Workshop held at the Section of Philosophy, University of Copenhagen, Friday, December 2, 2022

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.

Call for papers

Please forward an abstract (max 250 words) to Associate Professor Leo Catana (catana@hum.ku.dk) no later than September 30, 2022. The abstract should contain the title of the proposed paper, clear references to the primary sources dealt with, and information about the academic rank and affiliation of the author. The workshop will be held as a hybrid event: It is possible to present online or on-site (the covid-19 situation permitting). Please indicate in your abstract which format you prefer.