Early Moderns on the Power of Philosophy Workshop - Program
14-15 October 2022
School of Philosophy
University College Dublin
Keynote Speaker: Professor Jacqueline Taylor (University of San Francisco)
Theme
The power of philosophy was a common topic in the early modern period. Early modern philosophers had descriptive and normative views on the formation of representations like beliefs and affective states like passions, as well as the causation of actions, in response to philosophical argumentation and reflection. This workshop aims to bring together scholars who work on topics and figures in early modern philosophy concerned with the effects of philosophy. It aims to encourage the application of interpretative work on early modern thinkers–including neglected philosophers of the era–to the efficacy of philosophical argumentation and reflection in effecting change in those who engage in it. It also aims to encourage the application of contemporary work in philosophy, cognitive science, and psychology to the views of early modern philosophers in this domain.
Program
Friday, 14 October 2022
Coffee & Tea
9:30 AM – 11:00 AM
“Hume’s Skeptical Philosophy and the Moderation of Pride”
Speaker: Charles Goldhaber (Haverford College)
Commentator: Taro Okamura (University of Tokyo)
Coffee & Tea
11:15 AM – 12:45 PM
“Knowledge for the Sake of Power: Anti-System in Bacon’s Philosophy”
Speaker: Robert Miner (Baylor University)
Commentator: Adi Efal-Lautenschlaeger (Tel Aviv University)
Lunch (provided for all speakers and commentators)
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
“The Role of Philosophy in Hume’s Critiques of British Imperial Politics”
Speaker: Elena Zeng (King’s College, Cambridge)
Commentator: Margaret Watkins (Seattle Pacific University)
Coffee & Tea
3:45 PM – 5:15 PM
“A Puzzle for Macaulay on Moral Improvement and the Philosophical Education of Women”
Speaker: Jill Hernandez (Texas Tech University)
Commentator: Ruth Boeker (University College Dublin)
7PM
Conference Dinner (provided for all speakers and commentators)
Saturday, 15 October 2022
Coffee & Tea
9:30 AM – 11:00 AM
“Right Reason and the Power of Platonism in 17th Century Women Philosophers”
Speaker: Elisabeth Thorsson (Durham University)
Commentator: Francesco Quatrini (University College Dublin)
Coffee & Tea
11:15 AM – 12:45 PM
“Why Do Skeptics Philosophize? The Case of Pierre Bayle”
Speaker: Michael Hickson (Trent University)
Commentator: Katherine Dunlop (University of Texas, Austin)
Lunch (provided for all speakers and commentators)
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
“Spinoza and the Problem of Imperfect Rationality”
Speaker: Jacob Zellmer (University of California, San Diego / Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Commentator: Erin Islo (Princeton University)
Coffee & Tea
3:45 PM – 5:15 PM
“Hume and the Power of Convention”
Keynote: Jacqueline Taylor (University of San Francisco)
Commentator: Graham Clay (University College Dublin)
We are very sorry to announce that Dr. Taylor’s keynote must be cancelled due to a family emergency.
7PM
Informal Drinks/Dinner
Organizers: Graham Clay, Ruth Boeker
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Irish Research Council, UCD, the British Society for
the History of Philosophy, the Mind Association, and the UCD School of Philosophy.
