The central theme for 2018-19 will be “Travel as Topic, Metaphor, and Method”

In this course, we will read and analyze a number of core texts of the philosophical curriculum, focussing on the notion of the "travel,” in order to gain insight in the practices of approaching philosophy via its history.

The notion of the "travel" can take up a number of functions: Philosophical texts can discuss real travels (Petrarca’s ascent to the Mont Ventoux). "Travel" also becomes a strong metaphor (in Plato’s and Plotinus‘ descriptions of the ascent of the soul to ever higher level; in particular, "travel" can function as an image for philosophy itself – the real journey as dialectic, as philosophy may also be; in Dante, the image of the travel is an opportunity to discuss the very limits of philosophy; in Hegel’s talk about the movement of concepts, the "travel"-metaphor extends to the methodological details of his philosophy), and these metaphors can themselves provide an understanding into how large-scale types of philosophical theories (such as "Platonism") came to be formed.

As historians of philosophy, we study the transmission of ideas – how do ideas travel between authors, schools, contexts, fields? We embed concepts and theories into broader contexts – talking about travels in philosophical texts requires an understanding of the cultural background of travelling in the period in question. This course will present you with in inventory of styles and methods in the history of philosophy, by focussing upon a range of texts by Plato, Plotinus, Petrarch, and Hegel.