When:
Friday, October 14, 2016
All day
Contact:
Will Cochran
Group: NU Ancient Philosophy Workshop
Category: Academic
The eleventh biennial conference of the Chicago Area Consortium in Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy. The conference will convene at Northwestern (on Friday, Oct. 14), and the University of Chicago (on Saturday, Oct. 15).
The Chicago Area Consortium for Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy is holding its eleventh biennial conference on October 14–15, 2016. The topic will be on the question of “evil”, or what is “bad” (kakon). This is the complement of a previous conference, entitled “Beauty, Harmony, and the Good”, which explored the concept of kalon. The conference will confront the highly controversial question: is there a concept of “evil” in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy? Or is this primarily a Christian concept? The Greek term kakon is usually translated as “bad”. But what is the “bad”? It is discussed by the ancients under many aspects, such as misfortune in human life; the resistance of matter to the teleological ordering of the world; moral error or ignorance; and excess, or disharmony. In a moral context, can it signify “evil”, or is it merely a kind of disharmony or malfunction? Kalon, too, is an evasive concept. For want of a better term, it is often translated as “fine”, a term that straddles both “beautiful” and “good”. Students of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy have mostly focused on the goal of life, normally designated as kalon, giving only subordinate attention to its opposite. This conference will zero in on the opposite. We intend to explore the concept of “bad” over a wide historical period, from early Greek philosophy to late antiquity, with a forward look to contemporary issues. At first glance, it might seem that Greco-Roman philosophy has little to contribute on the question of “evil”. It is time to bring it in confrontation with later ideas, to see whether there is a continuity, and what is the difference. We expect this conference both to impel new research on the question and to shed new light on subjects of current philosophical concern.
Webpage: https://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/evil/
Program:
Program
Friday, October 14
Northwestern University | Guild Lounge | Scott Hall | 601 University Place | Evanston, IL 60208
12:00–1:30 Lunch in Evanston for speakers and organizers
2:00–3:45 Gábor Betegh (Cambridge University): “Plato on Illness”
Comments: Jason Rheins (Loyola University Chicago)
Chair: Liz Asmis (University of Chicago)
4:00–5:45 Stephen Engstrom (University of Pittsburgh): “Virtue and Vice in Aristotle and Kant”
Comments: Matt Boyle (University of Chicago)
Chair: Rory Hanlon (University of Chicago)
5:45–6:45 Reception
7:00 Dinner in Evanston
Saturday, October 15
University of Chicago | The Franke Institute | Regenstein Library 102 |1100 E 57th St | Chicago, IL 60637
9:00–10:45 Rachel Barney (University of Toronto): “Becoming Bad”
Comments: Demetra Kasimis (University of Chicago)
Chair: Constance Meinwald (University of Illinois at Chicago)
11:00–12:45 Yelena Baraz (Princeton University): “Arrogant as a king: pride as a quintessential tyrannical vice in Roman thought”
Comments: Grant Nelsestuen (University of Wisconsin)
Chair: Agnes Callard (University of Chicago)
1:15–2:00 Catered lunch for all participants
2:00–3:45 Jan Opsomer (University of Leuven): “Alexander of Lycopolis: a Platonist polemic against the Manichaeans”
Comments: John Wynne (Northwestern University)
Chair: Emilio Comay del Junco (University of Chicago)
4:00–5:45 Mitzi Lee (University of Colorado): “Evil and Injustice in Aristotle’s Ethics”
Comments: Christopher Shields (University of Notre Dame)
Chair: Patricia Curd (Purdue University)
7:00 Dinner for participants
When:
Saturday, October 15, 2016
All day
Contact:
Will Cochran
Group: NU Ancient Philosophy Workshop
Category: Academic
The eleventh biennial conference of the Chicago Area Consortium in Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy. The conference will convene at Northwestern (on Friday, Oct. 14), and the University of Chicago (on Saturday, Oct. 15).
The Chicago Area Consortium for Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy is holding its eleventh biennial conference on October 14–15, 2016. The topic will be on the question of “evil”, or what is “bad” (kakon). This is the complement of a previous conference, entitled “Beauty, Harmony, and the Good”, which explored the concept of kalon. The conference will confront the highly controversial question: is there a concept of “evil” in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy? Or is this primarily a Christian concept? The Greek term kakon is usually translated as “bad”. But what is the “bad”? It is discussed by the ancients under many aspects, such as misfortune in human life; the resistance of matter to the teleological ordering of the world; moral error or ignorance; and excess, or disharmony. In a moral context, can it signify “evil”, or is it merely a kind of disharmony or malfunction? Kalon, too, is an evasive concept. For want of a better term, it is often translated as “fine”, a term that straddles both “beautiful” and “good”. Students of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy have mostly focused on the goal of life, normally designated as kalon, giving only subordinate attention to its opposite. This conference will zero in on the opposite. We intend to explore the concept of “bad” over a wide historical period, from early Greek philosophy to late antiquity, with a forward look to contemporary issues. At first glance, it might seem that Greco-Roman philosophy has little to contribute on the question of “evil”. It is time to bring it in confrontation with later ideas, to see whether there is a continuity, and what is the difference. We expect this conference both to impel new research on the question and to shed new light on subjects of current philosophical concern.
Webpage: https://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/evil/
Program:
Program
Friday, October 14
Northwestern University | Guild Lounge | Scott Hall | 601 University Place | Evanston, IL 60208
12:00–1:30 Lunch in Evanston for speakers and organizers
2:00–3:45 Gábor Betegh (Cambridge University): “Plato on Illness”
Comments: Jason Rheins (Loyola University Chicago)
Chair: Liz Asmis (University of Chicago)
4:00–5:45 Stephen Engstrom (University of Pittsburgh): “Virtue and Vice in Aristotle and Kant”
Comments: Matt Boyle (University of Chicago)
Chair: Rory Hanlon (University of Chicago)
5:45–6:45 Reception
7:00 Dinner in Evanston
Saturday, October 15
University of Chicago | The Franke Institute | Regenstein Library 102 |1100 E 57th St | Chicago, IL 60637
9:00–10:45 Rachel Barney (University of Toronto): “Becoming Bad”
Comments: Demetra Kasimis (University of Chicago)
Chair: Constance Meinwald (University of Illinois at Chicago)
11:00–12:45 Yelena Baraz (Princeton University): “Arrogant as a king: pride as a quintessential tyrannical vice in Roman thought”
Comments: Grant Nelsestuen (University of Wisconsin)
Chair: Agnes Callard (University of Chicago)
1:15–2:00 Catered lunch for all participants
2:00–3:45 Jan Opsomer (University of Leuven): “Alexander of Lycopolis: a Platonist polemic against the Manichaeans”
Comments: John Wynne (Northwestern University)
Chair: Emilio Comay del Junco (University of Chicago)
4:00–5:45 Mitzi Lee (University of Colorado): “Evil and Injustice in Aristotle’s Ethics”
Comments: Christopher Shields (University of Notre Dame)
Chair: Patricia Curd (Purdue University)
7:00 Dinner for participants