Conference at the International Centre for Philosophie NRW, March 19.-21. 2025
Organised by Dr. Laure Cahen-Maurel & Prof. Dr. Michael Forster

Aristotle’s neologism “symphilosophein” (Nicomachean Ethics, IX) served as a model for the early German romantics to develop new philosophical concepts, methods, and theories. It led them to redefine philosophy as symphilosophieren – an inherently social activity of human life. However, symphilosophizing does not just have one single idea or procedure in common, nor does it seek to be a school of thought as such. The aim of this trilingual international conference (English, German, French) is to examine specific cases of symphilosophizing among the thinkers of early German romanticism, as well as highlighting convergences and divergences in their approaches. These include their ways of relating to the history of philosophy (Platonism, Kantianism, German idealism, Eastern philosophy…), the idea of a New Mythology, the practice of hermeneutics, transcendental and synthetic methods, etc. The conference will also look at more contemporary variants of symphilosophizing.

With talks by:

• Prof. (em.) Dr. Andreas Arndt (Humboldt Universität Berlin)
• Dr. Laure Cahen-Maurel (Universität Bonn)
• Prof. Dr. Michael Forster (Universität Bonn)
• Prof. Dr. Bärbel Frischmann (Universität Erfurt)
• Prof. Dr. Mildred Galland-Szymkowiak (CNRS / ENS Paris)
• Dr. Gerad Gentry (Universität Mainz)
• Prof. Dr. Kristin Gjesdal (Temple University)
• Dr. Christoph Haffter (Universität Basel)
• Prof. Dr. Katia Hay (University of Amsterdam)
• Prof. Dr. Elizabeth Millán (DePaul University)
• Dr. François Thomas (Université Paris X Nanterre)
• Prof. Dr. Violetta Waibel (Universität Wien)
• Prof. Dr. Jure Zovko (University of Zagreb)