This new book by Dr David James eloquently explores the connections between different types of necessity: practical, conceptual, normative and historical. Additionally, it contrasts relevant features of the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes (1558-1679) with a philosophical tradition that extends from Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) to Karl Marx (1818-1883). In his text, David James demonstrates the need to understand the question of freedom with recourse to the concept of practical necessity.

We are delighted to announce that the 3rd Warwick Continental Philosophy Conference will take place on 26-27 March 2021, and will be an online event. The theme will be ‘Continental Philosophy and Its Histories’, and it will explore how Continental Philosophy engages with the ‘Thinkers’ that belong to its history: what is it to ‘read’ Plato, Spinoza, Kant, or Nietzsche in Continental Philosophy? How important is the canon, and what is its methodological and philosophical significance? Should we keep putting forward various creative (mis)readings of past philosophers or, as Husserl suggested early on, is it better to get rid of the past and proceed afresh with a new method? Key Speakers include Professor Stella Sandford (Kingston University), Dr Mogens Laerke (CNRS) and Dr Francey Russell (Columbia University).

 To this end, the Warwick Continental Philosophy Conference Organising Committee invites papers in Continental or European Philosophy focusing on Continental Philosophy and its Histories, broadly understood. The deadline for Abstract submissions is 22 January 2021. For further details about the conference and guidelines for Abstract Submissions, see here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/philosophy/research/activities/postkantian/events/wcpc

 This conference is made possible by generous funding provided by the University of Warwick Philosophy Department and British Society for the History of Philosophy. It is an annual event within The Centre for Research in Post-Kantian European Philosophy (University of Warwick).

We are pleased to announce that Professor Guy Longworth has been appointed Head of the Department of Philosophy, and succeeds Professor Fabienne Peter in the role from January 2021.

Guy’s main research interests concern language, mind, knowledge, and understanding, and also some aspects of the history of philosophy.

Guy is a member of the Executive Committee of The Aristotelian Society, as well as serving as Editor of the Society’s Proceedings.

The Department of Philosophy has significant representation in the new Social Sciences Fellowships webpages, now officially launched by Research and Impact Services. The new webpages profile and celebrate recently-awarded Fellowships across all three Faculties of Social Sciences, Arts and Medicine, Engineering and Science. See here: https://warwick.ac.uk/research/supporting-talent/fellowships

The new web content showcases, and gives prominence to Fellows from across the Academy, and aligns with the ‘Supporting Talent’ element of the University’s Research Strategy. The comprehensive pre-existing list of all Fellowships/Prizes since 2015 has also been updated as part of this initiative.

The month of October sees the publication of a new book by Keith Ansell-Pearson, co-authored with Rebecca Bamford. The book presents a detailed, focused study of Friedrich Nietzsche’s text, ‘Dawn: Thoughts on the Presumptions of Morality’ (1881). This is a text which Nietzsche conceived as representing a break with the obscurantism of German philosophy and a work of sceptical enlightenment. Ansell-Pearson and Bamford approach Nietzsche’s text as a work of experimental philosophy that seeks to disable dogmatism in philosophy and invites its readers to actively participate in the activity of critical and novel modes of thinking.

The authors explore the contemporary relevance of Nietzsche’s text in relation to the enlightenment theme of combatting fear, superstition, moral and religious fanaticism, and other themes relevant to today’s reader, and they do so in a format that is both engaging and accessible. ‘Nietzsche’s Dawn’ is the first specific study in the English-speaking world of this neglected but key work, and contextualises its achievements within the context of Nietzsche’s life and other writings. See here for publication details: https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/search?pq=Keith%20Ansell-Pearson%7Crelevance