We are glad to inform you that the International Conference of the Schweizerischen Philosophischen Gesellschaft will be held at the University of Basel on September 6-8, 2018.

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The question „What is Geist [mind/spirit]?“ is one of the fundamental questions of philosophy. It concerns our understanding of ourselves as conscious beings. We refer to our thoughts, our perceptions and our sensations as “mental states”. We wonder about the place of mind in the cosmos and in the evolution of nature. In the institutions that govern our actions we recognize the realization of a certain spirit: with Montesquieu we speak of the “spirit of laws”, with Hegel of the “objective spirit” of the state, with Max Weber of “protestant ethics and the spirit of capitalism” – or we are disturbed by the “new spirit of capitalism” (Luc Boltanski/Éve Chiapello) of our age. With Kant, we say that a work of art does not merely follow a certain set of rules, but that it has “spirit”, or – in the wake of Kandinsky – we search for the “spiritual in art”. In religion we are confronted with the concept of a “Holy Spirit” and the “Spirit of the Creator”. But what is Geist?

The conference explores possible answers to this question in 24 panels that range across six sections. Each panel contains three talks with subsequent discussions. In addition to the panel presentations there will be six keynotes by international speakers.

Here you can find the Conference program. 

Contact:

nadja.heller@unibas.ch

Location:

Kollegienhaus der Universität Basel, Petersplatz 1, 4001 Basel, Schweiz

Conference fee:

30.- CHF  / 15.- CHF (Students)

For more information regarding this event, please check this link.