A Historical Turn: Sources and their Uses in Austro-German Philosophy

December 2–4, 2021, University of Geneva

For Bolzano and Brentano, as well as their many students and grand students, including Husserl, the practice of philosophy and the study of its history were intimately combined. Texts of past thinkers, ancient, medieval or modern, were seen as containing various debates commensurable to those taking place among Austro-German authors themselves. From Plato to Hegel, the philosophical tradition was approached both as a source of inspiration and something to engage with critically. 

Now, while some Austro-German borrowings and criticisms are largely studied, others remain unexplored. However, an analysis of this complex network of references and discussions would be of major interest. First, it would allow to fix with accuracy the sources of a very influential philosophical movement, in which various recent traditions originate to a greater or lesser extent, e.g. phenomenology, analytic philosophy of mind, Gestalt psychology and the Lvov-Warsaw School. Second, it would be informative from a methodological point of view, for it would help to see why and how Austro-German philosophers allowed themselves to treat authors of the past as interlocutors, which, in turn, could allow to learn from them how to entertain a constructive discussion with the history of philosophy. 

This conference aims to explore the relation of the Austro-German tradition to the history of philosophy. It will gather scholars active in the field of the Austro-German tradition and specialists of ancient, medieval and modern philosophy, who will be invited to evaluate the various borrowings and critics that Austro-German authors have made from authors of the past.

Speakers: Klaus Corcilius (Tübingen), Francesco Fronterotta (Sapienza), Charles Girard (Genève), Katerina Ierodiakonou (Genève), Colin King (Providence/Basel), Martin Lenz (Groningen), Ursula Renz (Graz), Sonja Schierbaum (Würzburg), Stephan Schmid (Hamburg), Jacob Schmutz (Louvain-la-Neuve)

Organisers: Laurent Cesalli (Genève), Hélène Leblanc (Louvain-la-Neuve), Claudio Majolino (Lille), Hamid Taieb (HU Berlin)

Time: starts at 3pm on December 2, ends at 11:30am on December 4.

Information: Hélène Leblanc

2021