Ancient Philosophy Society

Two long time members of the APS have co-edited a volume entitled: Plato’s Laws: Force and Truth in Politics. 

Here is what Indiana University Press says:

Readers of Plato have often neglected the Laws because of its length and density. In this set of interpretive essays, notable scholars of the Laws from the fields of classics, history, philosophy, and political science offer a collective close reading of the dialogue “book by book” and reflect on the work as a whole. In their introduction, editors Gregory Recco and Eric Sanday explore the connections among the essays and the dramatic and productive exchanges between the contributors. This volume fills a major gap in studies on Plato’s dialogues by addressing the cultural and historical context of the Laws and highlighting their importance to contemporary scholarship.

Our own Marina McCoy of Boston College writes:

A diverse set of intelligent and original essays on the Laws featuring some of the best names in American scholarship.

Congratulations to Greg and Eric and to all the contributors published in this volume.

Poetics Versus Philosophy: Life, Artifact, and Theory
Texas A & M University
April 11‐13, 2013

Since Plato, the controversy between poetry and the philosophical project has been legendary, repeated in multiple variations throughout history until the present day. This initial antagonistic gesture by the ancient philosopher against poets can perhaps lead us to expand our range of reflection about crucial topics today, such as the semantic and syntactic mysteries of artistic and scientific artifacts, or the imaginary value that dwells within theoretical speculation. Creating an interdisciplinary dialogue between fields such as art and architecture, philosophy, political and natural sciences, poetical and literary studies is unavoidable. The unresolved ancestral conflict between poetry and rational knowledge must be restated for the 21st Century; this conflict serves as a metaphor around which this symposium is conceived.

Keynote speaker:

Marjorie Perloff
Emeriti Distinguished Professor at Stanford University
Former President of the Modern Language Association of America

Invited Speakers:

Charles Bernstein
Donald T. Regan Professor of English and Comparative
Literature, University of Pennsylvania

Ida Vitale
Author, Poet, and Translator

Jennifer Ann Bates
Associate Professor of Philosophy, Duquesne University

Possible topics for discussion include but are not limited to:

• Reception of American poetics in Spanish writing
• Reception of Hispanic poetics in American writing
• Aesthetic theory and philosophy of art in the Spanish language
• The hidden political character of poetic and artistic invention
• New horizons in aesthetics
• Scientific and artistic artifacts helping us to understand the complexity of life
• The nature of the artist´s meditation
• Utopia and possibility of unification of human knowledge
• New sources of architectural thinking
• Poetical a priorities in theoretical models
• Authors on authors
• Translation and Trans‐creation
• Memory and Mourning
• Exile and artistic thinking on displacement
• The teaching of creative thinking and writing
• Visual thinking

To submit a proposal for consideration, please send an abstract of 300 words to Professor Theodore George, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Texas A&M University, at t‐george@philosophy.tamu.edu.

The deadline for submission to the symposium is February 14th, 2013.

Golden Dome by ndbutter via Flickr

We are very excited to welcome everyone to South Bend, Indiana and the University of Notre Dame for the 13th annual meeting of the Ancient Philosophy Society, April 4-7, 2013.

The #APS13 Program is available.

You are now invited to register for the conference by visiting our Conference Registration page with the Philosophy Documentation Center:

http://www.pdcnet.org/pages/Services/2013-APS-Conference.htm

Please note that early registration is open until March 14, 2013, at which point the registration fee increases by $20 for both faculty and graduate students.  So register early!

Hotel reservations may be made at the Fairfield Inn & Suites South Bend by phone (574) 234-5510. The special room rate is $114.