JOSHUA MASON (West Chester University of Pennsylvania)
“Cognitive Linguistics and Cultural Gulfs: From Embodied Metaphors to Responsible Generalizations”
An ongoing debate in comparative research is about whether we should see cultural diversities as manifestations of essential differences or as superficial variations on a universal blueprint. Edward Slingerland has pointed to cognitive linguistics and the use of embodied metaphors to emphasize the universality of concept formation and cognition across cultures. He suggests that this should quiet the “cultural essentialists” who take fundamental differences in eastern and western thinking as their starting points. Michael Puett has also leveled a critique of cultural essentialism in support of a presuppositionless approach, and Slingerland’s conclusions seem to offer him support. However, I will argue that even if all modern humans are broadly similar in metaphor use and cognitive processes, research in the humanities must continue to account for the differences implied by the particular metaphors employed and emphasized in diverse traditions. I contend that responsible hermeneutic practice does this through provisional, yet indispensable, generalizations. A starting point which recognizes the existence of cultural gulfs will facilitate, not vitiate, future advances in cross-cultural understanding.
We are excited to share with you our upcoming lineup of speakers:
February 26: Joshua Mason (West Chester University)
March 18: Harvey Lederman (NYU)
April 8: Shigenori Nagatomo (Temple University)
April 29: Sara McClintock (Emory University)
We will provide more information regarding the topic of each speaker’s
presentation as the semester progresses. We hope to see you all at what
promises to be a semester of discussion and engagement.
The Simon H. Rifkind Center for the Humanities and Arts
Presents:
Cinzia Arruzza
New School for Social Research
Sara Brill
Fairfield University
Andrea Capra
State University of Milan
Burt Hopkins
Seattle University
Elizabeth Jelinek
Christopher Newport University
Michael Naas
DePaul University
Noburu Notomi
Yokohama National University
Nicholas Rynearson
Brooklyn College, CUNY
Marylou Sena
Seattle University
Thomas Thorp
Saint Xavier University
Organisers:
Nickolas Pappas
CUNY Graduate Center
Poster: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzqJK3SK3JjZbTBQY0d3ZnIxWUU/view?usp=sharing
We are excited to share with you our upcoming lineup of speakers:
February 26: Joshua Mason (West Chester University)
March 18: Harvey Lederman (NYU)
April 8: Shigenori Nagatomo (Temple University)
April 29: Sara McClintock (Emory University)
We will provide more information regarding the topic of each speaker’s
presentation as the semester progresses. We hope to see you all at what
promises to be a semester of discussion and engagement.
SHIGENORI NAGATOMO (Temple University)
With responses from:
GRAHAM PRIEST (CUNY Graduate Center)
Please join us at Columbia University’s Religion Department on FRIDAY, APRIL 8th at 5:30PM for his lecture entitled:
“The Logic of Not: An Invitation to an Holistic Mode of Thinking”
This presentation extends an invitation to an holistic mode of understanding to those who are concerned with current global situations. It thematically deals with the logic that appears in the sutra called the Diamond Sutra which belongs to the prajñāpāaramitā literature of Mahayana Buddhism. This logic is called “logic of not” because a negation appears in the formulation of the idea of identity as is expressed in the following: “A is not A, therefore it is A.” This logic cuts against the grain of the assumptions which the mode of thinking predominant in the Western philosophical tradition accepts as its modus operandi, namely the conceptual paradigm of the “either-or ego-logical dualistic standpoint.” This presentation argues that this paradigm generates a problem of fragmentation, which we take to be the root of many of the problems we face today, by analyzing the phrases such as “either-or,” “dualistic” and “ego-logical.” It then turns to an analysis of “the logic of not” by showing how it differs from Aristotle’s logic, while providing the philosophical reasons why the Diamond Sutra formulates its understanding of reality in terms of “the logic of not.” With this clarification, the presentation discusses how a transparency of mind and the idea of interdependency are necessary for achieving an holistic perspective, i.e., to understand things holistically. This mode of thinking will be effective to correct the problem of fragmentation, for example, in dealing with such topics as I knowing myself, the I-thou relationship, and environmental concerns.
…
April 29: Sara McClintock (Emory University)
We will provide more information regarding the topic of each speaker’s
presentation as the semester progresses. We hope to see you all at what
promises to be a semester of discussion and engagement.
THE COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY
Welcomes:
SARA MCCLINTOCK (Emory University)
With responses from:
THOMAS A. LEWIS (Brown University)
Please join us at Columbia University’s Religion Department on FRIDAY, APRIL 29th at 5:30PM for her lecture entitled:
“Rehabilitating the Conventional via the Transactional: An Experiment in Madhyamaka Thought Inspired by Kamalaśīla”
Madhyamaka Buddhist philosophy is renowned for its theory of two truths (satya-dvaya), typically represented in English as conventional truth (saṃvṛti-satya) and ultimate truth (paramārtha-satya). The ultimate truth is that all things are empty (śūnya) of any intrinsic nature (svabhāva), while the conventional truth refers to the misleading yet nevertheless useful “truths” according to which people function in the world. Nāgārjuna, the father of Madhyamaka thought, famously explains that without relying on the conventional truth, the ultimate truth cannot be revealed. Scholarly work on Madhyamaka has long shown a fascination with emptiness, the ultimate truth, while interest in the conventional truth has been comparatively meager. This is starting to change. In a recent volume, a collective of scholars calling themselves the Cowherds has argued for the importance of conventional truth and for the need both to take it seriously and to get it right. In this paper, I offer a new way of thinking about conventional truth inspired by my reading of the works of Kamalaśīla, an eighth-century Madhyamaka polymath, who is known for taking conventional truth extremely seriously. In this talk, I will consider some elements of Kamalaśīla’s approach to conventional truth, arguing that, along with his teacher Śāntarakṣita, he offers tools for rehabilitating the conventional through an emphasis on the complex material, discursive, and ideational transactions (vyavahāra) that together create the conditions for truth. Considering Kamalaśīla’s approach to the problem of intrinsic nature (svabhāva) for the production of conventional truth, I show that for Kamalaśīla such truth is best understood as deeply transactional in nature. Shifting from a discourse of truth to one of reality, we see that conventional truth is itself a transactional reality, and as such can never be stable but must constantly arise anew. I close with some reflections on how Kamalaśīla’s transactional approach to the conventional may offer Madhyamaka greater potential for interchange with science (via enactive theories of cognition for example) and philosophy (via the theories of thinkers like Dewey and Foucault). Whether Kamalaśīla gets the conventional right or not, my goal in this talk is to begin to reveal his perspective as an alternate to the more typical theories of the conventional truth—theories that generally ignore the non-discursive conditions of conventional truth—in current Madhyamaka scholarship.
FRIDAY, APRIL 29
5:30-7:30 pm
Rm. 101, 80 Claremont Ave, Columbia University
PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE:
Crafting Ancient Identities: Mythological and Philosophical Approaches to the Self and Society in Antiquity
Tenth Annual Graduate Conference in Classics
Friday, March 31, 2017
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Keynote Speaker: Professor Kathryn Morgan, UCLA
In Greek and Roman antiquity, mythology and philosophy helped individuals understand their world and define their place in society. From the supernatural exploits in Homer to the etiological accounts of Ovid, mythology humanized natural phenomena and preserved cultural history. Philosophy, meanwhile, reflects an effort to systematize knowledge and answer questions about our place in the world. Both mythological narratives and philosophic thought participated in the crafting of ancient identities, whether as individuals, communities, or nations. The Romans, for example, turned to mythology to identify themselves as the descendants of Aeneas, just as the Athenian philosophers attempted to define what it meant to be a citizen.
The PhD/MA Program in Classics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York invites graduate students in Classics or related fields to submit abstracts of papers that explore how mythology and philosophy contribute to the development of identity in the Greco-Roman world.
Possible paper topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Etiological myths
- Autochthony and migration stories
- Philosophic schools and communities
- Philosophical poetry and the Presocratics
- Reception and transformation of myth in antiquity
- Hero cults and religious communities
- The role of myth in philosophical discourse
Please send an anonymous abstract of approximately 300 words as an email attachment to cunyclassicsconference@gmail.com by January 16, 2017. Please include, in the body of the email, your name, university affiliation, and the title of the presentation. Speakers will have 15 minutes to present. Selected applicants will be notified in early February. Submissions and questions will be received by conference co-organizers Federico Di Pasqua and Thomas Moody.
Even though ancient philosophy and rhetoric have many overlapping interests (education, persuasion, politics, etc.), their relationship has long been a contentious subject, especially among ancient philosophers. Contemporary scholarship on the topic is equally divided: philosophers tend to approach the topic primarily through the works of Plato and Aristotle and regard rhetoric (and rhetorical compositions) as a second-rate notion/discipline which has little interest in shedding light on philosophically relevant questions about human nature and society, whereas classicists research oratorical compositions to get a better understanding of Greek prose style, historical details and context, but often shy away from philosophical questions that the texts might hint at. This workshop aims to bring together scholars working on ancient rhetoric and argumentative techniques on the one hand, and scholars working on ancient philosophy, on the other in order to open up a space for a constructive engagement with philosophy/rhetoric, one which might enrich our understanding of ancient texts as well as the context in which they were produced.
Confirmed speakers: Jamie Dow (Leeds), Richard Hunter (Cambridge), Joel Mann (St Norbert), Jessica Moss (NYU), Usha Nathan (Columbia), James Porter (Berkeley), Edward Schiappa (MIT), Nancy Worman (Barnard). All papers will be followed by a response and general discussion.
Attending the workshop is free, but in order to have an idea of numbers it would be greatly appreciated if those interested in participating in the event would email the organizers, Laura Viidebaum and Toomas Lott.
This Workshop is generously sponsored by the Department of Philosophy (NYU), Department of Classics (NYU) and NYU Center for Ancient Studies.
The full program can be viewed here.
The workshop will bring together philosophers working in ancient epistemology with those working in contemporary epistemology to discuss issues relevant to the debates in both fields.
It was assumed until recently that the distinction between doxa and epistêmê, key players in ancient epistemology, maps directly onto the contemporary distinction between knowledge and belief. Recent interpreters of Plato and Aristotle have challenged this assumption. Some argue that epistêmê is closer to understanding than to knowledge because (for example) it requires explanation rather than justification, cannot be transmitted by testimony, is hard to come by, and can only be had of a restricted range of objects. Others argue that doxa is narrower than belief, perhaps closer to opinion, because (for example) doxa is excluded by epistêmê while belief is entailed by knowledge, doxa is imprecise and unclear while these are not essential features of belief, and doxa too has a restricted range of objects.
Contemporary epistemology tackles issues that are related to the debates above. Is knowledge to be distinguished from understanding and if so, which one should be seen as the proper goal of inquiry? Does understanding have value over and above the value of knowledge? Much like Plato and Aristotle, epistemologists aim to elucidate the conceptual relations between knowledge, understanding, justification, explanation, epistemic authority, and testimony. In addition, contemporary epistemologists sometimes produce fictional genealogies of epistemic concepts to arrive at an improved understanding of our epistemic practices. If epistêmê and doxa are distinct from knowledge and belief in a way indicated above, then it seems appropriate to raise the question whether the actual history of epistemic concepts can help to improve these fictional genealogies.
The presentations are followed by a response and a general discussion.Papers by speakers who specialize in Ancient epistemology will be assigned to commentators who specialize in contemporary epistemology and vice versa.
Presenters: Gail Fine (Cornell), Richard Foley (NYU), Jane Friedman (NYU), Allison Hills (Oxford), Robert Pasnau (Colorado), Whitney Schwab (Baltimore/NYU), Katja Vogt (Columbia), Ralph Wedgwood (USC).
Respondents: John Bengson (Harvard), Hugh Benson (Oklahoma), Paul Boghossian (NYU), Toomas Lott (NYU/Tartu), Jessica Moss (NYU), James Pryor (NYU), Michael Strevens (NYU).
Organisers:
September 7, 2017, 7:00pm EST
email tl1972 at nyu
The 35th annual meeting of
The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy (SAGP)
October 21 – 22, 2017
Fordham University, Lincoln Center, New York
113 West 60th Street, New York, NY 10023
Corner of Columbus (9th) Avenue and West 60th Street
Sponsored by Fordham University
The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy (SAGP)
Conference Organizers
Tony Preus (apreus@binghamton.edu), Binghamton University
Daryl Tress (tress@fordham.edu), Fordham University
Registration for the Conference
There are some aspects of this conference that have changed from the way it has been done in the past:
· No Friday Plenary Session.
· No Food. Those who have been attending will remember that food is available in the snack bar just off the Atrium where we have held the Friday Evening sessions several times. In addition, there are several restaurants and a Starbucks close by.
· No Registration Fee as such. In order to cover the minimum expenses of putting on the program – badges, printed programs, paying some students to help with registration – we require that everyone who participates or attends be a member of SAGP for 2017/18. We’ll try to cover everything out of SAGP dues, and that will work only if we’re serious about all attendees being current dues-paying members of the Society. Membership forms and information about current membership status available from apreus@binghamton.edu.
· Fordham University security requires all visitors to the Lincoln Center Campus to register for the conference and receive a guest badge. Members of the Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy who are on the program will have a badge waiting for them when they arrive (we hope). Other current members who expect to attend, but are not on the program, should alert Preus (apreus@binghamton.edu) of their intention, in order to assure that a badge will be prepared for them. Current members who plan to attend are encouraged to volunteer to chair a session: a DRAFT program is included below to assist in planning for that!
· We hope to make it possible for persons who are not current members to join the Society for 2017/18 at the registration desk and get a badge, at least on Saturday morning.
Conference Location
All conference events take place at Fordham University, Lincoln Center campus, 60th St. & Columbus Ave, New York. This is on the western side of Manhattan, about two blocks from Columbus Circle and the southwestern border of Central Park. The closest subway stop for Fordham is the 59 Street/Columbus Circle stop, which is serviced by the blue lines (the A and C trains), the red line (the #1 train) and the orange line (the B and D trains).
Accommodations
The hotel closest to Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus is the Hudson Hotel (www.hudsonhotel.com), which provides a business rate (pending availability) if you identify yourself as affiliated with Fordham University.
Lodging can be found on a number of search vehicles like www.expedia.com, www.nyc.com/hotels/, hotels.com, or, www.nycgo.com/hotels (which is the site to which the Mayor’s office links). A number of sites allow you to search by regions within Manhattan. The three regions closest to Fordham are Central Park West (north of the campus), Clinton (“Hell’s Kitchen,” west and south of the campus), and Midtown West (south of the campus). Some sites allow you to search by landmarks: the closest one to Fordham is the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (across the street from Fordham). The Lincoln Center area is one of the more expensive places to stay in the city, but around Bryant Park and the Empire State building (three stops from Columbus Circle on the red line), lodging is more reasonably priced.
Other useful links:
· Fordham University, Lincoln Center Information Page (http://www.fordham.edu/info/21454/lincoln_center_campus)
· Subway map (http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm)
· Bus map (www.mta.info/nyct/maps/busman.pdf)
How is the ancient exhortation to “know thyself” related to consolation, virtue, and the study of nature? How did the commitment to self-knowledge shift over the centuries in writings by Islamic, Jewish, Christian, and early modern natural philosophers? How did medieval women contribute to modern notions of self, self-knowledge, and knowledge of nature? This conference explores the meditative “reflective methodology” from its ancient roots, through medieval Christian, Muslim, and Jewish traditions to the so-called “new” methodologies of early modern science. Speakers include Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Pierre Force, Clémence Boulouque, Christia Mercer, and Pamela Smith.
Points of focus will be: (1) the relation between the ancient imperative to “know thyself” and medieval concerns to reflect on one’s self as a means to find ultimate truths; (2) the meditative genre as it developed from Augustine’s Confessions through Christian and Islamic spiritual exercises to late medieval Christian meditations and early modern kabbalist writings; (3) the continuity between medieval meditations and the reflective methodology of early modern science; and (4) the meditative genre’s afterlife in Freud, Foucault, Arendt, and contemporary science.
Conference co-sponsored by the Center for New Narratives in Philosophy, the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, the Departments of Philosophy, French, English and Comparative Literature and the Maison Française
To download a PDF about this event click here.