May 2026 - News - Philosophy bulletin board

by Martin Kusch

Dear All, The next talk in the "Wittgenstein=steine" series is this Friday (June 13th) at 3pm in room NIG 3D. The speaker is Konstantin Deininger, and his title is: _"On the Material and Formal Aspects of (Moral) Certainty"_. Abstract: Does morality have a binding character in the sense that chains of justification come to an end? In this talk, I will affirm this question and argue that we can plausibly distinguish between formal and material aspects of moral certainty. As a starting point, I will interpret Wittgenstein's idea of "bedrock," introduced in §217 of the Philosophical Investigations, as standing for the end of a chain of reasoning. In doing so, I align with certain Wittgensteinian interpreters who maintain that some chains of moral reasoning end with certainty. However, I will arrive at deviating conclusions by demonstrating that different kinds of moral certainties function in different ways. Wittgensteinian scholars such as Cora Diamond and Nigel Pleasants correctly identify the formal aspect of moral certainty, showing that some propositions resist justification and doubt. However, the candidates for formal certainties they propose do not fully satisfy the criteria of certainty. This, I argue, is due to their failure to adequately distinguish between the formal and material aspects of certainty. Material certainties, such as Diamond's "slavery is unjust and insupportable" or Pleasants' "killing is wrong," remain intelligible to some extent and are thus subject to justification and doubt. Still, these propositions function as regress stoppers by putting an end to the chain of reasoning--but they do not mark the boundary of the unintelligible as formal certainties do. Drawing on Wittgenstein's later writings, I will argue that only formal certainties--which I refer to as transcendental certainties--are entirely exempt from justification and doubt. I identify the principle "equals are to be treated equally" as a plausible candidate for transcendental certainty. This certainty is foundational to moral reasoning and enables moral thought. I illustrate its role through debates on justice in animal ethics. Everybody welcome! Best wishes from the organizers, Esther Heinrich-Ramharter Anja Weiberg Martin Kusch

1 month

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IVC Talk: Pedro Del Valle-Inclan (IVC Fellow, Scuola Normale Superiore Pisa) on "Carnap's Problem: Rules, Models, and Meaning", May 28, 4.45 pm

by Zarah Weiss

Dear all, our next speaker in the Philosophy of Science Colloquium organized by the Institute Vienna Circle is Pedro Del Valle-Inclan (IVC Fellow, Scuola Normale Superiore Pisa), who will give a talk on May 28, 4.45-6.15 pm. All are welcome! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Philosophy of Science Colloquium TALK: **Pedro Del Valle-Inclan (IVC Fellow, Scuola Normale Superiore Pisa)* Carnap's Problem: Rules, Models, and Meaning Philosophy of Science Colloquium The Institute Vienna Circle holds a Philosophy of Science Colloquium with talks by our present fellows. * Date:* 28/05/2026 * Time:* 16h45 * Venue:* New Institute Building (NIG), Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Wien, HS 3C * Abstract:* In his /Formalization of Logic /(1943) Carnap pointed out that there are non-normal interpretations of classical logic: non-standard interpretations of the connectives and quantifiers that are consistent with the classical consequence relation of a language. Different ways around the problem have been proposed. In a recent paper, Bonnay and Westerst˚ahl argue that the key to a solution is imposing restrictions on the type of interpretation we take into account. More precisely, they claim that if we restrict attention to interpretations that are (a) compositional, (b) non-trivial and (c) in the case of the quantifiers, invariant under permutations of the domain, Carnap’s Problem is avoided. This paper has two goals. The first is to show that Bonnay and Westerst˚ahl’s solution to Carnap’s Problem doesn’t work. The second is to argue that something similar to their proposal seems to do the job. The problems with Bonnay and Westerst˚ahl’s approach trace back to issues concerning the (un)definability of subsets of the domain of first-order structures, as well as to the compositionality of first-order languages. After expanding on these problems, I’ll propose a way to modify Bonnay and Westerst˚ahl’s account and solve Carnap’s Problem.

2 months

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Phänomenologische Forschungen - Vortrag und Workshop mit Andrzej Gniazdowski (Warschau)

by Georg Harfensteller

Liebe Kolleg:innen, wir möchten Sie herzlich zur nächsten Veranstaltung der Reihe „Phänomenologische Forschungen“ einladen: *Vortrag und Workshop mit Andrzej Gniazdowski (Warschau):* *Do. 28.5.2026, 18:30, 3D, NIG* VORTRAG - "Die Phänomenologie des Staates. Eine kritisch-historische Einführung" *Fr. 29.5.2026, 9:00–13:00, 3D, NIG* WORKSHOP zu Texten von Andrzej Gniazdowski, Klaus Held und Thomas Szanto. Texte zum Workshop finden Sie auf Moodle, schreiben Sie sich dafür gerne hier <https://phaenomenologie.univie.ac.at/forschung/newslettermoodle/> ein. Weitere Informationen zu Veranstaltungen des *Forschungskreises Phänomenologie* finden Sie auf unserer Website <https://phaenomenologie.univie.ac.at/> sowie auf Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/forschungskreisphaenomenologie/>. Mit besten Grüßen, Michael Staudigl, Gerhard Unterthurner, Georg Harfensteller [image: csm_PhaeForsch_SS_26_1.1_41d218b106.png]

2 months

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Conference, Ancient and Late Antique Philosophy in Byzantium, Vienna, Μay 28-29 2026

by George Karamanolis

Dear colleagues, I would like to inform you about a conference on Byzantine Philosophy that takes place at the end of the week in Vienna. Please see the attached poster. Best wishes, George -- Univ.-Prof. Dr. George Karamanolis Institut für Philosophie Vizedekan für Lehre, Fakultät für Philosophie und Bildungswissenschaft Zimmer: D0308 1010 Wien, Universitätsstraße 7 (NIG) T: +43-1-4277-46476 eFax: +43-1-4277-846476 https://antikephilosophie.univie.ac.at

2 months

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Herzliche Einladung zur Buchpräsentation "Ideale der Menschlichkeit - von der Sprengkraft des Austrohumanismus"

by Sonja Fiala

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren! Herzliche Einladung zur Buchpräsentation "Ideale der Menschlichkeit - von der Sprengkraft des Austrohumanismus" am 09. Juni 2026 um 18:00h im Lesesaal der FB Philosophie und Psychologie. Im Anschluss laden wir zu Brot und Wein. Weitere Informationen zur Veranstaltung: https://bibliothek.univie.ac.at/events/008807.html Liebe Grüße Sonja Fiala [cid:image002.png@01DCE84D.6D63B8D0] OR Mag. Sonja Fiala Leiterin der Fachbibliothek Philosophie und Psychologie https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5492-8934 https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/persons/sonja-fiala/ Universität Wien Universitätsbibliothek Fachbibliothek Philosophie und Psychologie Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Wien T: +43-1-4277-15079 sonja.fiala(a)univie.ac.at<mailto:sonja.fiala@univie.ac.at> https://bibliothek.univie.ac.at/fb-philosophie-psychologie/ [cid:image001.png@01DCE84C.E0430780]

2 months, 1 week

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IVC Talk: Iulian Danut Toader (IVC) on "Conservatism as a Norm of Scientific Practice", March 19, 4.45 pm

by Zarah Weiss

Dear all, our next speaker in the Philosophy of Science Colloquium organized by the Institute Vienna Circle is Iulian Danut Toader (IVC), who will give a talk on March 19, 4.45-6.15 pm. All are welcome! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Philosophy of Science Colloquium TALK: Iulian Danut Toader (IVC)* Conservatism as a Norm of Scientific Practice Philosophy of Science Colloquium The Institute Vienna Circle holds a Philosophy of Science Colloquium with talks by our present fellows. * Date:* 19/03/2026 * Time:* 16h45 * Venue:* New Institute Building (NIG), Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Wien, HS 3C * Abstract:* Contemporary scientists extol the virtues of conservatism, the view that advocates the preservation of the theoretical status quo and castigates everything beyond this as unfounded speculation. More generally, conservatives emphasize that science has been almost always cumulative, and scientific progress has been almost always made through evolution, rather than revolution. They further suggest that contemporary science should be cumulative, and that it should make progress through evolution, rather than revolution. In this talk, I provide a brief historical-conceptual analysis of conservatism as a norm that urges us to preserve the theoretical status quo, extend its intended domain of resiliency to the furthest extent possible, and only allow changes if we have stronger reasons to accept some theoretical alternative. I then focus on a specific expression of conservatism - the so-called principle of permanence - which has been extremely influential since mid-19th century in both mathematics and physics, in an attempt to determine, more precisely, the kinds of normativity that conservatism is thought to have.

2 months, 1 week

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Trans*Formations: Gender Euphoria?! - June 7th, 2026

by Initiative to Support Women in Academic Philosophy

Dear all! We are very happy to invite you to the grand finale of our Trans*Formations talk and workshop series for this semester! For those of you who don't know: Trans*Formations is an event series organized by students of the University of Vienna which showcases recent strands in trans* theorizing and philosophizing. Please save the date: On June 7th, 2026, we will host an all-day event under the title _Gender Euphoria?!_. Be ready for a program spanning talks, performances, music acts, food, a space for shared discussions, and a little screening! With contributions by: Eric A. Stanley [1] (Berkeley), মm. [2] (Spicer Mixers/ Struma & Iodine), Faris Cuchi Gezahegn [3] (House of Guramayle), Quill Kukla [4] (Georgetown University/ Leibniz Universität Hannover), Luce deLire [5] (Berlin), Tris Hedges [6] (Kopenhagen), Kristin Jackson Lerch [7] (Wien), Fremde Spucke [8] (Wien), and the safer*space collective (Wien). The music program will be headlined by GATAFIERA [9], and Yarx [10], মm. [2] and Pink Pulse will play DJ sets. There will also be pop-up tables by the feminist book shop Chicklit [11] and the queerfeminist shop Queer My Pleasure, [12] and, of course, FOOD! An hour of the afternoon will be live-broadcasted on the independent Radio Channell Radio Orange, [13] and we will record the whole program to make it available later on at Vienna REC [14]. We want to thank the Bundesvertretung der Österreichischen Hochschüler_innenschaft (ÖH) [15] & ÖH Uni Wien [16] as well as BaGru Gender Studies [17] and the VDP for their financial support! Start: 13:00 End: 22:00 Location: Studio Walls, [18] Löhrgasse 9, 1-3, 1150 Vienna More info on the contributors can be found here [19]! Looking forward to seeing you at the event! With all the best, the Trans*Formations Orga Team and UpSalon - A Salon for Underrepresented Philosophers [20] P.S.: Attached, you find a poster! Links: ------ [1] https://gws.berkeley.edu/people/eric-stanley [2] https://unsafeandsounds.com/discourse-author/%e0%a6%aem/ [3] https://brut-wien.at/de/Kuenstler-innen/Gezahegn-Faris-Cuchi [4] https://www.quillrkukla.xyz/ [5] https://getaphilosopher.com/ [6] https://trishedges.com/ [7] https://vorbrenner.at/en/program/ebbe-flut [8] https://www.instagram.com/fremdespucke/ [9] https://www.instagram.com/gatafieramode/?hl=de [10] https://soundcloud.com/yarxn [11] https://www.chicklit.at/ [12] https://queermypleasure.at/ [13] https://o94.at/ [14] https://o94.at/programm/sendereihen/vienna-rec [15] https://www.oeh.ac.at/ [16] https://oeh.univie.ac.at/ [17] https://oeh.univie.ac.at/stv/gender-studies [18] https://www.studiowalls.at/ [19] https://upsalon.univie.ac.at/events/detail/news/transformations-gender-euph… [20] https://upsalon.univie.ac.at/

2 months, 1 week

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WSG: Ricardo Alcocer Urueta, "A morphosyntactic construal of "being" as understood by Plato and Aristotle" (26. 05.)

by Laura Grestenberger

Sehr geehrte Kolleginnen und Kollegen, Ich würde Sie gerne auf den Vortrag von Dr. Ricardo Alcocer Urueta (Universität Wien, Institut für Philosophie) hinweisen, der kommende Woche in der Vortragsreihe der Wiener Sprachgesellschaft stattfindet: Titel: "A morphosyntactic construal of "being" as understood by Plato and Aristotle" Datum & Uhrzeit: Dienstag, 26.05., 18.00h Ort: Institut für Sprachwissenschaft, Sensengasse 3A, Hörsaal 1 (1. OG) Es gibt diesmal auch die Möglichkeit, online via Zoom dabei zu sein: https://univienna.zoom.us/j/61491797180?pwd=bHRaamebodpqCuOM4Lnh2WgnczqTD6.1 Meeting-ID: 614 9179 7180 Kenncode: 098246 Das Abstract finden Sie weiter unten im Anhang und auf der Homepage der WSG: https://wsg.univie.ac.at/veranstaltungen/ricardo-alcocer-urueta-a-morphosyn… Interessierte sind herzlich willkommen! Mit besten Grüßen, Laura Grestenberger ---------------------- A morphosyntactic construal of "being" as understood by Plato and Aristotle Abstract: The expression of the classical concept of being in philosophy, articulated through the Indo-European verbal copula par excellence (BE), operates at a syntactic level that transcends the distinctions that led Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, and others to regard this verb as ambiguous. My presentation connects “being”, as understood by Plato and Aristotle, with the morphosyntactic structures of Classical Greek. As a technical term in classical Greek philosophy, εἰμί ‘am’ (≈ BE) did not convey a predicate or part of a predicate, but grammatical categories marked on Classical Greek verbs. However, Plato and Aristotle did not see εἰμί as an inflectional support morpheme entirely devoid of semantic content. Since εἰμί remained unmarked for certain features operating above the predicate level throughout its grammaticalization, Plato and Aristotle, as Classical Greek speakers, believed that it constituted (what we could describe as) a default predication structure that need not be associated with an event in the strict sense. -- Ass.-Prof. Dr. Laura Grestenberger Universität Wien, Inst. für Sprachwissenschaft / University of Vienna, Dept. of Linguistics PI, EVOCAT (ERC-CoG, evocat.univie.ac.at) lauragrestenberger.com Wiener Sprachgesellschaft, wsg.univie.ac.at The PIE Women's Collective, pie-collective.com

2 months, 1 week

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Call for Papers - Myth and the More-than-Human Community in the Twenty-First Century – Vienna, 8–9 October 2026

by Lukas Geiszler

Dear colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to a Call for Papers that may be of interest to those working at the intersection of philosophy, religious studies, political theory, and more-than-human ecology. The workshop /Myth and the More-than-Human Community in the Twenty-First Century/ will take place on 8–9 October 2026 at the University of Vienna, with keynote lectures by Prof. Vanessa Lemm and Prof. Laurens ten Kate. The workshop asks whether community — and more-than-human community in particular — can be conceived as anything other than a myth. It places the constitutive ambivalence of myth at the centre of its inquiry: myth as ideological fiction on the one hand, and as a primordial, potentially non-hierarchical form of world-disclosure on the other. Topics include inter-species relations, ecological entanglements, becoming-animal, sovereignty and immunisation, and relational and Indigenous ontologies. Theoretical reference points include Derrida, Nancy, Latour, Haraway, and Nietzschean and post-Nietzschean critiques of humanism. Find the full CfP attached. Contributions may take the form of individual papers (20 minutes, followed by 30 minutes of discussion). Proposals should include the presenter’s name, paper title, full contact details, an abstract of 500 words, and a brief biographical note — submitted as a single PDF file. Deadline: 17 July 2026 Contact: myth.community(a)lists.univie.ac.at Website: https://phaenomenologie.univie.ac.at/forschung/myth-community/ Please feel free to share this call in your networks. Best wishes, Lukas Geiszler

2 months, 1 week

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Buchsymposium mit Jan Völker zu Philosophie und Raumfahrt am 21. Mai in NIG 2H ab 14.00

by Miguel de la Riva

Liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen, Ralf Gisinger und ich möchten Sie herzlich zu einem Buchsymposium zu Philosophie und Raumfahrt am 21. Mai in NIG 2H ab 14.00 einladen. In einem fachübergreifenden Workshop möchten wir mit Jan Völker über seinen 2025 bei Matthes & Seitz erschienenen Essay "Ein Weltall des Kapitals: Die Überwindung der terrestrischen Vernunft" diskutieren. Völker ist seit dem Wintersemester Professor an der Abteilung für Philosophie der Universität für angewandte Kunst. Sie finden im Anhang das Plakat zur Veranstaltung sowie hier nun auch ein detailliertes Programm: 14.00 -- 14.10 Begrüßung 14.10 - 14.30 Prof Dr. Jan Völker (Abteilung für Philosophie, Universität für angewandte Kunst) "Jenseits des Weltbildes: Philosophie und Raumfahrt" 14.30 -- 15.15 Miguel de la Riva (Institut für Philosophie) "Von 'Earthrise' zu 'Earthset': Wie Fotografien der Erde aus dem All das Weltbild veränderten" 15.15 -- 15.30 Kaffeepause 15.30 -- 16.15 Prof Dr. Alexandra Ganser (Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik) "Outer Space, Otherwise: Epistemologien der Weltraumbetrachtung" 16.15 -- 17.00 Ralf Gisinger (Institut für Philosophie) "Zwischen Geo- und Weltraumphilosophie: Kritik(en) der planetarisch- terrestrischen Vernunft" 17.00 --17.15 Kaffeepause 17.15 -- 18.00 Assoz. Prof. Dr. Nina Klimburg-Witjes (Institut für Wissenschafts- und Technikforschung, ERC-Projekt „FutureSpace“) "Topographien der Erde-Weltraum Beziehungen: Governance, Imaginationen und Soziomaterialität" 18.00 -- 18.30 Schlussdiskussion Mit besten Grüßen Miguel de la Riva & Ralf Gisinger -- Miguel de la Riva, M.A. Wissenschaftlicher Projektmitarbeiter Institut für Philosophie Universität Wien https://bsky.app/profile/m-de-la-riva.bsky.social

2 months, 1 week

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