Programme (update 26. 8. 2015)

Passions and the origin of moral institutions and civil society:  British debate from Thomas Hobbes to Adam Smith

Faculty of Humanities, Charles University in Prague, 2 – 5 September 2015

Day 1 – Day 3: Lecture room 1034 (Aula), Jinonice.

Day 4: Lecture room 1035, Jinonice.

Day 1 (2 September)

16:30 – 17:30   Registration and Coffee

17:30 – 17:40 Welcomes and conference agenda.

17:40 – 19:10 Opening lecture

Opening lecture chair: Tomáš Marvan (Czech Academy of Sciences)

17:40 – 18:40 James A. Harris (University of St Andrews):  David Hume: The Philosopher as Man of

Letters.

18:40 – 19:00 Discussion

19:10 – 22:30 Tour and Dinner (optional)

Day 2 (3 September)

9:00 – 12:40 Thomas Hobbes Panel

Panel chair: Marina Barabas (Czech Academy of Sciences)

9:00 – 10:00 Dirk Brantl (University of Graz) Passions, virtues, and political education.

10:00 – 10:20 Discussion

10.20 – 10.40 Coffee break

10:40 – 11:10 Milan Hanyš (Charles University): Desire and civil society.

11:10 – 11:20 Discussion

11:20 – 11:50 Jiří Chotaš (Czech Academy of Sciences): State of nature and establishing a civil state in Hobbes

11:50 – 12:00 Discussion

12:00 – 14:00 Lunch

14:00 – 17:50 Bernard Mandeville Panel

Panel chair: Marek Skovajsa (Charles University)

14:00 – 15:00 Mikko Tolonen (University of Helsinki): Private vices, public benefits revisited. Bernard Mandeville's intellectual development

15:00 – 15:20 Discussion

15:20 – 15:40 Coffee Break

15:40 – 17:00  Reading Mandeville (Mikko Tolonen)

Mandeville readings download (Mikko Tolonen´s compilation including emphasis on the conference theme):  https://goo.gl/5hBZdN

15:40 – 16:20 Reading Mandeville (Part 1)

16:20 – 17:00 Reading Mandeville (Part 2)

17:00 – 17:20 Break

17:20 – 17:50 Miroslav Vacura (Prague University of Economics): Mandeville's concept of pride.

17:50 – 18:00 Discussion

18:00 – 22.00 Walk and Dinner (optional)

Day 3 (4 September)

9:00 – 12:40 David Hume Panel

Panel chair: James Hill (Charles University)

9:00 – 10:00 James A. Harris (University of St Andrews): Hume on Reason, Passion, and the

Nature of Enlightenment.

10:00 – 10:20 Discussion

10:20 – 10:40 Coffee Break

10:40 – 11:10 Tomáš Kunca (Charles University):  Passions and “Disease of Learned”:  an Evidence from Hume´s Letter to a Physician.

11:10 – 11:20  Discussion

11:20 – 11:50 Zuzana Parusniková (Czech Academy of Sciences): The Pyrrhonian link.

11:50 – 12:00  Discussion

12:00 – 12.30 Stanislav Synek (Charles University):  Who is the Judge? Some remarks on Hume's theory of moral judgement.

12:30 – 12.40 Discussion

12.40 – 14.00 Lunch

14:00 – 16:40 Adam Smith Panel

Panel chair: David Lipka (Anglo-American University)

14:00 – 15:00 Dennis Rasmussen (Tufts University): Adam Smith on What Is Wrong with Economic Inequality.

15:00 – 15:20 Discussion

15.20 – 15:40 Coffee Break

15.40 – 16.20 Tomáš Sedlacek (Charles University): Adam Smith and the History of Invisible Hand of Market.

16:20 – 16:40 Discussion

16:40 – 17:20 Sandwich and Drinks

17:20 – 22:10 Mozart Extra (optional)

Panel chair: TBA

17:20 – 17:50 Jakub Marek (Charles University): Leporello: a catalogue of passions.

17:50 – 18:00 Discussion

19.00 – 22.10  W. A. Mozart: Don Giovanni (The Estates Theatre Prague)

22.30 – 23.30 Dinner and/or Drinks

19:00 – 23:00 Adam Smith Dinner hosted by David Lipka (optional)

Day 4 (5 September)

10:00 – 12:00 Edited volume agenda (authors meet authors, and publisher meets authors), lecture room 1035.

13:00 – 15:00   Lunch  

15:00 – 19:00 Tour guided by Roman Zaoral (Dept. of History, Charles University)     

Additional information:

Registration, conference info point, coffee/tea breaks, signing for dinners and lunches, and books and papers exhibition  will be held  at “Studentská místnost” (Students Common Room) just first door right next to conference lecture room (1034).  It will be open from 16:00 to 17:30 in Day 1, 8:00 – 9:00,  10:20 – 10:40, 12:00 – 14:00,  15:20 – 15:40, and 17:00 – 17:20 in Day2, 8:00 – 9:00, 10:20 – 10:40, 12:40 – 14:00, 15:20 – 15:40, and 16:40 – 17:20 in Day 3, and 9:00 – 10:00 in Day 4.

Optional conference lunches (3 – 4 September): will be served in a newly refurbished restaurant and pension Nová hospoda www.novahospoda.eu in a walking distance from lecture theatre (10 minutes), no preference (a very good Czech /international cuisine) or vegetarian menu. Price for a menu including drink is 110,- CZK and you may pay in restaurant.

Optional conference informal dinners (2 – 4 September): Tři století  (Three Centuries) - an award winning restaurant in the very centre of Prague close to Charles Bridge http://www.tristoleti.cz/index.php?lang=en

Optional night in opera (4 September):  19:00, Mozart, Don Giovanni, The Estates Theatre. Information on theatre here: http://www.narodni-divadlo.cz/en/estates-theatre, information and booking here: http://www.narodni-divadlo.cz/en/show/5693?t=2015-09-04-19-00 , ticket sales information here: http://www.narodni-divadlo.cz/en/tickets .  Booking has started on 15 June. Conference organizer already  booked 21 tickets for keynotes, chairs and speakers!!!

Optional Lunch  (5 September, 13.00 – 15:00) will be announced and open for signing on Wed 2 September.  Lunch is followed by a “guided tour” thanks to kind assistance of Roman Zaoral, Department of History.

Conference keynote speakers, chairs and speakers

Opening lecture and David Hume Panel keynote lecture are delivered by James A. Harris (University of St Andrews), the author of Of liberty and Necessity: The Free Will Debate in Eighteenth-Century British Philosophy (OUP, 2005), the editor and contributor to The Oxford Handbook of British Philosophy in the Eighteenth Century (OUP, 2013), the co-editor with Aaron Garrett of Scottish Philosophy in Eighteenth Century, Volume 1 (OUP, 2015),  the author of forthcoming Hume: An Intellectual Biography (CUP, 18 September 2015; see http://www.cambridge.org/cz/academic/subjects/philosophy/history-philosophy/hume-intellectual-biography?format=HB), and  the author of many articles on Hume, Hutcheson, Ried, Beattie, Priestly, and various themes in eighteenth century British philosophy. Full CV see here: http://www.standrews.ac.uk/philosophy/dept/staffprofiles/?staffid=103. 

Opening lecture is chaired by Tomáš Marvan (Czech Academy of Sciences), the author of a new Czech translation and historical introduction to David Hume´s Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (2013). His research is focused both on early-modern philosophy (Descartes and Hume) and contemporary philosophy of mind, language and neuroscience, and analytical ontology.  He is the author of  The Question of Meaning. Paths of Analytical Philosophy of Language (Otázka významu. Cesty analytické filosofie jazyka), Prague: Togga, 2010, and Realism and Relativism (Realismus a relativismus), Prague: Academia, 2014.

David Hume Panel is chaired by James Hill (Charles University), the author of monograph Descartes and the Doubting Mind (London: Bloomsbury, 2012), the co-editor (with Gordon Graham)  of Hume after 300 Years, special issue of Journal of Scottish Philosophy, 10:2, autumn 2012, where he published an article 'How Hume Became "The New Hume": A Developmental Approach', the co-editor (with P. Glombíček) of Essays on the Concept of Mind in Early-Modern Philosophy (Cambridge Scholars Press, 2010), the author of ‘Primary and Secondary Qualities’ and ‘Scholasticism’ in The Continuum Companion to Locke (2010), ‘The Synthesis of Empiricism and Innatism in Berkeley’s Doctrine of Notions’, in Berkeley Studies, no. 21, 2010, ‘Primary Qualities, Secondary Qualities and Locke’s Impulse Principle‘, in The British Journal of the History of Philosophy, 17 (1), etc. Full CV see here: http://ufar.ff.cuni.cz/8/doc-james-hill-phd .

David Hume Panel speakers: 

Zuzana Parusniková (Czech Academy of Sciences): presently working on a new book on Hume´s scepticism (in English) and published articles on Hume: "Hume´s Scepticism Revisited" (Philosophy, Volume 89, Issue 04), "Skepticismus a Fideismus. Montaigne a Hume." (Scepticism and Fideism. Montaigne and Hume), Filosofický časopis (Philosophical Journal, Vol. 62, No. 1), “David Hume a věda o člověku” (David Hume and the Science of Man), Teorie vědy ( Theory of Science). Roč. 33, 1, etc.

Tomáš Kunca (Charles University): ongoing research is focused primarily on various aspects of Hume´s “philosophical anthropology”, as initially outlined in his Ph.D. thesis Humanist virtuoso:  the beginnings, idea and illustrations of experimental philosophical anthropology in Hume´s Treatise (CU, 2013), and their Mandevillian contexts.  In 2010 published an article “Hume´s ideas of philosophy as science and analysis of time” and 2011 presented a paper on “Hume´s Letter to a Physician (1734): A testimony about the beginnings of his philosophy and the road to Treatise” (not yet published) and gave a “Hume Tricentenary Lecture” (Faculty of Humanities). He is going to chair a session on 42^nd International Hume Society Conference in Stockholm (July 2015). 

Stanislav Synek (Charles University): present research in the history of ethics including Hume, mainly from an Aristotelian perspective. Published two monographs in Czech: Duše jako místo dění světa. Studie k pojetí (lidské) duše u Aristotela (Soul as a Place of the World-coming-into-being. A Study of Aristotle's Conception of the Soul), Prague, Togga 2014, and Lidská přirozenost jako úkol člověka. Filosofická interpretace Etiky Níkomachovy (Human Nature as a Man’s Task. Philosophical Interpretation of Nicomachean Ethics), Prague, Togga 2011.

Thomas Hobbes Panel keynote lecture is given by Dirk Brantl (University of Graz). Our Hobbes expert presented papers ´Hobbes on Duties Artificial and Natural´ in 2012 (Symposion „Hobbes: Politics  and Philosophy“, King’s College, London) and ´Hobbes on Contempt´(Workshop: „Hobbes and the Passions“, University of Amsterdam) and his forthcoming articles are  “Moral ohne Freiheit. Thomas Hobbes über Tugend und Determinismus” and “Thomas Hobbes’ Three Central Goods: Felicity, Self-Preservation, Peace”. Recent lectures: 29.05.2014: Smith and Mandeville on Luxury and Growth (18th ESHET Conference, Lausanne), 06.06.2014: “So much noise in the world”: Adam Smith on Mandeville (Mandeville Conference, Erasmus Universität, Rotterdam), 13.11.2014: Zwischen Hobbes und Aristoteles: Spinoza über die politische Natur des Menschen (Symposion „Ordnung in der Gemeinschaft. Zur Wirkungsgeschichte der antiken Politischen Philosophie“, KarlFranzens-Universität Graz), 20.04.2015: Systematic Coherence in Hobbes (Eingeladener Vortrag im Rahmen der Reihe „Philosophy Seminar“, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz). Full CV see here: http://www.uni-graz.at/dirk.brantl/site.php?show=1 .

Thomas Hobbes Panel is chaired by Marina Barbas (Czech Academy of Sciences). She received her Ph.D. at King's College, University of London, dissertation title: Morality and Praxis (adviser Prof. Peter Winch), contributed to the Czech translation (with J. Chotaš, Z. Masopust) of T. Hobbes, Leviathan (Praha: Oikoumenh, 2009) and published numerous articles like  'In Search of Goodness', in: Cordner, C. (ed.) Philosophy, Ethics and Common Humanity, London, Routledge, 2011, pp. 82-105 Full CV see here: http://racionalita.flu.cas.cz/en/people/marina-barabas-phd-en

Thomas Hobbes Panel speakers:

Milan Hanyš (Charles University): research in history of ideas and political philosophy including Hobbes. His Ph.D. thesis Apostle Paul and Philosophy: A study to political theology and its reception in contemporary philosophy (CU, 2014) has already been published as a book in Czech, co-organiser of workshop (with Prof. Johann P. Arnason) Religion and Politics, paper (in Czech) on “Monotheism, violence and religious intolerance: Remarks on Jan Assmann’s thesis”, etc.  

Jiří Chotaš (Czech Academy of Sciences):  research in modern political philosophy, including Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant and Hegel. Contributed to the Czech translation (with M. Barabas and Z. Masopust) of T. Hobbes, Leviathan (Praha: Oikoumenh, 2009) and published articles like “Thomas Hobbes. Natural Right and Liberties of Subjectsˮ (in Czech), in: Havlíček, A. (ed.), Lidská a přirozená práva v dějinách (Ústí nad Labem: FF UJEP), pp. 95-110. Full CV see here: http://racionalita.flu.cas.cz/en/chotas/jiri-chotas-ph-d-en

Bernard Mandeville Panel keynote lecture is given by Mikko Tolonen (University of Helsinki), the author of  Mandeville and Hume: anatomists of civil society (Oxford: SVEC, 2013) and articles like “Politeness, Paris and the Treatise” (Hume Studies, Volume 34, Number 1, April 2008), or “The Gothic Origin of Modern Civility: Mandeville and the Scots on Courage” (Journal of Scottish Philosophy, Volume 12 Issue 1 Spring 2014), etc. Recently published with James A. Harris  chapter on “Hume in and out of Scottish context” (Scottish Philosophy in the Eighteenth Century, Volume 1, OUP, 2015). For more including downloads see: http://helsinki.academia.edu/MikkoTolonen

Bernard Mandeville Panel chair, Marek Skovajsa (Charles University), is the former editor-in-chief of Sociologický časopis/Czech Sociological Review. He has published the monographs Politická kultura [Political Culture], Prague: Charles University Press, 2006, Struktury významu [Structures of Meaning], Prague: Sociological Publishers, 2013, the article „Independent and Broader Civil Society in East-Central European Democratizations.“ Taiwan Journal of Democracy 4, 2, 2008: 47-73 and other articles in peer reviewed journals or edited volumes. For more publications see: http://cuni.academia.edu/MSkovajsa

Bernard Mandeville Panel speaker:

Miroslav Vacura (UEP): research in the fields of  ethics, political philosophy and logic, published an article on “Ethical theory of Francis Hutcheson” (2011) and co-edited two editions of Introduction to Philosophy of Society and History (2011, 2014) and 2 volumes of Political  philosophy – Selected Texts (2007, 2009).

Adam Smith Panel keynote lecture is delivered by Dennis Rasmussen (Tufts University), the author of monographs: The Problems and Promise of Commercial Society: Adam Smith's Response to Rousseau (Penn State University Press, 2008), The Pragmatic Enlightenment: Recovering the Liberalism of Hume, Smith, Montesquieu, and Voltaire (Cambridge University Press, 2014), and articles: "Does 'Bettering Our Condition' Really Make Us Better Off?: Adam Smith on Progress and Happiness", American Political Science Review 100.3 (August 2006): 309-18, "Adam Smith and Rousseau: Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment," in The Oxford Handbook of Adam Smith, ed. Christopher J. Berry, Maria Pia Paganelli, and Craig Smith (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013): 54-76, etc. He is currently working on a book on the friendship and philosophy of David Hume and Adam Smith. For more and downloads see: http://ase.tufts.edu/polsci/faculty/rasmussen/.

Adam Smith Panel chair is David Lipka (Anglo-American University).  His research interests  are covering Smithian political economy, institutional change, theory of social orders, economics and ethics, and philosophy of economics.  He is a referee for Journal des Economistes et Etudes Humaines, Filosofický časopis (Czech Journal of Philosophy), Prague Papers on Political Economy, and European Journal of Comparative Economics. In 2015 has published a chapter “Do Economists Need Virtues?” in Virtues in Entrepreneurship (Ratio, 2015), in 2013 “The Max U Approach: Prudence Only, or Not Even Prudence? A Smithian Perspective” (Econ Journal Watch, 2013, 10 (1): 2–14), etc. Since May 2015 is Acting Provost of Anglo-American University in Prague. 

Adam Smith Panel speaker:

Tomáš Sedláček (Charles University): research in the field of Theoretical Economics (History of Economic Thought), Philosophy and Ethics. Published numerous articles like “Economic Re-Boot and Summer Grace“  (St. Gallen Business Review, 2013), “From Economics to Humanomics” (Global Alliance for Banking on Values, 2013), “Unbearable Lightness of Economy” (New York Times, 2013),  and a monograph Economics of Good and Evil (OUP, 2011). Since 2013 is acting as a Council Member to World Economic Forum and a Member of a Group Narrative of Europe.

Mozart Extra speaker:

Jakub Marek (Charles University) is the author of forthcoming book (September 2015) entitled Leporello and analyzing Don Juan (Don Giovanni) anthropological myth as exposed in famous Mozart´s opera including Leporello´s “catalogue of passions”.  His research is focused on philosophical anthropology, particularly Kierkegaard. Papers given to international conferences like: May 2012, Denmark, University of Copenhagen and S. Kierkegaard Research Centre, konference: „Kierkegaards Late Upbuilding Discourses“. Paper: „Repentance and the Woman who was a Sinner“, April 2013, Canada, Toronto, Trinity College, University of Toronto. Conference: “Personages, Objects and Places in Kierkegaard’s Thought: Why or How They Matter”, paper: “Johannes, John, and Juan: On Kierkegaard’s Obsession with the Name Johannes”, and May 2013, Denmark, University of Copenhagen and S. Kierkegaard Research Centre. Conference: “Kierkegaard Reconsidered in a Global World”, Jubilee Congress. Paper: “The Tuning of Existence: On Moods and the Temporal Syntheses of Existence in Kierkegaard”.