Conference in Riga: 200 YEARS OF ANALYTICAL PHILOSOPHY

2008年07月27日 22:58

The aim of the conference is to stimulate exchange on those aspects of
the history of analytical philosophy that have been neglected and to
provide a venue for work that concerns lesser known figures and
theories or lesser known aspects of known ones.

Invited speakers include: Arianna Betti (Amsterdam, Netherlands); Mike
Beaney (York, UK); Johannes Brandl (Salzburg, Austria); Matti Eklund
(Cornell, USA), Dagfinn Foellesdal (Stanford, USA); Leila Haaparanta
(Tampere, Finland); Peter Hylton (University of Illinois at Chicago,
USA); Sandra Lapointe (Kansas State, USA); James Levine (Trinity
College Dublin, Ireland); Bernard Linsky (Edmonton, Canada); Michael
Losonsky (Colorado State, USA); Ulrich Majer (Hanover, Germany); Paolo
Mancosu (Berkeley, USA); Mathieu Marion (Montreal, Canada); Kevin
Mulligan (Geneva, Switzerland); Marcelo Sabates (Kansas State
University); Peter Simons (FBA, Leeds); David Sullivan (Metropolitan
State College of Denver, USA); Jamie Tappenden (Michigan, USA); Amie
Thomasson (Miami, USA); Jānis N. Vējš (CCSS, Latvia); Jan Wolenski
(Cracow, Poland); Richard Zach (Calgary, Canada)

The full program - the volume of abstract is to follow - as well as
information concerning travel and accommodation in Riga are available
on our website:

www.k-state.edu/200years

A fee of 40 lats (LVL) payable in kinds upon arrival is applicable.
The fee covers attendance, conference material (including a volume of
abstracts) as well as coffee-breaks and lunches.

We strongly encourage prospective participants to inform us of their
plans.

contact:

bolzano@ksu.edu

The conference will begin with a public address on 27 August 2008:
Analytic Philosophy: What it has been, what it should be, and why it’s
the best

Prof. Peter Simons, Fellow of the British Academy

The University of Leeds (UK)

Abstract: In 1957 there appeared in Britain a slim volume entitled The
Revolution in Philosophy. Based on radio talks, it attempted to
educate the public about why 20th century “analytic” philosophy was
radically different from what had gone before. A half century later,
the volume stands revealed as narrow, insular and misleading in almost
all respects. Yet the idea of analytic philosophy as embodying a kind
of revolution overturning all previous movements and methods is one
which has persisted, and still lingers in the attitudes of many
professional philosophers, their opponents, and the wider public. I
wish to question this assumption. In the talk I shall give two
definitions of the imprecise term ‘analytic philosophy’. The first is
historical, and is confined to philosophy since the death of Kant in
1804. It consists of a number of strands with little in the way of a
unified theme, and its adherents can best be grouped together by
inheritance, like a family. The second definition is based on
philosophical method involving the notion of analysis. By this
definition, much ancient, medieval and early modern philosophy counts
as analytic. Next, I shall survey the positive as well as the negative
sides of analytic philosophy, as she is currently practised across the
world. I shall draw some lessons for what philosophy should be like,
and argue that the best philosophy, while it should not necessarily be
done as analytic philosophy is now done, has to be broadly analytic in
doctrine and method. It’s not that analytic philosophy is always
(automatically) the best, but that the best philosophy is always
(partly) analytic.

Invited organizers:

Matti Eklund (Cornell, USA), Sandra Lapointe (Kansas State University,
USA/CCSS, Latvia), Amie Thomasson (Miami, USA)

The symposium is co-hosted by the Center for Cognitive Sciences and
Semantics of the University of Latvia and the  Department of
Philosophy at Kansas State University

We are obliged for their support to our Partners and Sponsors:

The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia
The University of Latvia
Kansas State University
The Bertrand Russell Society
The History of Early Analytical Philosophy Society

Sandra Lapointe
Assistant Professor
Department of Philosophy
Kansas State University
201 Dickens Hall
Manhattan, KS, 66506
tel: 785 532 0356
fax: 785 532 3522
lapointe@ksu.edu
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~lapointe/