Postgraduate "Work In Progress" Seminar
Postgraduate Work-In-Progress SeminarA weekly seminar for Philosophy postgraduates to present their in-progress work, followed by a well-spirited trip to the pub. OverviewThe WIP provides a risk-free and supportive space for postgraduates to present their work and receive feedback from other graduates and faculty.
Attendance optional but highly recommended. All postgraduates are welcome to present or attend -- whether MA, MPhil, PhD, Visitors, etc. Useful InfoThe WIP is a unique opportunity for graduates to develop their presenting and writing skills, take risks, test out ideas, and receive constructive feedback from peers.
Presentations need not be watertight or polished pieces at all. You are encouraged to present work at all stages of the writing process. Should you present?Are you a postgraduate? Then yes, you should present. |
NEXT TALKBen Long (PhD) Scepticism Thursday 04/06/2026 5pm - 6:15pm S1.50 ORGANISERS |
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Post-Kantian European Philosophy Research Seminar Series
Speaker: Gordon Finlayson (Sussex)
Title: Understanding Meaning in the History of Philosophy
Abstract:
I advance a new and mainly internal criticism of Quentin Skinner鈥檚 claim, first made in his seminal 鈥淢eaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas鈥� (1969), and subsequently never retracted or weakened, that 鈥榯here are no perennial questions in philosophy鈥�, and that Cambridge school style historical interpretation should have sole custody over the proper meaning of texts and theories in the history of philosophy. I lay out two premises to which Skinner is committed: an Austinian conception of linguistic practice, and an Anscombian conception of 鈥榠ntention-in-action鈥�. From these I argue that there are, and will continue to be, 鈥榩erennial questions鈥� in philosophy in the very sense that Skinner denies. My overall aim is to limit Skinner鈥檚 conception of historical interpretation, to make room for methodological pluralism in the history of philosophy.