28-30 April 2022
Collège universitaire dominicain | Dominican University College
96 Empress Ave.
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Keynote Speakers:

Christina M. Gschwandtner (Fordham University)
“Between Phenomenology and Metaphysics: Hedwig Conrad-Martius’ Spiritual Cosmology”

Antonio Calcagno (King’s University College, Western University)
“Gerda Walther and the Necessity of Personhood for Mystical Experience”

Theme

Phenomenology developed with an attendant metaphysics that is highly informed by concepts shared with religion. Dichotomies such as empirical and a priori, finite and infinite, temporal and atemporal, essence and idea, mundane and divine, material and immaterial, subsistence and existence, non-being and being (along with others), are constitutive of early phenomenology’s methods and tenets. While Husserl envisioned phenomenology as “metaphysically neutral” and attempted to keep his personal religious views separate from his scientific work, figures such as Stein and Scheler did not hide the fact that their metaphysical and religious views informed their investigations. Brentano and members of his school were deeply influenced by Aristotelian metaphysics, and this legacy can be seen in the works of Reinach and Ingarden. The presence of Platonism in early phenomenology and the implications of phenomenological idealism remain topics of debate. This conference will explore the metaphysical currents within early phenomenology, as well as the role that religious convictions played in their development.

Conference Schedule

Click here.

Note that all talks will be held in DUC Room 219, located on the ground floor in the west wing of the building.

COVID 19 precautions