In recent years, the number of social-historical analyses of (the history of) philosophy has increased considerably, and work in this area has gained much in terms of general interest and visibility. The purpose of this initiative is to offer a forum for all work in this area, regardless of traditions, approaches or linguistic community. The aim is twofold:
1. to understand philosophers’ contexts and impacts (intellectual, academic, social, political, economic etc.). This includes investigations into both academic and non-academic philosophy, as well as studies of the relationship between philosophy and other disciplines or forms of knowledge.
2. to gain a better understanding of the full variety of possible approaches: e.g., social history, sociology of philosophy, history of disciplines, history of editions, books and journals, history of the university and education, places of knowledge, bibliometrics and sociometrics (“big data”), or social history of concepts. We want to encourage exchange and debate between different traditions of scholarship.
Research questions might include for example: In what ways is philosophy social and political? What forms of exclusion (e.g. of women) can be identified? What accounts for the strength of specific philosophical arguments in specific contexts? How do institutions (like the university, publishing houses, etc.) shape philosophical work? What are the social determinants of philosophical canons? What are the different forms of social organisation of philosophers (“circles”, “schools”, “traditions” …)? What are typical forms of philosophers’ “self-fashioning” (as “sage”, “radical”, “solitary”)? In what ways is philosophy national or transnational? How is philosophy taught; and with what purposes in mind?
Colleagues interested in joining INSHIP should contact [email protected] or one of the other founding members of the network. We hope to eventually organize a webpage as well as international workshops and conferences.
Wien, April 14th, 2018
Natàlia Canto Mila (Barcelona), Wolf Feuerhahn (Paris), Martin Kusch (Vienna), Elisabeth Nemeth (Vienna), Johannes Steizinger (Vienna), Martin Strauss (Paris-Vienna), Monika Wulz (Zurich), Caterina Zanfi (Wuppertal)