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G.E.M. Anscombe Archive Conference on Mind & Action


Welcome:

Please join us on April 26-28, 2019 as the Philosophy Department at the University of Pennsylvania, the Collegium Institute, and the Penn Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society host the first Anscombe Archive Conference on Mind & Action.

This year’s speakers will be Prof. Michael Bratman, Prof. Jennifer Ann Frey, Prof. Ellen Fridland, Prof. Jennifer Hornsby, Prof. Richard Moran, Prof. Susanna Schellenberg, Prof. John Schwenkler, Prof. Kieran Setiya, and Prof. Rachael Wiseman.

Commentators at Large

We will not have commentators for each talk. Instead, we will have a number of faculty to serve as Commentators-at-Large who are expected to be active participants in the discussion and help drive productive interaction.

This year’s Commentators-at-Large are Prof. James Doyle, Prof. Kim Frost, Prof. Grace Helton, Prof. Antonia Peacocke, Prof. Adrienne Prettyman, and Prof. Eric Wiland.

Registration

Registration (free) is required for anyone who wishes to attend. Please register by filling out this form.

Schedule

Friday April 26th

All Friday Talks in Fisher-Bennett Hall (corner of 34th and Walnut) Room 401

10,30-12,00: Susanna Schellenberg, “The First Person Perspective and de hinc Content”

12,00-2,00: Lunch and Reception at the Archive

2,00-3,30: Rachael Wiseman, “Linguistic Idealism, Rule-Following & Human Essence”

3,30-4,00: Coffee break

4,00-5,30: Michael Bratman, “Intention, Shared Agency, and the Construction of Organized Institutions”

6,30: Dinner at Louie Louie

Saturday April 27th

All Saturday Talks in Cohen Hall Room 402

10,00-11,30: Jen Frey, “Anscombe on Practical Truth”

11,30-11,45: Break

11,15-1,15: John Schwenkler, “The Concept of a Person”

1,15-2,30: Lunch

2,30-4,00: Ellen Fridland, “Rethinking Practical Intentions”

4,00-4,30: Break

4,30-6,00: Kieran Setiya, “Three Dogmas of Anscombeanism”

6,30ish: Dinner at Han Dynasty

About the Archive

Last year, through the support and generosity of Mr. James N. Perry (C’82), a former member of the Penn School of Arts and Sciences Board of Overseers, Dr. Matthew O’Brien of the Collegium Institute, and Mr. Vincenzo La Ruffa (C’02), and through a collaboration between the Penn Department of Philosophy and PRRUCS, the Collegium Institute Anscombe Archive was transferred to the Penn Library’s Kislak Center for Special Collections, where it will be housed and studied through June 2022. This study will build upon an invaluable preliminary cataloging of the Anscombe Archive, which was undertaken by Dr. Luke Gormally, who along with his wife, Dr. Mary Geach, the daughter of Anscombe, stewarded the Archive from Anscombe’s death in 2001 until its acquisition by the Collegium Institute.

The Anscombe Archive consists of over six hundred catalogued items (including unpublished manuscripts in various stages of revision, philosophical offprints with substantial marginalia, personal correspondence with major philosophical figures, and journals) in twenty-one archival boxes. It is a treasure trove of information for scholars seeking to deepen their understanding of Anscombe and her contributions to many different areas of philosophy. Among the most exciting and intimate objects are a journal of remembrances of Wittgenstein, as well as the over eighty letter and postcard exchanges between Anscombe and Sir Anthony Kenny, former president of the British Academy and Royal Institute of Philosophy, on ultimate philosophical and theological questions. Read More →

You may find a working list of available items in the archive here.

Visit the Archive

The Collegium Institute Anscombe Archive at Penn is housed within the Library’s Kislak Center for Special Collections. Please find information about Kislak Center policies and about guest reading privileges (which requires registration) here. Note that the Kislak Center will be closed on Saturday and Sunday, but is open on Thursday and Friday from 10am-4:45pm. Plan to visit during those hours if you would like to view items from the Archive, apart from the display for conference participants scheduled on Friday from 1:00-2:00pm in the Lea Library.

Sponsor Information

We are incredibly thankful to the Penn Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society (PRRUCS), the Collegium Institute,and the Penn Department of Philosophy for their support.

Organizers

The first Anscombe Archive conference is being organized by Errol Lord. He is being assisted by Paul Musso and Michael Vazquez.

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Living the Truth: On the Relevance of Elizabeth Anscombe's Thought Today

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May 8

Catholicism after the CRISIS: Historical Reflections and Current Strategies for Governance, Reform, and Renewal