history of philosophy
TagThe Philosopher’s Archive in the Digital Age: David Lewis and His Correspondence (guest post)
“There are both intellectual and practical questions here. On the intellectual side, a major question is how the medium of email affects the communication and discussion of philosophical ideas… On the practical side… how do we approach the job of preserving a philosopher’s emails after her death, assuming there is sufficient scholarly interest in her corresponde..
Using “Distant Reading” to Complement Close Reading
“I don’t think the computers will ever replace the people when it comes to interpreting philosophical texts. It’s rather that we humans can use computers to help keep ourselves honest and unearth patterns that would be difficult to detect if we did everything manually.” (more…)
Overlooked Originators in Philosophy
Sometimes, one person comes up with an idea, but the idea later comes to commonly be attributed to someone else. When has this happened in philosophy? (more…)
Found: a Key to Understanding Hobbes’ Influence on Locke (and Locke’s Character)
A recent discovery casts new light on the influence of Thomas Hobbes on John Locke, and on the kind of person Locke was. (more…)
Underappreciated Philosophical Friendships
In a new article, Michael Kremer (University of Chicago) describes the results of some philosophical detective work he did uncovering the “philosophical friendship” of Margaret McDonald and Gilbert Ryle. (more…)
British Journal for the History of Philosophy Awards Best Article Prize
The British Journal for the History of Philosophy has announced the recipient of the 2020 Rogers Prize—its annual prize for the best article it publishes. (more…)
2020 Journal of the History of Philosophy Book Prize
The 2020 Journal of the History of Philosophy (JHP) Book Prize, for books published in 2019, has been awarded to Sanford Shieh, professor of philosophy at Wesleyan University. (more…)
Aristotle’s Sexism & Simplifying Historical Ideas “to Fit a Modern Agenda”
“It is often not a good idea to simplify the history of ideas in order to fit a modern agenda.” (more…)
Leisinger Wins 2020 Sanders Prize in Early Modern Philosophy
Matthew Leisinger, assistant professor of philosophy at York University, is the winner of the 2020 Sanders Prize in Early Modern Philosophy. (more…)
Two Letters Attributed to Hume Are Fakes
Two letters attributed to Hume are in fact forgeries completed in the late 1960s, according to a study by Felix Waldmann (Cambridge) recently published in the Journal of British Studies. (more…)
Interactive Visualization of Philosophy on Wikipedia
How does Wikipedia “see” philosophy? (more…)
If You Could Ask A Dead Philosopher…
Suppose you could ask a dead philosopher one question. Who would you ask, and what would you ask them? (more…)
Are Philosophical Classics Too Difficult for Students? (guest post by Martin Lenz)
AÂ crucial point of teaching is to convey means to find out where exactly the difficulties lie and why they arise. That requires all sorts of texts—primary, secondary, tertiary, etc.
The Margins of Philosophy (guest post by Peter Adamson)
“We need to understand the ‘minor figures’ to understand the ‘major figures’ adequately. But that’s not the only reason to be interested in minor figures, or to bring them to the attention of a wider audience. There is also the fact that apparently minor figures are sometimes major figures.” (more…)
A History of Philosophy Journals Using Topic Modeling (guest post by Brian Weatherson)
When you go looking for patterns in over 32,000 academic philosophy articles, what will you learn? (more…)
British Journal for the History of Philosophy Awards Best Article Prize
The British Journal for the History of Philosophy has announced the recipient of the 2019 Rogers Prize, its annual best article prize. (more…)
Journal of the History of Philosophy Article Prize
The Board of Directors of the Journal of the History of Philosophy has selected Jessica Moss (New York University) and Whitney Schwab (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) as the winners of the journal’s 2019 Best Article Prize. (more…)
Improvement in Philosophy over Time
“If Aristotle lived today, there is no way that he would be an Aristotelian.” That winning line is from a recent critique of the history of philosophy by Michael Huemer (Colorado). (more…)
Journal of the History of Philosophy Announces Book Prize Winner
The Journal of the History of Philosophy has announced the winner of it 2019 book prize, which is awarded for the best book written in history of philosophy in 2018. (more…)
A Lesson of the Global History of Philosophy: Humility
“There’s something profoundly and instructively humbling in the realization that contemporary thought is not as far advanced as we are often inclined to suppose.” (more…)
The Current State of Early Modern Philosophy
“While no one was looking, contextualism replaced rational reconstructionism (also known as ‘appropriationism,’ ‘presentism,’ and ‘collegialism’) as the dominant methodology among English-speaking early modern historians of philosophy.” (more…)
Australasian Journal of Philosophy Reaches Out to Historians
The Australasian Journal of Philosophy (AJP) has been making efforts to publish more history of philosophy.
Contemporary Philosophy Is “Only the Most Recent Part of the History of Philosophy”
Why study the history of philosophy? That’s a question Clifford Sosis (Coastal Carolina) asks Peter Adamson (LMU) in a new interview at What Is It Like To Be A Philosopher? (more…)
Should contemporary philosophers read Ockham? Or: what did history ever do for us? (guest post by Martin Lenz)
“Although we like to think that the pursuit of truth is central, it’s by far not the only reason why debates arise and certain concepts are coined and stick around, while others are forgotten.” (more…)
2018 Journal of the History of Philosophy Best Article Prize Awarded
Journal of the History of Philosophy Book Prize Winner Announced
The Journal of the History of Philosophy has announced the winner of it 2018 book prize, which is awarded for the best book written in history of philosophy in 2017. (more…)
On the Relevance and Othering of the History of Philosophy (guest post by Martin Lenz)
The following is a guest post* by Martin Lenz (University of Groningen). A version of it first appeared at his blog, Handling Ideas. (more…)
Creating a Semantic Network of the History of Philosophy
“Our goal is to create a repository of semantic maps for a large range of philosophers and freely share those maps with anyone who’s interested,” says philosopher Mark Alfano (Delft University of Technology and Australian Catholic University). But he needs your help. (more…)