The Philosophical Relevance of Hegel’s Subjective Logic

Feb 10, 2011 by Farhang Erfani

Second Annual International Summer School

in German Philosophy

(July 4th – July 15th, 2011)

Organizer:

Professor Dr. Markus Gabriel

Chair in Epistemology, Modern and Contemporary Philosophy (Bonn University)

Keynote Addresses:

Professor Michael Forster (University of Chicago)

Professor Dr. Rolf-Peter Horstmann (Humboldt University, Berlin)

Professor Dr. Axel Hutter (LMU, Munich)

Course Description:

This year we will examine Hegel’s subjective logic, the famous concluding book of the Science of Logic, with a particular emphasis on the notion of subjectivity and the Idea. At first glance, Hegel’s understanding of concepts and their relation to subjectivity seems at least at odds with some plausible realist platitudes about conceptual content. Hegel either clearly seems to have been surpassed by modern logics or, at the best, to operate on a fundamentally different level. However, there are some recent developments in the theory of conceptual content (most notably Brandom’s inferentialism), which might be read as an attempt to reconcile Hegel with Frege. Still, a good deal of contemporary Neo-Hegelianism tends to ignore the actual role content plays in Hegel’s notion of logical form. In the summer school, we will review the subjective logic in order to bring to light some unfortunately widely neglected aspects of Hegel’s most far-reaching claims which, despite appearances, might amount to a serious contribution to contemporary debates.

Apart from Hegel’s claim that the necessary relation between concepts and subjectivity requires that the relation between subjectivity and objectivity can only be grasped by understanding the self-referential properties of inferences, we will examine Hegel’s highly dense remarks concerning his own dialectical method.

Classes will be seminar-style, with an emphasis on close textual analysis, five days a week in the mornings and evenings. Students will have access to Bonn’s University Libraries. Some knowledge of Hegel’s Science of Logic is required. The whole course will be conducted in English. The textual basis of the seminar is:

Hegel’s Science of Logic. Translated by A.V. Miller, New York: Humanity Books, 1969 – in particular, pp. 575-704 and pp. 755-844.

Suggested additional readings:

Frege, G.: Logical Investigations. Translated and Edited by Peter Geach, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1977.

Brandom, R.B.: Reason in Philosophy. Belknap Harvard: Cambridge, MA, 2009. Part One.

Brandom, R.B.: Tales of the Mighty Dead. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, 2002. pp. 178-276.

Applications:

Please send your application in English (CV and a short letter of intent) to idealism2011@gmail.com. The deadline for applications is March 15, 2011. Participants must have a degree in philosophy. All texts and discussions will be in English. The course will be open to max. 40 participants.

Stipends:

For foreign graduate students, there are some stipends available, which cover travel expenses and part of the accommodation. To apply for a stipend, please send a short, separate letter that explains your need for financial support.

Please note that there are no registration or course fees for the summer school.

Accommodation:

We will help all participants find accommodation in Bonn (youth hostel, hotel rooms). More information regarding housing will be made available soon. Please contact Matt Congdon, the student organizer of the school at: idealism2011@gmail.com. Aside from a conference dinner, the participants will be responsible for meals.

via http://www.idealism.uni-bonn.de/.