Philosophy Reading Groups
Heidegger Reading Group
We are happy to announce that the Heidegger Reading Group will continue in term 2! This time, we will read a couple of Heidegger’s essays, starting with “What is Metaphysics?” today. We will decide on the other readings successively, but they will for example include ‘On the Essence of Ground’ and the ‘Letter on Humanism’. Everybody is invited to join. Additionally, we will stream the reading group via Microsoft Teams so that Haley Burke can join from Texas; if you cannot attend in person and would like to participate online as well, please get in touch with Frido.
Time: every Monday during term, 5-6.30 p.m. (08. January – 11. March 2024)
Location: FAB1.05
Contact: fridolin.neumann@warwick.ac.uk
-------
Metaethics Reading Group
This new Reading Group is an informal reading group in metaethics. Many of us are interested in the field, but could do a better job of talking with one another. In addition, Kirk Surgener and Emily Bassett are interested in developing an upper level course in metaethics designed to complement the existing provision. This Reading Group will hopefully get input from Undergraduate students as well as PGs and staff, so that students can meaningfully contribute to the design of the course, following the model of the philosophy of race reading group that Eileen John co-ordinated. The format is quite relaxed - we will meet every other week to discuss a paper which we will all have read ahead of time.
Everyone is very welcome, especially Undergraduate students. We would like UGs to contribute to the selection and presentation of the papers for the second term, so the more who come the better. We’d also be happy to accept sessions led by multiple students.
If anyone has follow up questions, or wishes to talk through an idea for a session, please get in touch with Emily (E.Bassett@warwick.ac.uk) or Kirk (K.A.Surgener@warwick.ac.uk).
------
'Afflictions of Mind' Reading Group
We are thrilled to launch a new reading group - 'Afflictions of Mind'. We will be reading and discussing topics in the philosophy of psychiatry, mental health, and ethics in medicine. The group is open to all undergraduates, postgraduates and staff, who are interested in the topics as well as who may have personal experiences. We will be meeting in S0.52, between 14:00-15:30, Wednesdays in weeks 2, 4, 8, and 10 (Term 2).
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/philosophy/research/researchcentres/wma/graduates/afflictionsofmind/
Week 2. Imagination
‘Of the power of imagination’ by Montaigne
Week 4: Addiction
‘Responsibility without Blame for Addiction’ by Hanna Pickard
Week 8: Delusion
‘Derationalizing Delusions’ by V. Bell, N. Raihani, and S. Wilkinson
Week 10: TBC
If you are interested in attending (PDFs of the papers will be provided) or giving a brief presentation of the paper, please email Oscar (Oscar.North-Concar@warwick.ac.uk) or Chenwei (chenwei.nie@warwick.ac.uk).
------
The Moral and Political Philosophy Reading Group
This group will focus on reading key Moral and Political philosophical texts. This year we are reading Hegel's Philosophy of Right published in 1821. This work has been described by Stephen Houlgate as 'one of the greatest works of social and political philosophy ever written.' The book traces the true realization of freedom and free will via Hegel's immanent process of dialectics. Arguably, this book is still pertinent and relevant for our times: not only does it acknowledge that freedom can be enhanced by economic opportunities, but, moreover, it recognizes that unregulated capitalism is a cause of alienation, inequality and poverty.
Everybody welcome!
Time and location: Wednesdays, 6pm-7.30pm
Contact: Andrew Paull to receive further information and get the link to participate.
-------
Borges, Fiction, and Philosophy Reading Group
The short stories of Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) are masterworks of philosophical fiction and so his work has an enduring significance for readers and writers of all kinds since. In this reading group, we will discuss several of these short stories over the second half of term 2 and in term 3. All are welcome. Reading fiction and philosophy can feel like a labyrinth and with Borges as a guide we will, I hope, not get too lost.
The group is planned to be held online on MS teams every Wednesday at 2pm until 3pm. The first session will run in week 5, in which we will discuss the short stories The Aleph and The Zahir. Both can be found in the short story collection that is also titled The Aleph. There are several collections of Borges stories available and acquiring any should be helpful for the reading group. I’ll be reading the English translations in the Penguin modern classics editions, but having any editions should be fine. If you need help finding texts, please email me. No prior familiarity with Borges is required, and all students and staff, in philosophy or otherwise, are welcome.
Time and location: Wednesdays, 2pm-3pm on MS Teams
Contact: James.Roe@warwick.ac.uk for further information and a link to participate.
'Getting Acquainted With Art' by Matt Duncan and Hannah Nahas
Getting Acquainted with Art
By Matt Duncan and Hannah Nahas
We learn from art. By viewing, hearing, touching, creating, performing, and in yet other ways interacting with art, we gain new knowledge—knowledge that we wouldn’t have had, and perhaps couldn’t have had, without encountering that art. That’s obvious. But what is less obvious is the nature, or structure, of this knowledge—what constitutes it. A standard assumption in contemporary analytic philosophy is that all knowledge is and must be propositional—that is, constituted by beliefs in propositions. However, this assumption, despite being standard, has come under attack in recent years. One front in this attack comes from aesthetics and philosophy of art, where some philosophers have claimed that some knowledge gained from art is non-propositional. In this paper we will fortify and expand this front by giving new reasons to think that some knowledge from art is indeed non-propositional and is instead “knowledge of things,” which is constituted, not by beliefs in propositions, but by awareness of properties and objects. We will also fill a gap in the contemporary literature by giving an account of this knowledge—of its nature, structure, and relation to other knowledge.
Diversity Reading Group List
Start a New Reading Group
If you wish to start a reading group, please complete this form. If you need help booking a room please email philosophyoffice@warwick.ac.uk