I am still fairly new to the European philosophy scene, but one of the first things I noticed here is the very stark division among co-called theoretical and practical philosophers. Their sole point of contact seems to be a shared contempt or (among the more kindly souls) benign neglect of the third category, historians of philosophy. (Sometimes this intersects with analytic/continental, but about all of this another time.) So, folk that move between or straddle such natural kinds are a source of confusion because hard to classify. At the time same time, European philosophy is changing dramatically and quickly because folk move around on European wide scholarships, short-term positions, etc.
This week's winner (recall the rules), Ursula Renz (who has lived and worked in numerous countries), teaches at Alpen-Adria University in Klagenfurt, a small provincial capital in Austria. She just published a lovely, scholarly article on Cassirer in a recent special issue of Synthese (no not THAT special issue). She is a path-breaking thinker (who publishes in theoretical, practical, and history). I know her work primarily because she is one of the world's most exciting, philosophical Spinoza scholars (below an image of the cover of her recent book). Her work on Spinoza always has an eye toward ongoing philosophical debates, yet at the same time is rigorous and insightful. Her renown is still limited to the clubby (male-dominated) world of German speaking philosophers, because most of her publications are in German. But she is a very versatile philosopher: she has published widely on the moral emotions and epistemic individualism (see this lovely piece in German).
Ursula is probably still best known as the author of an acclaimed monograph on Cohen, Natorp, and Cassirer, and more generally a leading authority on what I call Fin de siècle neo-Kantianism. I can't wait to read her paper on how Pitt philosophy is related to the Marburg school!
.
Recent Comments