Instead of giving you yet another report about my ongoing project on the physiology of character in Aristotle this week, I would like to make use of this opportunity to announce two upcoming workshops in ancient philosophy that I have been (co-)organizing. Both events involve mostly junior scholars and promise to offer a lot of time for discussion and informal exchange. If you are interested in participating in any of these, just drop me an email, and I would be happy to provide more information.
(1) Workshop on Material/Teleological Explanation in Aristotle
Friday, February 25, 2011; Center for Hellenic Studies, Washington DC
Session 1: material and teleological explanation in Aristotle’s natural treatises and its roots in Plato
10.00-11.10 David Ebrey (Northwestern University): ‘Making Room for Matter’
11.20-12.30 Devin Henry (University of Western Ontario): ‘Optimality and Teleology in Ancient Greek Science’
12.30-1.30 Lunch
Session 2: material and teleological explanation in Aristotle’s Politics and its roots in Plato
1.30-2.40 Kevin Cherry (University of Richmond): ‘Aristotle on Teleology and Plato’s Political Thought’
2.50-4.00 Mariska Leunissen (CHS/Washington University in St. Louis): ‘Citizens as matter: the shaping of human bodies in Aristotle’s Politics’
(2) 34th Ancient Philosophy Workshop
March 3-5, 2011; Washington University in St. Louis
Co-organized with Eric Brown (WUSTL Philosophy) and Bob Lamberton (WUSTL Classics)
(note: schedule is still subject to change)
| Thursday March 3 – Pre-Workshop Event Wilson Hall 214 | |
| 4.15-6.00 PM | Philosophy Department Colloquium |
| Title: | Moral Motivation and the Art of Living |
| Speaker: | Rachel Barney (University of Toronto) |
| 6.00 PM | Wine & Cheese Reception |
|
Friday March 4 |
|
| 9.00-9.30 AM | Refreshments & Welcome |
| 9.30-12.00 | Morning Sessions |
| Chair: | Bob Lamberton, Washington University in St. Louis |
| 9.30-10.45 | ‘The Ally of Reason’: Plato on Spirited Desire and Cognition |
| Speaker: | Joshua Wilburn, University of Victoria |
| Comments: | Emily Austin, Wake Forest University |
| 10.50-12.00 | Plato, Relativity and Symposium 199c3-201c12 |
| Speaker: | Matthew Duncombe, University of Cambridge |
| Comments: | Jonathan Nelson, St. Louis University |
| 12.00-1.15 PM | Lunch |
| 1.15-6.00 | Afternoon Sessions |
| Chair: | Peter Larsen, Trinity College Dublin |
| 1.15-2.30 | Aristotle’s Epistemology and Knowledge of the Particulars |
| Speaker: | Riin Sirkel, University of Alberta |
| Comments: | Gregory Salmieri, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| 2.35-3.50 | Aristotle on Existence |
| Speaker: | Philip Corkum, University of Alberta |
| Comments: | Robin Smith, Texas A&M University |
| Keynote Address | |
| Chair: | Eric Brown, Washington University in St. Louis |
| 4.00-6.00 | Plato and the Intellectualist Hypothesis |
| Speaker: | Rachel Barney |
| 7.00 PM | Reception/Buffet Dinner |
|
Saturday March 5 |
|
| 9.30-12.00 | Morning Sessions |
| Chair: | Allan Gotthelf, University of Pittsburgh |
| 9.30-10.45 | What’s the Point of Teleological Explanation? |
| Speaker: | Jessica Gelber, University of California, Berkeley |
| Comments: | Devin Henry, University of Western Ontario |
| 10.50-12.00 | The Principle of Separation in Aristotle’s Biology |
| Speaker: | Sean Coughlin, University of Western Ontario |
| Comments: | Keith Bemer, University of Pittsburgh |
| 12.00-1.30 PM | Lunch |
| 1.30-6.45 | Afternoon Sessions |
| Chair: | Matthew Evans, New York University |
| 1.30-2.45 | Explanation in the Epistemology of the Meno |
| Speaker: | Whitney Schwab, Princeton University |
| Comments: | Holly Moore, Luther College |
| 2.50-4.05 | Gorgias and the Normativity of Language |
| Speaker: | Juan Pablo Bermúdez Rey, University of Toronto |
| Comments: | David Riesbeck, University of Texas at Austin |
| 4.05-4.30 PM | Break with refreshments |
| Chair: | Steve White, University of Texas at Austin |
| 4.30-5.45 | Melissus on Pain |
| Speaker: | Ivan Heyman, University of Texas at Austin |
| Comments: | Dhananjay Jagannathan, University of Cambridge |
| Founders’ Address | |
| 5.50-6.45 | Xenophanes and his Cloud-Astrophysics in Aristophanes’ Clouds |
| Speaker: | Alexander P.D. Mourelatos (University of Texas at Austin) |