WHAT SHOULD HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY BE?

facilitated by Professor Kristin Primus

Some historians of philosophy like hewing very closely to texts; others love advancing more speculative reconstructions of arguments. Some historians of philosophy take themselves to be doing something closer to history, while others don't see much of a difference between what they're doing and what their colleague doing contemporary metaphysics is doing—they're just working with texts written at different times. Should philosophical texts from the past be treated like a historical object (as a historian might) or as a relevant voice to a contemporary conversation? In this seminar, we will discuss the pros and cons of different approaches in the history of philosophy (and consider whether such approaches are, in the end, really that different).

This is a two-session seminar open to students and faculty. Register below to participate in this seminar and receive readings.

Suggested reading:
"Superheroes in the History of Philosophy: Spinoza, Super-Rationalist” (2015) by Daniel Garber (pp. 507-521)
"Interpreting Spinoza: The Real is the Rational” by Michael Della Rocca (pp. 523-535)
"Some Additional (But Not Final) Words” by Daniel Garber (pp. 537-539)

Date: Tuesdays, November 7 and 14, 2023

Time: 5:30 - 6:45pm

Location: Berkeley Institute (2134 Allston Way, 2nd floor)