Powers, Dispositions, and Abilities in Early Modern Philosophy

3^rd Berlin-Hamburg Workshop in Early Modern Philosophy

Humboldt University, Berlin, June 11-12, 2020
Submission deadline: January 31, 2020
Organizers: Sebastian Bender (HU), Dominik Perler (HU), and Stephan Schmid (UHH)

Powers, dispositions, and abilities play a key role in early modern philosophy. They are invoked in many debates, ranging from metaphysics and natural philosophy to ethics and political philosophy. But what exactly are they? How can they be individuated? And what kind of explanatory function do they have in different contexts? The goal of the workshop is to deal with these problems by analyzing them both in theoretical and practical philosophy. We invite abstracts of no more than 500 words on the topic Powers, Dispositions, and Abilities in Early Modern Philosophy (construed, roughly, as the period from Montaigne to Reid) for a workshop co-organized by the philosophy departments of Humboldt University Berlin and Hamburg University (HU-UHH). The workshop aims to bring together established scholars, junior faculty, and advanced graduate students, and will take place at Humboldt University in Berlin on June 11 and 12, 2020. The language of presentation and discussion is English. Confirmed keynote speakers are Jennifer Marušić (Brandeis University and Humboldt University) and Markus Schrenk (Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf). Any questions may be directed to hu.uhh.earlymodern@gmail.com.