social housing design.

Screening supported by Urban Lab Films.

Authors: Peg Rawes and Beth Lord

Contributors:
– architects:…

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Masterclass with Yitzhak Melamed, ENS Lyon

Masterclass with Prof. Yitzhak Melamed (Johns Hopkins University)

Spinoza’s Cogitata metaphysica

École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 6-9 June 2016

This intensive four-day masterclass will be taught in English by one of the most prominent Anglo-American Spinoza scholars today, Professor Yitzhak Melamed from Johns Hopkins University, in collaboration with Mogens Lærke, researcher at the CNRS (IHRIM, UMR 5317, ENS de Lyon). The class will be entirely dedicated to the reading of Spinoza’s Cogitata metaphysica. The Cogitata Metaphysica, the appendix to Spinoza’s 1663 book on Descartes’ Principles of Philosophy is a text whose precise nature is still unclear after more than 350 years of scholarship. The nature of this text and specifically the question whether it represents Spinoza’s views at the time of its composition will stand at the center of this course. We will read closely the text in three languages (Latin, English, and French) and attempt to reconstruct Spinoza’s arguments and the philosophical conversations exhibited in the text.

The masterclass is open to doctoral students, up to a maximum of 10. We accept applicants from both ENS de Lyon and other institutions, including abroad. The class can also be validated as a course for master students (M2) at the ENS de Lyon. Some prior knowledge of Spinoza’s philosophy is desirable. Active command of English is indispensable.

Applicants should send a one-page letter of motivation to Mogens Lærke (mogens.laerke@ens-lyon.fr) by April 1st 2016. Attendance is free, but inscription and/or acceptance of proposal is mandatory. Please note that there are no funds available to cover cost of travel or lodging for non-local participants.

The event is organized as a collaboration between the Institut d’histoire des représentations et des idées dans les modernités (IHRIM, UMR 5317) at the ENS de Lyon, and Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.

Spinoza Society of Canada

There is a new Spinoza Society of Canada/Societe Canadienne d’etudes sur Spinoza. Further information is on their Facebook page.

Their first meeting takes place 1 June 2016 at the University of Calgary, and features contributions by Ericka Tucker, Karolina Hubner, Torin Doppelt, Sarah Kizuk, Oberto Marrama, and Alexandre Rouette.

For this and other events, see the Facebook page linked above.

Research School in the Historiography of Philosophy (Lyon)

THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF PHILOSOPHY: HISTORY, METHODS, PRACTICES

École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 7-9 June 2016

 

Keynote speakers:

Gregorio Piaia (University of Padua)

Yitzhak Melamed (Johns Hopkins University)

Pierre-François Moreau (École Normale Supérieure de Lyon)

 

Call for applications: Partial funding (10 bursaries) available for both French and non-French graduate students, postdocs or young academics who wish to take part in the school and contribute to the discussions.

This research school is dedicated to the study of the relations between the history, methods and practices in the historiography of philosophy. The aim is to submit the historiography of philosophy itself to historical study by asking how the reading of past philosophical texts has been adapted to the institutional and intellectual context of historiography of philosophy itself. Throughout the three days it lasts, the school will thus follow a double itinerary: on the one hand, we put into perspective the evolution of the historiography of philosophy from the early the seventeenth century onward; on the other hand, we focus on the ways in which, historically, different methodological orientations have concretely shaped the interpretation of philosophical texts. At the same time, we will question the ways in which the historiography of philosophy can be, and has been, put into dialogue with other disciplines, in particular sociology and the history and philosophy of science.

Each morning session will include two “lessons” each focusing on a major orientation or figure in the historiography of philosophy. The afternoon will be dedicated to one-hour “workshops,” which are discussions moderated by specialists about key texts. Each day will end with a plenary conference presented by a major figure in the field.

The school grants up to 10 bursaries to finance the participation of graduate students, post-doctoral students or young researchers. The recipients will not be asked to present a paper but are expected to participate actively in the discussions. Bursaries will cover accommodation on site (up to 4 nights) and part of the meals. Travel expenses are not covered.

Graduate students, post-docs and young researchers from all countries are invited to apply. It should however be noted all lessons and discussions will be in French (with the exception of one conference in English). For non-French applicants, proficiency in French is thus indispensable.

Those who wish to apply should send a letter of motivation of two pages maximum (word or pdf), explaining how participation the research school can contribute to their current research, to Mogens Lærke (mogens.laerke@ens-lyon.fr) or Raphaële Andrault (raphaele.andrault@ens-lyon.fr). Please include all contact information in the letter and entitle your email HISTOPHIL. The deadline for submissions is 10 March 2016.

The Research School is organized by the Institut d’histoire des representations et des idées dans les modernités (IHRIM, UMR 5317) in collaboration with the LabEx COMOD (University of Lyon) and the Doctoral School of the University of Lyon (ED 487)

Organizing committee:

Raphaële Andrault (CNRS, UMR 5317, ENS de Lyon) Mogens Lærke (CNRS, UMR 5317, ENS de Lyon) Pierre-François Moreau (ENS de Lyon).