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Colloque Pascal, 19-20 mai 2023

Le Centre de recherches « Fondements de la Modernité Européenne » (FME), le Département de Langue et Littérature Françaises de l’Université de Bucarest, le Centre Gilles Gaston Granger (CGGG-CNRS) et le Département de Philosophie de l’Université de Szeged organisent le colloque international « Quadricentenaire de la naissance de Blaise Pascal : 1623-2023 » qui aura lieu à Bucarest, au Département de Langue et Littérature Françaises (5-7, rue Edgar Quinet, amphithéâtre Hasdeu) et au CEREFREA Villa Noël (6, rue Émile Zola) les 19 et 20 mai 2023. L’événement est organisé en partenariat avec le Centre Régional Francophone d’Études Avancées en Sciences Sociales, l’Institut Français de Roumanie et l’Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie en Europe Centrale et Orientale.

Dans la continuité des travaux menés par le FME dans le champ de l’histoire intellectuelle, religieuse et philosophique de l’âge classique, cet événement réunira des chercheurs et chercheuses et des spécialistes de divers horizons critiques autour de l’œuvre et de la pensée pascaliennes, de leurs sources et de leurs influences ou encore de leurs réceptions passées et présentes.

programme-final-colloque-pascal-19-10-mai-2023-2DOWNLOAD PROGRAMME

JEMS Volume 10 series 1 (Spring 2021)

The spring 2021 issue of the Journal of Early Modern Studies (JEMS), ISSN: 2285-6382 (paperback), ISSN: 2286-0290 (electronic), edited by the Foundations of Modern Thought Research Centre, University of Bucharest, is now available on the Zeta Books website. The issue contains articles by Patrick Brissey, Hanoch Ben-Yami, Osvaldo Ottaviani and Joseph Anderson, as well as a review article by Dana Jalobeanu, a corpus review and three book reviews.

JEMS CFP Special Issues Spring 2023 – Fall 2023

The Journal of Early Modern Studies (JEMS), ISSN: 2285-6382 (paperback), ISSN: 2286-0290 (electronic), edited by the “Foundations of Modern Thought” Research Centre, University of Bucharest, welcomes proposals for its Spring and Fall 2023 Special Issues. Prospective guest editors are invited to explore any topic pertinent to JEMS’s general interest in cross-disciplinary approaches to early modern thought that draw on intellectual history, history of philosophy and history of science. The main language of the journal is English, although contributions in French are also accepted. JEMS is a double blind peer-reviewed journal, currently indexed in Web of Science Emerging Sources Citation Index, ERIH+, EBSCO, Philosophy Research Index, PhilPapers.

Please prepare proposals that contain the following:
• A description of the topic (up to 1200 words)
• A table of contents (6-8 articles of 8000 words each)
• Short abstracts of the contributions (up to 300 words each)
• Short bios of the editors and contributors
• A timeline of manuscript submission

The deadline for submission of proposals for either of the two issues is October 1, 2021.

Please send your queries and your proposals to jems [at] zetabooks.com.

For further details about JEMS, please visit https://zetabooks.com/library/journals/journal-of-early-modern-studies/.

Early Modern Cluster at the University of Bucharest

There is a long tradition of studying the early modern period at the University of Bucharest. Scholars from different faculties and departments of the university are caring out projects and collaborate in interdisciplinary manner. We are constantly engaged in organizing international events, such as the conferences and colloquia in Early Modern Philosophy and Early Modern Science.

At the moment, several research projects are being implemented:

Calls:
  1. Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowships in Early Modern Thought at the University of Bucharest – Expressions of Interest

The research group in Early Modern Thought at the University of Bucharest
invites expressions of interest from candidates wishing to apply for a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship in Early Modern Science, Philosophy, and/ or Intellectual History. Information about the 2021 call will be soon available at the following link:
https://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/node_en.

We are a very active interdisciplinary group of scholars working on a variety of aspects of the Renaissance and the early modern period (philosophy, literature, religion, science, etc.). Our members do research and teach in several faculties at the University of Bucharest (Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Philosophy, the Research Institute of the University of Bucharest-ICUB). We coordinate various research projects, and we organize early modern conferences and colloquia in Early Modern Philosophy and Early Modern Science, including the Bucharest-Princeton Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy. The working atmosphere is very friendly and supportive, and we are committed to international events.

The list of potential mentors for the MSCA application include: Vlad Alexandrescu, Corina Anton, Sorana Corneanu, Mihnea Dobre, Smaranda Elian, Dana Jalobeanu, Tinca Prunea-Bretonnet, Silvia Ștefan.

We are looking for candidates working on any topic related to the early modernity (broadly conceived) and highly determined to be involved in the dynamic group we have built in Bucharest. Potential applicants are invited to submit the following documents: (1) full CV (including publications); (2) an outline proposal of no more than 1000 words.

Please send the material to Dana Jalobeanu (dana.jalobeanu@filosofie.unibuc.ro) and Mihnea Dobre (mihnea.dobre@unibuc.ro) by May 20; decisions will be communicated by June 1.

For any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us!

  1. Internship at the Early Modern Cluster

The research group in early modern thought at the University of Bucharest is looking for highly motivated graduates (undergraduates are also encouraged to apply) interested in the early modern period (broadly conceived) to act as interns for the next academic term. We are searching for an intern to help us develop the website (WordPress) and to be active in disseminating the work of the group. Depending on the technical skill and involvement of the candidates, we can extend the collaboration to other digital-related activities.

In order to apply, please send a CV and a motivation letter (max. 1-page each) to Dana Jalobeanu (dana.jalobeanu@filosofie.unibuc.ro) and Mihnea Dobre (mihnea.dobre@unibuc.ro).

CFP JEMS Special Issues Spring-Fall 2023

The Journal of Early Modern Studies (JEMS), ISSN: 2285-6382 (paperback), ISSN: 2286-0290 (electronic), edited by the Foundations of Modern Thought Research Centre, University of Bucharest, welcomes proposals for its Spring and Fall 2023 Special Issues. Prospective guest editors are invited to explore any topic pertinent to JEMS’s general interest in cross-disciplinary approaches to early modern thought that draw on intellectual history, history of philosophy and history of science. The main language of the journal is English, although contributions in French are also accepted. JEMS is a double blind peer-reviewed journal, currently indexed in Web of Science Emerging Sources Citation Index, ERIH+, EBSCO, Philosophy Research Index, PhilPapers.

Please prepare proposals that contain the following:

  • A description of the topic (up to 1200 words)
  • A table of contents (6-8 articles of 8000 words each)
  • Short abstracts of the contributions (up to 300 words each)
  • Short bios of the editors and contributors
  • A timeline of manuscript submission

The deadline for submission of proposals for either of the two issues is October 1, 2021.

Please send your queries and your proposals to jems@zetabooks.com.

For further details about JEMS, please visit https://zetabooks.com/library/journals/journal-of-early-modern-studies/.

CFP JEMS 5.1

CALL FOR PAPERS

GENERAL (NON-THEMATIC) ISSUE OF THE JOURNAL OF EARLY MODERN STUDIES (ISSUE 5.1)

The Editors of the Journal of Early Modern Studies are pleased to announce a call for papers for the Spring 2016 general (non-thematic) issue of JEMS. Submissions of articles and reviews, in English and French, falling within the
general scope of JEMS are welcome.

JEMS is an interdisciplinary, blind double peer-reviewed journal of intellectual
history, dedicated to the exploration of the interactions between philosophy, science and religion in Early Modern Europe. It aims to respond to the growing awareness within the scholarly community of an emerging new field of research that crosses the boundaries of the traditional disciplines and goes beyond received historiographic categories and concepts. JEMS publishes high-quality articles reporting results of research in intellectual history, history of philosophy and history of early modern science, with a special interest in cross-disciplinary approaches. It furthermore aims to bring to the attention of the scholarly community as yet unexplored topics, which testify to the multiple intellectual exchanges and interactions between Eastern and Western Europe during the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is edited by the Research Centre “Foundations of Modern Thought”, University of Bucharest, and published and distributed by Zeta Books. For further information on JEMS and its previous issues, please visit http://www.zetabooks.com/journals/journal-of-early-modern-studies.html

Please send your contributions no later than the 15th of November 2015 to
jems@zetabooks.com.

 

Bran 2015

BUCHAREST-PRINCETON SEMINAR
IN EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY
15th Edition
 
Organized by the Research Centre for the Foundations of Modern Thought (FME), University of Bucharest, in collaboration with the Philosophy Department at Princeton University 
12 – 17 July 2015
Bran, Romania
Philosophical Conversations:
Intellectual Interactions in the 17th Century
Programme (PDF)
    The Bucharest-Princeton Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy is an international annual meeting of scholars interested in various aspects of early modern thought. The aim of the seminar is to create a stimulating environment for discussing papers and ideas. It includes workshops in the morning and presentations of papers in the afternoon, where participants can present work in progress. While the morning sessions will focus on the theme of “Philosophical Conversations: Intellectual Interactions in the 17th Century,” the afternoon sessions seek to 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. Throughout we try to maintain a balance between the high scholarly level and the informal friendly spirit of a colloquium.
    The Seminar will take place in Bran, a small mountain resort near Brasov, in Transylvania. It will be hosted in a small, friendly Bed and Breakfast (single or double rooms). The participation fee is 250 EUR for faculty and 150 EUR for students (covering accommodation with breakfast). There will be a certain number of scholarships for participants; please indicate on your application if you would like to be considered. We invite applications for contributions (from researchers) and for attendance (from students). Researchers are strongly encouraged to contribute papers, though not required. While the morning sessions will focus on the announced theme of the workshop, contributed papers may be about any subject in early-modern philosophy and/or science. If you want to contribute a paper, please send a CV and a one-page abstract, and if you want to attend, a CV and a letter of intent – by May 2th – to Vlad Alexandrescu (valexandrescu@gmail.com), Dana Jalobeanu (dana.jalobeanu@celfis.ro). 

 

Programme Bran 2014

Bucharest-Princeton Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy
Bran, 8–13 July 2014
De rerum natura: Naturalism, Supernaturalism, Unnaturalism
Programme
Tuesday, 8 July
9.30 Departure to Bran from Hotel Flowers, Plantelor str. 2, Bucharest  (lunch on the way in Brașov)
17.00 Arrival in Bran (Vila Andra)
19.00 Dinner
Wednesday, 9 July
10.00-10.40 Enrico Pasini (Turin): The development of physics/philosophy of nature between Copernicus and Galilei
10.40-10.55 Coffee break
10.55-13.00 Reading group (I): Naturalism: Cardano, Telesio and Bacon
Convenors: Daniel Garber, Mihnea Dobre, Doina-Cristina Rusu
Texts: Cardano, De subtilitate II (fragments); Telesio, On the Nature of Things (Chaps. 8-16); Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum, experiments 800-830 (SEH II 602-609), 30-32 (SEH II 351-353); Bacon, Novum organum II (OFB XI 221-253).
13.00-15.00 Lunch break
Section 1
16.00-16.35 Doina-Cristina Rusu (Bucharest): Naturalizing the unnatural in Francis Bacon’s Sylva Sylvarum: the power of imagination to create forms
16.35-16.50 Coffee Break
16.50-17.25 Oana Matei (Bucharest/Arad): The use of experiment with plants in Francis Bacon’s Syla Sylvarum V
17.25-18.00 Claudia Dumitru (Bucharest): Sounds and Spirits in Francis Bacon’s Sylva Sylvarum
Section 2
16.00-16.40 Aaron Spink (South Florida): Descartes: knowing passions and clueless minds
16.40-17.00 Coffee Break
17.00-17.40 Daniel Colette (South Florida): Passions embodied: Descartes’ ethics in the Letters to Elisabeth revisited
19.30 Dinner
Thursday, 10 July
9.15-9.50 Tamàs Pavlovits (Szeged) : La perception de l’infini et la nature de l’esprit chez Descartes
9.50-10.40 Igor Agostini (Lecce): Descartes and More on the infinity of the world
10.40-10.55 Coffee break
10.55-13.00 Reading group (II): Descartes and supernaturalism
Convenors: Vlad Alexandrescu, Grigore Vida, Daniel Garber
Texts: Descartes to X, September 1629 (AT I 21); to X, early 1638? (Clerselier II 159); to Morin, 12 September 1638 (AT II 365); to Mersenne, 19 June 1639 (AT II 557-558); to Elisabeth, November 1646 (AT IV 531-532); to Mersenne, 25 January 1647 (AT IV 593-594); to Silhon, March or April 1648 (AT V 136-137); Descartes, Cogitationes privatæ (AT X 218); Le Monde (AT XI 443); Principes de la philosophie, art. 187 (AT IX-2 308-309); Annotationes in sua Principia philosophiæ (AT XI 654)
13.00-15.00 Lunch break
Section 1
16.00-16.40 Sarah Ellenzweig (Rice, English): Richard Bentley’s Boyle Lectures and the Epicurean void
16.40-17.00 Coffee Break
17.00-17.40 Veronika Szànto (Budapest): Margaret’s Cavendish’s hierachical vitalism
Section 2
16.00-16.35 Ed Slowik (Winona State): The ‘situation’ of the unextended in Leibniz’s immaterialist metaphysics
16.35-16.50 Coffee Break
16.50-17.25 Andrea Strazzoni (Rotterdam): The concept of nature in early modern Dutch philosophy
17.25-18.00 Rodolfo Garau (UniTo/MPIWG Berlin): Gassendi’s experimental naturalization of astrology
19.00 Dinner
Friday, 11 July
9.15-9.50 Olivier Dubouclez (Liège): Fascination as a case of action at a distance in Early Modern science
9.50-10.40 Jennifer Rampling (Princeton): Alchemy, theory of matter and natural magic
10.40-10.55 Coffee break
10.55-13.00 Reading group (III): Heaven on Earth: Celestial Virtues in Early Modern Astrology and Alchemy
Convenors: Jennifer Rampling (Princeton), Steven Vanden Broecke (Ghent)
Texts: Basic readings: Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Ia.q105.a3-4; Cornelius Agrippa, On Occult Philosophy, book I (chapter 12-16; chapters 1-11 highly recommended); Pierre Bayle, Various Thoughts on the Occasion of a Comet, selected passages; John of Rupescissa, De consideratione quintae essentiae, selected passages; ps.-Ramòn Lull, Novum Testamentum, selected passages;
Additional readings: Cornelius Agrippa, On Occult Philosophy, book III (chapters 3-9); Joshua Childrey, Indago Astrologica, selected passages; John Goad, Astro-Meteorologica, selected passages.
13.00-15.00 Lunch break
Section 1
16.00-16.35: Alison Peterman (Rochester): Spinoza on the common notions
16.35-16.50 Coffee break
16.50-17.25 Michael A. Rosenthal (Washington): Spinoza on beings of reason
17.25-18.00 Raphael Krut-Landau (Princeton/ENS): Spinoza’s naturalism about the emotions
Section 2
16.00-16.40 Charles T. Wolfe (Ghent): Medical Epicureanism and Philosophical Epicureanism: La Mettrie and Diderot
16.40-17.00 Coffee break
17.00 -17.40 Tinca Prunea-Bretonnet (NEC Bucharest): Baumgarten’s conception of the transcendental and its role in Kantian philosophy
19.00 Dinner
Saturday, 12 July
9.15-9.50 Steven Vanden Broecke (Ghent) : L’analyse de Michel de Certeau du croire et les avantages possibles pour l’étude historique des rapports entre la science et la religion
9.50-10.40 Roger Ariew (South Florida) : Leibniz and the Petrifying Virtue of the Place
10.40-10.55 Coffee break
10.55-13.00 Reading group (IV): Naturalism in Spinoza and Leibniz
Convenors: Daniel Garber, Roger Ariew, Yitzhak Melamed, Michael Rosenthal
Texts: Spinoza, Ethics, part I, particularly props. 15&S, 16, 17, 18, 28-33, appendix; part III, pref.; part IV, pref. (note also the version of E1p18 from the Opera Posthuma in a separate file); Spinoza, Short Treatise (KV) I.4; Spinoza, TTP chapt 6, note; Leibniz, “Two Sects of Naturalists”; Leibniz, “On Nature Itself”
13.00-15.00 Lunch
16.00-16.40 Peter Anstey (Sydney): Early modern experimental philosophy and the principles of religion
16.40-17.00 Coffee break
17.00-17.40 Justin E. Smith (Paris) : The Unity of human species in Aristotle, Leibniz and Kant
18.00 Dinner
Sunday, 13 July
9.30 Departure to Bucharest
This Seminar is supported by two research grants of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research, CNCS-UEFISCDI, project number PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-0998: Models of Producing and Disseminating Knowledge in Early Modern Europe: the Cartesian Framework and project number PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-0719: From Natural History to Science: the emergence of experimental philosophy.