Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Socratic Studies
Workshop in Copenhagen, December 10, 2021
The Aim of the Workshop
The aim of the workshop is to develop a better understanding of the interpretations, evaluations and uses of the figure of Socrates in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Despite the overwhelming interest in the ancient Socrates in recent years, much work is still to be done regarding his reception in this period. Only a fraction of the hundreds of publications dedicated to Socrates and published between 1600 and 1800 have been studied. An understanding of the reception of Socrates in these centuries is of intrinsic value. Moreover, it has valuable ramifications: Important assumptions in the modern understanding of Socrates derive from these two centuries, and one way of getting familiar with these assumptions is to study their historical genesis. Moreover, in this period, Socrates was often used as an intellectual model for the early modern philosopher, implying that we may gain insight into the ethical, cognitive, and communicative ideals of the early modern philosopher by studying the uses of Socrates in this period. The workshop is directed by Leo Catana under the auspices of the International Society for Socratic Studies. For a fuller description of the initiative, please see here.
Confirmed speakers:
Aron Ouwerkerk (University of Amsterdam):
“Daniel Heinsius on Socrates”
Hedvig Berglind Moncreiff (St Andrews):
“How Socrates Features in the Work of Henry More”
Adrian Mihai (University of Cambridge):
“Socrates metaphysicus. Ralph Cudworth on Socrates’ Philosophy of Religion”
Leo Catana (University of Copenhagen):
“Jacob Brucker’s account of Socrates and his School in the Historia critica philosophiae”
Call for papers
Please forward an abstract (max 250 words) to Leo Catana (catana@hum.ku.dk) no later than September 27, 2021. The abstract should contain the title of the proposed paper and information about the academic rank and affiliation of the author. The workshop will be held on-site, the covid-19 situation permitting.