The Architecture of Reason: Laws, Axioms and Principles in early modern thought

July 12- 16, 2016, Alba-Iulia, Romania

Invited speakers: Peter Anstey (IRH-ICUB & University of Sydney), Catalin Avramescu (University of Bucharest), Alexander Baumgarten (UBB Cluj), Delphine Bellis (Radboud University, Nijmegen), Elodie Cassan (ENS- Lyon), Sorin Costreie (University of Bucharest), Daniel Garber (Princeton University), Philippe Hamou (Universite Paris Ouest), Niccolo Guicciardini (University of Bergamo), Rob Iliffe (University of Oxford), David Marshall Miller (Iowa State University), Richard Serjeantson (University of Cambridge).

Programme committee: Dana Jalobeanu (University of Bucharest), Vlad Alexandrescu (University of Bucharest), Sorana Corneanu (University of Bucharest), Mihnea Dobre (University of Bucharest).

Organizing committee: Ovidiu Babeș (University of Bucharest), Grigore Vida (University of Bucharest), Doina Cristina Rusu (University of Bucharest).

The Bucharest-Princeton Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy is an international annual meeting of scholars interested in various aspects of early modern thought, jointly organized by the Research Center for the Foundations of Early Modern Thought (FME) and the Department of Philosophy, Princeton University. Its first edition was in 2001 and since then, it is organized, yearly, in various locations throughout Romania, and in collaboration with various academic and administrative institutions. This year, the co-organizers of the seminars are: IRH-ICUB (Institute for Research in the Humanities, University of Bucharest), the Catholic Institute, Alba Iulia, the Batthyaneum Library, and the city council of Alba Iulia.

The traditional aim of the seminar is to create a stimulating environment for discussing papers and ideas through formal and informal discussions, reading-groups and round tables. Morning sessions are organized as reading groups, while the afternoon sessions give participants an opportunity to discuss their own special interests with an open and sympathetic audience of students and scholars with broad interests in early modern thought.

The seminar is open to junior and senior researchers from all over the world. Participants are selected through a competition following a CFP issued in the spring. The organizers try to maintain a balance of senior scholars, young post-docs and doctoral students.

Venue

This year, the seminar will take place in Alba-Iulia and will be organized in collaboration with our local hosts, the Catholic Institute in Alba-Iulia and the Batthyaneum Library, with the local help of the city council. Alba-Iulia is a town in the center of Transylvania, about 450 km from Bucharest (http://www.visitalbaiulia.com ). It is easily reachable by train from Bucharest or Cluj-Napoca. Cluj-Napoca is the nearest city with an international airport. Most of the group will go to Alba-Iulia from Bucharest, on July 11 and will return to Bucharest on July 16, in the evening (by bus). More on the Batthyaneum here: https://batthyaneumblog.wordpress.com/ .

Theme and program:

The Architecture of Reason: Laws, Axioms and Principles in early modern thought

Day 1 (July 12): Mathematics

Day 2 (July 13): Metaphysics & Theology

Day 3 (July 14): Logic and the Arts of Thinking

Day 4 (July 15): Physics and Moral Philosophy

This year, the seminar benefits from the financial support of Princeton University, IRH-ICUB and the following research projects: