Radboud University
Plato and Contemporary Political Thought
From Nietzsche to Badiou
Description and organization
The aim of this international conference is to explore and discuss Plato’s multifarious impact on contemporary political thought. Plato’s influence on twentieth- and twenty-first-century political philosophy can hardly be overestimated. It is fascinating to notice the very broad range of highly diverse, and sometimes even opposite, interpretations that characterize the reception of Platonic political philosophy in contemporary thought. Virtually all the major modern and contemporary political thinkers (such as Agamben, Arendt, Badiou, Cavarero, Derrida, Foucault, Nietzsche, Nussbaum, Patočka, Popper, Stiegler, Strauss, Weil, just to name a few examples) have been engaged in a profound conversation with Plato. Far from being a mere erudite or historical exercise, this deep and enduring interest in Plato provides clear evidence that he remains a crucial reference point and a source of inspiration for all those who want to rethink the political.
Programme
30 January 2019
Room: Erasmus Building, E15.39-41
10:15-10:30 Opening
10:30-12:00 Jussi Backman (Jyväskylä, Finland)
Politics of the Idea: (Anti-)Platonic Politics in Arendt and Badiou
Room: Erasmus Building, E15.39-41
14:00-15:00 Federico Stella (Roma, Italy)
Leo Strauss’ Medieval Understanding of Plato
15:00-16:00 Marina Marren (Cairo, Egypt)
The Enemy Within: Schmitt’s Key Ideas as Failures of Plato’s “Statesman”
31 January 2019
Room:Grotius Building, GR1.112
10:30-11:30 Gert-Jan van der Heiden (Nijmegen, the Netherlands)
Politics of Exile: Present-day Readings of the Myth of Er
11:30-12:30 Cristina Basili (Barcelona, Spain)
Leo Strauss and the Problem of Irony in Plato’s “Republic”
Room: Erasmus Building, E.1.17
14:00-15:30 Mauro Bonazzi (Utrecht, the Netherlands)
From Wilamowitz to Nazism: The Invention of Plato’s Political Philosophy
Contact
Registration is required. Send an email to: a.cimino@ftr.ru.nl
(Text by the organizers)
Link