ArisMath2017: Aristotle Reading Party on Metaphysics Mu: Ancient views on the nature of mathematics Faculty of Philosophy, Radcliffe Humanities, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG Oxford, UK, September 9-10, 2017 |
Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=arismath2017 |
Abstract registration deadline | July 1, 2017 |
Submission deadline | July 1, 2017 |
Aristotle’s Metaphysics Mu is one of the most underrated and underappreciated books of his Metaphysics. The Aristotle Reading Party on Metaphysics Mu aims to give the book an opportunity to shine in new light. We will in a reading group setting go through and discuss all 10 chapters of Metaphysics Mu, the chapter will be divided in 5 parts and led each by one of the invited speakers, and further we will have presentations by graduate students and/or early career scholars (selected by blind review through easychair) on the themes of Metaphysics Mu. Most prominent are the first three chapters in Mu that sketch Aristotle’s view on mathematical objects, but we will investigate the remaining 7 chapters with the same scrutiny and interest. Aristotle’s discussion in Mu is both an exposition of his own view as well as a rejection of Plato’s view. Plato famously believed in Forms, which are according to some readings non-spatio-temporal objects and exist in a second abstract realm, and perceptibles, which are mere copies of said Forms. Likewise, for Plato while mathematical objects appear to be ontologically inferior to Forms, they are superior to everything perceptible, and we are led to believe by Aristotle that Plato thought that mathematical objects exist separate from any perceptible object. Aristotle vehemently rejects this view and tells us in Mu 1 and 2 that many absurdities would follow from a Platonic account. His arguments in Mu are distinct from the more famous third men argument, and while less polished deserve further investigation. This conference will go through the arguments step by step, line by line if necessary, to reconstruct Aristotle’s arguments and their flaws. The invited speakers will each introduce chapters of Mu (10 chapters in total) and guide the audience through the text passages. A particular interest is Aristotle’s claim that mathematical objects do not exist independently from perceptible objects, and are thus not substances (ousiai) but mere entities (onta) and exist in the way matter does (hulekos). Further, does Aristotle characterise Plato’s view correctly? The rest of Mu discusses various views on numbers and always gravitates back to Plato’s Forms. The goal is to clearly analyse the arguments and gain new insights in both Aristotle’s view but also the views of his contemporary philosophers on the nature of numbers and abstract objects more generally.
Submission Guidelines
Please submit an abstract (1,000 words) on any topic addressed in Aristotle's Metaphysics Mu. This includes but is not limited to the following topics:
- Aristotle's view on mathematical objects
- Priority in mathematical contexts
- Qua-operator
- Plato's and other ancient philosophers' views on mathematics
- Aristotle's critique of Plato in Mu (and elsewhere)
- mathematical practice and methodology
- role of mathematics in Aristotle's and/or Plato's philosophy
The deadline is 1st July 2017. Please submit only via https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=arismath2017
List of Topics
- Aristotle's Metaphysics Mu
- Philosophy of Mathematics
- Critique of Plato's view on mathematical objects
Organizing Committees
Dr Janine Gühler
Invited Speakers
- Sarah Broadie (University of St Andrews)
- Edward Hussey (University of Oxford)
- Emily Katz (Michigan State University)
- Michail Peramatzis (University of Oxford)
Venue
The conference will be held in Faculty of Philosophy, Radcliffe Humanities, University of Oxford, 09th to 10th September 2017.
Contact
All questions about submissions should be emailed to Dr Janine Gühler (janine.guhler@worc.ox.ac.uk).
Sponsors
Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford
British Society of History of Philosophy
Analysis Trust
Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies