Alberic in Context
Copenhagen, June 14–16, 2023
Co-organized with Heine Hansen and Enrico Donato

Speakers: Andrew W. Arlig, Magdalena Bieniak, Laurent Cesalli, Enrico Donato, Sten Ebbesen, Charles Girard, Anne Grondeux, Heine Hansen, Yukio Iwakuma, Peter King, Christopher Martin, Sofia Orsino, Pietro Podolak, Timothy Tambassi, Caterina Tarlazzi, Paul Thom, Luisa Valente, Wojciech Wciórka, and Boaz.

Abstract: According to contemporary sources, Alberic of Paris was one of the most important logicians of the twelfth century. He was a fierce opponent of Peter Abelard and his nominalist followers, and famously proved that the logic of his rival was inconsistent. Yet we know relatively little about his own logical and philosophical views and how they were developed by his followers, the Albricani. Reconstructing these views is the focus of a current research project (Exploring Twelfth-Century Philosophy: Alberic of Paris and his School) at the University of Copenhagen. At this conference, we will discuss Alberic and other thinkers in his twelfth-century context.

Sponsored by the Independent Research Fund, Denmark

Judging and Entertaining: A Perennial Debate
Copenhagen, Sep. 13–14, 2023
Sponsored by the Independent Research Fund Denmark

Speakers: François Recanati, Irad Kimhi, Peter Hanks, Johannes Wagner, Guilherme Riscali, Enrico Donato, and Boaz.

Abstract: Following Frege, we commonly divide judgment into two elements: a propositional content, and an act of assent. Notationally, we display this division using propositional variables (φ, ψ) and the assertion sign (⊢). This notation allows us to do many things, for instance to display the content shared across an assertion like ⊢φ ("It is raining"), the corresponding question φ? ("Is it raining?") and so on. This method is nearly universal in current philosophical logic, philosophy of language, and philosopy of mind. But is it accurate?  

Well before Frege, Descartes endorsed a similar picture, in which one first entertains a thought in the intellect, and then judges it with an act of will. Spinoza sharply criticized him for chopping up simple acts of judgment in this way. Before that, Peter Abelard endorsed a similar picture, now widely acknowledged to anticipate Frege's. His main rival, Alberic of Paris, launched a barrage of arguments against it. 

Recently, the Fregean picture has likewise come under criticism, especially in the works of Sebastian Rödl and Irad Kimhi. But a full contextualization of this debate, past and present, has yet to be attempted. 

The purpose of this workshop is to get that ball rolling.

Propositions in the Twelfth Century
Copenhagen, September 26–7, 2022
Co-organized with Heine Hansen

Speakers: Enrico Donato, Sten Ebbesen, Heine Hansen, Christopher Martin, Wojciech Wciórka, and Boaz.

Abstract: Propositions have many roles to play: they are the primary bearers of truth and falsity, a central locus of meaning, and the objects of belief. But what are they? In this workshop, we will examine competing theories of the proposition put forward in the twelfth century, focusing in particular on Peter Abelard, and his main rival, Alberic of Paris.

Sponsored by the Independent Research Fund, Denmark