NASS 8:
Controversial Schelling

The eighth meeting of the North American Schelling Society, NASS 8, will take place in person in

Spokane, Washington, USA

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May 23-25, 2024

CONTROVERSIAL SCHELLING

At NASS 8, papers will be presented that, although sympathetic to F.W.J. Schelling’s thought, employ him to critique or broaden the canon, or to argue for claims that run contrary to canonical positions. We also anticipate papers that critique Schelling’s philosophy, or advance it beyond where he himself had taken it or beyond where the canonical view of Schelling takes it, as we do not wish simply to venerate our figure of choice and so enter an echo chamber. We are also open to provocative and controversial, even scandalous arguments.

Was Schelling himself open to controversy? How does Schelling disrupt the canon? For example, is he a German Idealist or a German Realist? How does his account of non-Western thought potentially disrupt the canon? Whom is he reading and who is reading him that falls outside the canon? What is or might be the relationship between Schelling’s thought and French Spiritualism, anarchistic thought, feminist thought, etc.?

How does Schelling’s thought confirm or disrupt disciplinary boundaries? For example, does Schelling even have a political philosophy? Can he be used to imagine new political philosophies? Does Schelling have an ethics or engage in applied ethics? How is Schelling  heretical? For example, does he contravene religious orthodoxy, historical orthodoxy, or methodological orthodoxy? Is Schelling an environmentalist or is that anachronistic?

Does Schelling hold positions that do not seem tenable today? For example, what are his thoughts on phrenology and native peoples? How does he imagine interfaith dialogue? How do we engage with aspects of his work that might make us uncomfortable today?

Does Schelling hold any positions of great valor ... but which are nevertheless insufficient in other ways or even untrue? E.g., what is his account of progress? Are the true, the good and the beautiful the same or potentially disparate?

As always, all papers relevant to the thought of Schelling will be considered, but we have particularly encouraged those that address the conference theme of engaging in critical dialogue with Schelling.

 

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