British Wittgenstein Society

41st INTERNATIONAL WITTGENSTEIN SYMPOSIUM 2018

Kirchberg am Wechsel, Austria, 5th – 11th of August 2018

PHILOSOPHY OF LOGIC AND MATHEMATICS

Scientific Organizers:

Gabriele Mras (Vienna)

Paul Weingartner (Salzburg)

Bernhard Ritter (Klagenfurt)

SECTIONS:

1. Wittgenstein
2. Traditional and Modern Logic
3. The Structural Complexity of Judgments – Propositions – Sentences
4. Logic: Absolute Normativity or Alternatives
5. The Infinite
6. Foundations of Mathematics

WORKSHOP 1: Wittgenstein on the Philosophy of Mathematics,

1937–1939: The Projected Early Version of PI." – with Joachim Schulte

WORKSHOP 2: Logical Paradoxes – with Hannes Leitgeb

LIST OF CONFIRMED SPEAKERS:

Matthias Baaz (Vienna)

Francesco Berto (Amsterdam)

Jean-Yves Béziau (Rio de Janeiro)

Günther Eder (Vienna)

Susan Edwards-McKie (Cambridge)

Oliver Feldmann (Vienna)

Juliet Floyd (Boston)

Pasquale Frascolla (Potenza, Basilicata)

Volker Halbach (Oxford)

Richard Heinrich (Vienna)

Wolfgang Kienzler (Jena)

Sandra Lapointe (Hamilton, Ontario)

Hannes Leitgeb (Munich)

Bernard Linsky (Edmonton, Alberta)

Itala Maria Loffredo D’Ottaviano (Campinas)

Paolo Mancosu (Berkeley)

Mathieu Marion (Montréal)

Felix Mühlhölzer (Göttingen)

Julien Murzi (Salzburg)

Michael Potter (Cambridge)

Christoph C. Pfisterer (Zurich)

Richard Raatzsch (Wiesbaden)

Esther Ramharter (Vienna)

Štefan Riegelnik (Zurich)

Georg Schiemer (Munich)

Joachim Schulte (Zurich)

Dana Scott (Pittsburgh)

Stewart Shapiro (Columbus, Ohio)

Gila Sher (San Diego)

Karl Sigmund (Vienna)

Isidora Stojanovic (Paris)

Barry Stroud (Berkeley)

William W. Tait (Chicago)

Mark van Atten (Paris)

Maria van der Schaar (Leiden)

Vladimir Vasyukov (Moscow)

Jan von Plato (Helsinki)

Heinrich Wansing (Bochum)

Jan Woleński (Kraków)

Michael Wolff (Bielefeld)

Richard Zach (Calgary)

Deadline for submission of contributed papers (to section 1-6):

March 30, 2018

(Instructions for authors:

www.alws.at/index.php/symposium/view/call_for_papers/)

Antecedent to the symposium:

10th LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN SUMMER SCHOOL 2018

(Juliet Floyd, Mathieu Marion)

July 31st – August 4th, 2018 in Kirchberg am Wechsel, Austria

Topic:

Wittgenstein´s Philosophy of Mathematics

With: Juliet Floyd (Boston) and Mathieu Marion (Montréal)

Scientific Organization and Direction: Volker A. Munz (Klagenfurt)

(For applications see:

alws.at/index.php/summerschool/view/summerschool_10th_ludwig_wittgenstein_summer_school_2018)

For further information:

www.alws.at/

Wittgenstein and Hegel – Reevaluation of Difference

TU Dresden, Germany

June 28–30, 2017

“Hegel seems to me to be always wanting to say that things which look different are really the same. Whereas my interest is in showing that things which look the same are really different.” (Recollections of Wittgenstein)

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

James Conant (Chicago)
Rico Gutschmidt (Chicago)
Bruno Haas (Dresden)
Herbert Hrachovec (Vienna)
Karl-Friedrich Kiesow (Hannover)
David Kolb (Bates College)
Ingolf Max (Leipzig)
Aloisia Moser (Linz)
Thomas Rentsch (Dresden)
Pirmin Stekeler-Weithofer (Leipzig)
Gottfried Gabriel (Constance)

ORGANIZED BY

Alexander Berg (TU Dresden & Charles University Prague)
Jakub Mácha (Masaryk University Brno)
Louisa Frintert (TU Dresden)
Marco Kleber (TU Dresden)
Alexander Romahn (University of Leipzig)

HOW TO DETERMINE THE DIFFERENCE “HEGEL AND WITTGENSTEIN”?

Wittgenstein once said: “Hegel seems to me to be always wanting to say that things which look different are really the same. Whereas my interest is in showing that things which look the same are really different.” (Recollections of Wittgenstein, ed. by Rush Rhees, Oxford 1981, p. 157) This difference between Hegel’s and Wittgenstein’s thinking has been seldom raised despite being, from a contemporary point of view, particularly pertinent.

According to Hegel, the purpose of philosophy is to consider the thoughts of its respective periods. While Wittgenstein was a focal point of 20th century philosophical discourse, it was Hegel’s philosophy that brought the essential discourses of the 19th century together. After this convergence different movements began to individuate themselves from his system of thinking, allowing for the development of the analytical-continental split in the 20th Century. This now-outdated conflict, which was promoted by Bradley and Russell, took for granted Hegel and Wittgenstein’s opposing positions and is being replaced by a continuous progression and differentiation of several authors, schools, and philosophical traditions, which themselves are guided by various interests, shades, and transitions.
The term ‘split’, however, is anachronistic, problematic, and, therefore, the two, Hegel und Wittgenstein, must be reconciled. It is because of the lack of overlap between these two internally developed spheres of thought that this schism still exists in 20th Century philosophical scholarship. This stems from the split and the institutions themselves. Subsequently, each has a serious interest in the other’s research, specifically how it might impact their own.
The development is already evident in the tendency to identify a progression from a “Kantian” to a “Hegelian phase” of analytical philosophy as well as in the extension of right and left Hegelian approaches by modern and postmodern concepts.
In this process it has become quite clear that the systemic interests of Wittgenstein and Hegel – be it in philosophy of mind, logic, philosophy of science or in other areas – coincide stronger than anticipated by one-dimensional, traditional paradigmatic analyses. This recognition of shared systematical interests opens up new constructive and productive ways of relating both paradigmatic theories.
Taking this into consideration it is reasonable to suppose that assessing the difference between Wittgenstein and Hegel will outline different intersections of 21st century's variously differentiated philosophical discourse. We hope that not only will the contemplation of Hegel’s thinking bring about a deeper understanding of Wittgenstein's research, but that Wittgensteinian scholarship will also allow for new answers to old Hegelian problems. A conjoint holistic philosophical discourse remains our discipline's ambition.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

Anticipation of Wittgensteinian motives in Hegel’s philosophy
Hegelian motives in Wittgenstein’s thinking
Wittgenstein’s reception of Hegel’s philosophy
The role of Neo-Hegelianism and British idealism in the emergence of analytic philosophy
Differences between Hegel’s and Wittgenstein’s philosophical approaches as they relate to the analytic-continental split

CALL FOR PAPERS

Some slots are reserved for contributed papers. There are no parallel sections. We invite submissions for a 30 minute presentation followed by a 20 minute discussion. Papers may be submitted on any issue falling within the conference theme. Please send an abstract in English or in German as attachment (about 500 words), prepared for multiple blind review, to by March 31, 2017. The author’s name and affiliation should be included in the body of the e-mail. Notification of acceptance will be given by April 22, 2017. It should go without saying, but we highly encourage submissions from those who are traditionally under-represented. Conference languages are English and German. For all accepted speakers, we provide free accommodation during the conference.

WEBSITE

For more information, visit our conference website:

wittgensteinhegel2017.phidd.de
Please do not hesitate to contact the organizers () if you have any questions about the conference. ​​

The conference is funded by the Graduate Academy of the Dresden University of Technology and by the Excellence Initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Video (external link)

Grillparzerhaus, Johannesgasse 6, 1010 Wien

Talks at the Grillparzerhaus

A co-operation of the WITTGENSTEIN INITIATIVE and the FRITT ORD FOUNDATION

12 and 13 April 2016

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) is recognised as the most influential philosopher of the 20th century. His impact continues to be strong not only in philosophy, but also in literature, aesthetics, economics and social sciences. Born and educated in Vienna into one of the most affluent and culturally active families of the Habsburg Empire, Wittgenstein spent the most productive and happy periods in his life in Norway, where he produced some of his major writings. Wittgenstein was influenced by Norwegian culture already in the family circle in Vienna - Ibsen was a beloved author of the Wittgensteins. What Ludwig inherited from them and it remained deeply rooted in him throughout his life, was the feeling of duty towards cultural values and social responsibility. As his father had financed the Vienna Secession and the Academy of Sciences, so Ludwig Wittgenstein made in 1914 a large financial contribution to artists in need, among them Rainer Maria Rilke, Adolf Loos and Georg Trakl.

In this symposium, a major emphasis will be put for the first time in Vienna on Wittgenstein's connection with Norway and the recent Norwegian contributions to Wittgenstein research - in general education, as well as at the Wittgenstein Archives in Bergen. Leading Norwegian intellectuals will debate his relevance today, thus setting an example in his city of birth.

An emphasis will be put also on the tradition of Wittgenstein's family as patrons of modern art, Ludwig Wittgenstein's own example highlighted, and parallels will be drawn between his time and cultural funding in today's world. In addition the Literature Museum in Vienna will contribute towards Wittgenstein's importance as a writer and a representative of Modernism.

wittgenstein-initiative.com/2016/03/25/ludwig-wittgenstein-philosoph-dichter-und-mazen/

WITTGENSTEIN and NORWAY

wittgenstein-initiative.com/2016/03/24/wittgenstein-und-norwegen/

Knut Olav Åmås (Stiftung Fritt Ord, Moderation)
Marjorie Perloff (Stanford University)
Alois Pichler (Wittgenstein Archiv, Universität Bergen)
Kjetil Trædal Thorsen (Snøhetta Architektur)

Ludwig Wittgenstein spent some of his most important and productive periods in Skjolden in the Norwegian Sognefjord between 1913 and 1950. What did he find and accomplish there? And why did one of the most important thinkers of the last century chose, on several occasions, to leave privileged circles in Vienna and Cambridge and to live in rural parts of Austria, Ireland, and Norway? Was Wittgenstein a philosopher in exile? How would such a person be regarded today? Would he ever get a position at a university?

CULTURE and SCIENCE FUNDING TODAY

wittgenstein-initiative.com/2016/02/11/kultur-und-wissenschaftsforderung-heute/

Knut Olav Åmås (Stiftung Fritt Ord, Moderation)
Steven Beller (Washington DC, Historiker)
Ilyas Khan (Stanhill Foundation)
Eva Nowotny (Österreichische Kommission für UNESCO)
Bjørn Øiulfstad (Norwegischer Stiftungsverband)
Christian Witt-Dörring (Neue Galerie New York)

In what ways are arts, culture and science/research funded today? And how do the different funding models influence the activities and results? The relation between public and private funding is quite different from country to country. What is the situation today in Scandinavia/Norway, Austria, Great Britain, and the United States? And what can we learn from the philanthropists today and the last hundred years?

WITTGENSTEIN and MODERNITY

wittgenstein-initiative.com/2016/02/11/wittgenstein-und-die-moderne/

James Conant (University of Chicago)
Ray Monk (University of Southampton)
Alfred Schmidt (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Moderation)

In the early twentieth century, Vienna’s artistic and cultural landscape experienced an unprecedented shift toward modernity: Adolf Loos and the Secession movement, Arnold Schönberg, Jung Wien and Karl Kraus, Sigmund Freud, Ernst Mach and the Vienna Circle—just to mention the most important names. Proceeding from Janik’s and Toulmin’s thesis in Wittgenstein’s Vienna, the question will be explored regarding to what extent Ludwig Wittgenstein’s philosophical work is deeply rooted in this very specific culture of Viennese modernity.

PHILOSOPHY and LITERATURE

wittgenstein-initiative.com/2016/02/11/philosophie-und-literatur/

In co-operation with the Literaturmuseum of the Austrian National Library and Der Standard

Isolde Charim (Moderation)
László F. Földényi
Allan Janik (Brenner Archiv)
Robert Menasse
Marjorie Perloff (Stanford University)

„Philosophie dürfte man eigentlich nur dichten“
(Wittgenstein: Vermischte Bemerkungen / Culture and Value, 12.12.1933)

What is the connection between poetry and philosophy? What do literary and philosophical texts have in common? —Representatives from science and literature will be discussing the reciprocal relationships between literature and philosophy.

Secretary General
Wittgenstein Initiative
Kriehubergasse 15/23, 1050 Wien
Tel: +43 699 19238373
www.wittgenstein-initiative.com