Past Events
Conference
Kierkegaard and the Philosophical Traditions
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Faculty of Humanities
Trondheim, Norway
August
9-10, 2012
Sponsored by The Nordic Network of Kierkegaard Research (NordForsk),
in
cooperation with The Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre and
NTNU’s Theory of Science Forum
Kierkegaard’s role as a philosopher has long been a disputed
one. While he has been hailed as the forerunner of
existentialism, he has also been described as a
poet-philosopher and dismissed by proponents of analytic
philosophy as “not a real philosopher.” But in recent years
scholars have begun to reconsider many of the established
views about Kierkegaard’s relation to philosophy. Today
Kierkegaard is gradually making his way into central
discussions in mainstream philosophy such as debates about
narrative identity, ethics, religion, and philosophy of
mind. At the same time he remains an important figure in
historical studies of 19th-century philosophy,
theology, and literature as well as in his relation to the
leading figures of the existentialist movement.
This
conference has as its goal to explore these various
relations by opening up for studies in source-work research,
history of reception, and current debates within philosophy
and related fields such as theology and literature.
Contact persons:
Roe Fremstedal:
roe.fremstedal@ntnu.no
Jon Stewart:
js@sk.ku.dk
Deadline for Registration: June 15,
2012.
Register at
sec@sk.ku.dk
Program
Thursday, August 9
9:10-9:15 Words
of Welcome: Roe Fremstedal (NTNU)
Morning Session I: Antiquity and the
Middle Ages
Chairperson: Roe Fremstedal
9:15-9:45
Lydia Amir (Tel-Aviv University),
“Kierkegaard and the Philosophical Traditions of the
Comic”
9:45-9:55
Discussion
09:55-10:25
Benjamin
Olivares Bøgeskov (University of Copenhagen),
“Kierkegaard and Thomism on Existence, Rationality and
Ethics: What They Know (or Think They Know) About Each
Other”
10:25-10:35
Discussion
10:35-10:45
Coffee/Tea Break
Morning Session II: Kantianism
10:45-11:15
Alison Assister (University of the
West of England), “Kant and Kierkegaard on Freedom and
Evil”
11:15-11:25
Discussion
11:25-11:55
Erik M. Hanson (University of
Colorado), “Kierkegaard and Kant: Selfhood, Radical Evil
and Despair”
11:55-12:05
Discussion
12:05-12:35
Roe Fremstedal (NTNU), “Kierkegaard
and Kant on Divine Revelation”
12:35-12:45
Discussion
12:45-13:30 Lunch
Afternoon Session I:
Idealism and Golden Age Denmark
13:30-14:00
Jon Stewart (University of
Copenhagen), “The Philosophical Background Behind
Kierkegaard’s Claim about the Relation between
Philosophy and Christianity in the Journal AA”
14:00-14:10
Discussion
14:10-14:40
Jamie
Turnbull (St. Olaf College), “Kierkegaard, Philosophy,
and Aestheticism”
14:40-14:50
Discussion
14:50-15:00
Coffee/Tea Break
Afternoon Session II:
Existentialism
15:00-15:30
Roi Benbassat (University of Haifa),
“Kierkegaard’s Distinction Between Existential and
Speculative Philosophy”
15:30-15:40
Discussion
15:40-16:10
K. Brian Söderquist (University of
Copenhagen), “Looks of the Other”
16:10-16:20
Discussion
16:20-16:40
Coffee/Tea Break
16:40-17:10
Hans Herlof Grelland (Agder
University), “The Concept of “Angst” in Søren
Kierkegaard and Edvard Munch, and Munch’s Relation to
Kierkegaard”
17:10-17:20
Discussion
Friday, August 10
Morning Session I: Phenomenology
9:00-9:30
Michael Strawser (University of
Central Florida), “Kierkegaard and Phenomenology”
9:30-9:40
Discussion
9:40-10:10
Dean Wm. Lauer (University of
Ottawa), “Kierkegaard’s Dialectical-Phenomenological
Understanding of Time”
10:10:10:20
Discussion
10:20-10:30
Coffee/Tea Break
Morning Session II: Political Theory
10:30-11:00
Ivan
Boldyrev (Humboldt University, Berlin and Higher School
of Economics, Moscow), “The Politics of Immediacy:
Bloch’s Reception of Kierkegaard in The Spirit of
Utopia”
11:00-11.10
Discussion
11:10-11:40
Helge Høibraaten (NTNU), “Carl
Schmitt: From Max Stirner to Søren Kierkegaard?”
11:40-11:50
Discussion
11:50-12:20
Marcio Gimenes de Paula
(University of Brasilia): "Hannah Arendt: Religion,
Politics and Influence of Kierkegaard"
12:20-12:30
Discussion
12:30-13:15
Lunch Break
Afternoon Session: Contemporary Debates
13:15-13:45
Mélissa Fox-Muraton (ESC Clermont
Graduate School of Management), “Habermas, Kierkegaard
and the Future of Ethics”
13:45-13:55
Discussion
13:55-14:25
Timothy P. Jackson (Emory
University), “Four Wishes for the Danish Socrates: What
I Would Prefer Kierkegaard to Have Said and Not Said”
14:25-14:35
Discussion
14:35-15:10
Coffee/Tea Break
Ph.D. Panel – Parallel Sessions
|
15:10-15:30 |
Klaus Viertbauer (University of
Salzburg), “The Structure of Revelation: A
Comparison of the Frameworks of Johann Gottlieb
Fichte and Søren Kierkegaard” |
Wolter Hartog (KU Leuven),
“Reconsidering Existentialist Ethics: Kierkegaard
and the Ethics of Becoming a Self” |
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15:30-15:40 |
Discussion |
Discussion |
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15:40-16:00 |
Morten Dahlback (NTNU), “From
Representation to Concept: Faith and Enlightenment
in Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit” |
Gerhard Thonhauser (University of
Vienna), “Anxiety in Kierkegaard and Heidegger: A
Reading Beyond Existentialism”
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16:00-16:10 |
Discussion |
Discussion |
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16:10-16:30 |
Claudine Davidshofer (Emory
University), “Kierkegaard and Hegel: Metaphysical
Transition and the Metaphysical Absolute” |
Stine Zink Kaasgaard (University
of Copenhagen), “Kierkegaard and a Change of Aspect”
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16:30-16:40 |
Discussion |
Discussion |
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16:40-17:00 |
Anne Louise Nielsen
(Aarhus University), “Åbenbaring eller incognito?” |
Justin Sands (KU Leuven), “The
Face of Abraham: Levinas and Kierkegaard on the
Immediacy of Revelation and Its Ethical
Implications” |
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17:00-17:10 |
Discussion |
Discussion |
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17:10-17:30 |
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Mateusz Boniecki (King’s College,
London), “Dialogue without Words: The
Phenomenological Structure of the God-Relationship
in Kierkegaard” |
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17:30-17:40 |
Discussion |
Discussion |
Download the program here
→
See the pictures from the conference
Conference
Europe, Christianity
and the Encounter with Other Religions
in Kierkegaard and 19th Century Religious Thinking
Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre, May 9-11, 2012
Faculty of Theology
Købmagergade 44-46
1150 Copenhagen
The 19th Century was a dynamic period in European cultural
and religious thinking since it was the time when Europe
came into contact with a series of nonEuropean religions. In
the wake of Napoleon’s Egyptian Campaign, this was the
period that marked the birth of Egyptology as a science and
the deciphering of the hieroglyphics. Through contact with
the Ottoman Empire in Central Europe and the Balkans, Islam
took on a greater importance in the European mind than ever
before. British colonists researched in detail the culture
and religion of India, while Friedrich von Schlegel and
other German philologists translated Sanskrit texts into
European languages for the first time. Studies on the
ancient Persian language and religion, Zoroastrianism, also
became popular during this period. Primarily through the
work of missionaries in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries,
Europe was also introduced to Buddhism and Taoism of ancient
China, but it was in the 19th century that serious scholarly
work on this material first began. The spread of the
Haskalah movement throughout Europe created new
possibilities for the dialogue between Christian and Jewish
intellectuals.
These developments raised new challenges for traditional
Christian belief that was still reeling from the criticisms
issued by the Enlightenment. When the importance of these
other religious traditions began to be appreciated,
Christianity’s absolute claim to truth seemed to be made
problematic, and thinkers such as Voltaire very
intentionally made use of it to undermine the authority of
the Church and the clergy. Many of the major philosophers,
theologians and writers of the day were profoundly
influenced by this new wealth of information. Figures such
as Nietzsche and Schopenhauer were eager to co-opt elements
of Eastern religion in their own thinking. Voltaire, Herder,
Schlegel and Hegel tried to create theories of historical
and cultural development that included these other
traditions. Writers such as Goethe and Montesquieu used the
Oriental perspective to develop cultural criticism of
European beliefs and values. The new contact with
nonEuropean religions was also important for Kierkegaard and
others in the Danish Golden Age, although these connections
remain little explored.
This conference has as its goal to explore this fascinating
encounter between Europe and nonEuropean religions during
this period and the results of this encounter today. A
special emphasis will be given to Kierkegaard's
understanding of these religions and their meaning for
Christianity's absolute claim to truth.
Contact person:
Jon Stewart:
js@sk.ku.dk
Program
Wednesday, May 9
Auditorium
13:00-13:15
Words of Welcome
Afternoon Session: Hegel and Kierkegaard
13:15-14:00
Keynote speaker:
István Czakó (Pázmány Péter Catholic University,
Hungary), “Von der Ewigkeit des Geistes zur
Subjektivität der Existenz: Die
Unsterblichkeitsproblematik in Hegels
religionsphilosophischen Vorlesungen und in Kierkegaards
Climacus-Schriften”
14:00-14:20 Discussion
14:20-14:45 Coffee/Tea Break
14:45-15:15
Jon Stewart
(University of Copenhagen), “Hegel’s Account of the
Ancient Egyptian Religion as a Transition from Nature to
Spirit”
15:15-15:30 Discussion
15:30-16:00
Jørgen Huggler
(Danmarks Pædagogiske Universitet), “The Interpretation
of Ancient Greek Religion in Hegel’s Phenomenology of
Spirit”
16:00-16:15 Discussion
16:15-16:40 Coffee/Tea Break
16:40-17:10
Curtis L. Thompson
(Thiel College, USA), “The Encounter with Other
Religions in Hans L. Martensen’s Theology”
17:10-17:35 Discussion
Thursday, May 10
Auditorium
Morning Session:
Nietzsche: Buddhism and Zoroastrianism
9:00-9:45
Keynote speaker:
Darío González (University of Copenhagen), “Nietzsche
and the Myth of Zarathustra”
9:45-10:00 Discussion
10:00-10:25 Coffee/Tea Break
10:25-10:55
Zoltán Gyenge
(University of Szeged, Hungary) “Nietzsche und die
Religionen (Heidentum, Buddhismus und Christentum)”
10:55-11:10 Discussion
11:10-11:50
William McDonald
(University of New England, Australia), “Nietzsche’s
Understanding of Buddhist Psychology with Constant
Reference to Christian Psychology”
11:50-12:05 Discussion
12:05-13:30 Lunch Break
Afternoon Session:
Islam
13:30-14:00
Sean Turchin
(University of Edinburgh), “Christianity and Islam: A
Martyrdom of Love”
14:00-14:15 Discussion
14:15-14:45
Ian Almond (Georgia
State University), “A South Asianist’s Perspective on
the Encounter with Islam in Nineteenth-Century German
Thought”
14:45-15:00 Discussion
15:00-15:30 Coffee/Tea Break
15:30-16:00
David Thomas
(University of Birmingham), “The Reception of Muhammad
in Nineteenth-Century England: Age-Old Attitudes and New
Insights”
16:00-16:15 Discussion
16:15-16:45
Timothy Hall (The
Franklin Academy, USA), “The Sanctification of History:
A Catholic Historian’s Perspective of 19th-Century
Encounters”
16:45-17:00 Discussion
Friday, May 11
Auditorium
Morning Session:
Kierkegaard and Judaism
9:00-9:45
Keynote speaker:
Tamar Aylat-Yaguri (Tel Aviv University), “Kierkegaard
and Judaism”
9:45-10:15 Discussion
10:00-10:25 Coffee/Tea Break
10:25-10:55
Peter Šajda (Slovak
Academy of Sciences), “The Evolution of Buber’s
Philosophical View on Mysticism”
10:55-11:10 Discussion
11:10-11:50
Roe Fremstedal
(Norwegian University of Science and Technology,
Trondheim), “Kant on Statutory and Moral Faith, Judaism
and Christianity”
11:50-12:05 Discussion
12:05-13:30 Lunch Break
Afternoon Session: Kierkegaard Ph.D. Panel
14:15-17:00 to be announced
Download the program here
→
See the pictures from the conference
Inauguration of The Nordic Network of Kierkegaard Research
Seminar: “Kierkegaard Studies in the Nordic Countries”
The Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre, Farvergade 27 D, Copenhagen
Friday, December 2, 2011
Program
Morning Session
9:00-9:15 Words of Welcome
9:15-9:35 Jon Stewart, Inaugural Address: The Nordic Network of Kierkegaard
Research
9:35-10:00 Coffee/Tea Break
10:00-10:30 Marius Timmann Mjaaland, “Kierkegaard and the Image of Suffering”
10:30-10:45 Discussion
10:45-11:15 Coffee/Tea Break
11:15-11:45 Jonna Lappalainen, “Kierkegaard and the Meaning of Suffering”
11:45-12:00 Discussion
12:00-13:15 Lunch Break
Afternoon Session
13:15-13:45 Pia Søltoft, “Love: a Phenomenon or a Concept?”
13:45-14:00 Discussion
14:00-14:30 Coffee/Tea Break
14:30-15:00 Gerhard Schreiber, “Kierkegaard’s Concept of Faith in his Early
Journals and Notebooks”
15:00-15:15 Discussion
Download the program here
→
See the pictures from the seminar
