James F. Conant
Encyclopedia
James Ferguson Conant is an American
philosopher who has written extensively on topics in philosophy of language
, ethics
, and metaphilosophy
. He is perhaps best known for his writings on Wittgenstein
, and his association with the New Wittgenstein
school of Wittgenstein interpretation. James Conant is Chester D. Tripp Professor of Humanities, Professor of Philosophy, and Professor in the College at the University of Chicago.
. He received his B.A. in Philosophy and History of Science from Harvard College
in 1982, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Harvard University
in 1990. He joined the philosophy faculty at the University of Pittsburgh
from 1991-1999, and then became Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago
, where he continues to teach. Conant is the grandson of former Harvard University president James Bryant Conant
.
Since the mid 1990’s Conant, together with Cora Diamond
has advanced a “resolute reading” of Wittgenstein's early work which seeks to expose neglected underlying continuities between the philosopher's early and later approaches to philosophy, especially between his early Tractatus Logico Philosophicus and his later Philosophical Investigations
. This resolute reading is meant to show that even in the Tractatus, the purpose of philosophy is the clarification of philosophical problems, aimed at the elucidation of the sentences of the language through which we express ourselves rather than at propounding philosophical theses. The ultimate aim of the reading is to also bring out neglected discontinuities between Wittgenstein's early and later thought and to reorient the interpretation of Wittgenstein's later work by clarifying precisely what it was in his early work which he sought to criticize. Most of the controversy surrounding this interpretation, however, has focused on the reading of the "Tractatus" which it presupposes.
Another area in which Conant works is the history of analytic philosophy, in which he has written especially about the work of Gottlob Frege
, of Rudolf Carnap
, as well as about the relation between the views of both of these figures and those of Wittgenstein. A related theme running throughout Conant's work is the relation between the ideas of Immanuel Kant
, and the Kantian tradition more broadly, and the analytic tradition. Although his philosophical orientation is largely that of someone trained in the analytic tradition, Conant has also written a series of widely discussed essays on various so-called “Continental" Philosophers, most notably on Kierkegaard and on Nietzsche. It is especially in connection with his readings of specific texts by Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Wittgenstein that he explores the theme of how the literary form of a philosophical text is intertwined with its philosophical content. Conant has also written a number of essays exploring the treatment of philosophical ideas in literary texts, ranging from the short stories of Franz Kafka to the novels of George Orwell. A recurring topic throughout Conant’s work is that of philosophical skepticism
. In this connection, he has drawn an influential distinction between two varieties of skepticism, which he calls “Cartesian skepticism” and “Kantian skepticism” respectively.
Aside from Cora Diamond, the four names in contemporary philosophy with which Conant's is most often linked are those of Stanley Cavell
, Thomas Kuhn
, John McDowell
, and Hilary Putnam
. He has worked with each of these philosophers and has written several essays on each of them. He has edited two volumes of Hilary Putnam's papers and co-edited (with John Haugeland
) one volume of Thomas Kuhn's papers, with a second posthumous work by Kuhn soon to be completed.
Conant has taught as a visiting professor at the College de France, Potsdam University, University of Amsterdam, University of Bergen, University of Helsinki, University of Iceland in Reykyavik, University of Picardy in Amiens, and University of Uppsala. From 1990 to 1993 he was a Fellow at the Michigan Society of Fellows and from 2008 to 2009 at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. From 2006 to 2008, together with David E. Wellbery
, he was a co-recipient of a Mellon Foundation Saywer Seminar Grant. He is the co-recipient of two Humboldt TransCoop Awards, one with Sebastian Rödl and one with Pirmin Stekeler-Weithofer
, each of which has facilitated numerous philosophical projects, workshops, and conferences sponsored jointly by the Departments of Philosophy at Leipzig University and the University of Chicago.
At the University of Chicago, Conant organizes and runs both the Wittgenstein Workshop (together with Michael Kremer) and The German Philosophy Workshop (together with Robert B. Pippin
), each of which meets on a bi-weekly basis during the academic year and serves as a forum for both graduates students and international scholars. He serves on a number of academic advisory boards, including those of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, the Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen, the Berlin Center for Knowledge Research, the North American Nietzsche Society, and the Internationale Ludwig Wittgenstein Gesellschaft. He is also a member of the senior editorial board of the journal Wittgenstein-Studien: Internationales Jahrbuch für Wittgenstein-Forschung.
In summer 2011, the Institute of Philosophy of the University of Porto in Portugal hosted a conference titled The Logical Alien at 20, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the publication of James Conant's paper "The Search for Logically Alien Thought".
Conant is currently working on four projects: a monograph on skepticism entitled Varieties of Skepticism, a co-authored collection of essays with Cora Diamond entitled Wittgenstein and the Inheritance of Philosophy, a book on film aesthetics entitled The Ontology of the Cinematographic Image, and a forthcoming collection of interpretative essays on a variety of philosophers entitled Resolute Readings.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
philosopher who has written extensively on topics in philosophy of language
Philosophy of language
Philosophy of language is the reasoned inquiry into the nature, origins, and usage of language. As a topic, the philosophy of language for analytic philosophers is concerned with four central problems: the nature of meaning, language use, language cognition, and the relationship between language...
, ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, and metaphilosophy
Metaphilosophy
Metaphilosophy, also called philosophy of philosophy, is the study of the nature, aims, and methods of philosophy. The term is derived from Greek word meta μετά and philosophía φιλοσοφία ....
. He is perhaps best known for his writings on Wittgenstein
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...
, and his association with the New Wittgenstein
New Wittgenstein
The New Wittgenstein is a family of interpretations of the work of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. In particular, those associated with this interpretation understand Wittgenstein to have avoided putting forth a "positive" metaphysical program, and understand him to be advocating philosophy as a...
school of Wittgenstein interpretation. James Conant is Chester D. Tripp Professor of Humanities, Professor of Philosophy, and Professor in the College at the University of Chicago.
Life
Conant was born in Kyoto, Japan to American parents. At 14, he attended Phillips Exeter AcademyPhillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
. He received his B.A. in Philosophy and History of Science from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
in 1982, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1990. He joined the philosophy faculty at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
from 1991-1999, and then became Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, where he continues to teach. Conant is the grandson of former Harvard University president James Bryant Conant
James Bryant Conant
James Bryant Conant was a chemist, educational administrator, and government official. As thePresident of Harvard University he reformed it as a research institution.-Biography :...
.
Academic work
Conant works broadly in philosophy and has published articles in Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind, Aesthetics, German Idealism, History of Analytic Philosophy, and Skepticism, among other areas, and on a wide range of philosophers, including Kant, Emerson, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Josiah Royce, William James, Frege, Carnap, Wittgenstein, Putnam, Cavell, Rorty, and McDowell, among others.Since the mid 1990’s Conant, together with Cora Diamond
Cora Diamond
Cora Diamond is an American philosopher. She has worked on problems in analytic philosophy, the interpretation of Ludwig Wittgenstein, and moral philosophy. A moral vegetarian, she has also examined the rhetorical and philosophical nature of contemporary attitudes towards animal rights...
has advanced a “resolute reading” of Wittgenstein's early work which seeks to expose neglected underlying continuities between the philosopher's early and later approaches to philosophy, especially between his early Tractatus Logico Philosophicus and his later Philosophical Investigations
Philosophical Investigations
Philosophical Investigations is, along with the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, one of the most influential works by the 20th-century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein...
. This resolute reading is meant to show that even in the Tractatus, the purpose of philosophy is the clarification of philosophical problems, aimed at the elucidation of the sentences of the language through which we express ourselves rather than at propounding philosophical theses. The ultimate aim of the reading is to also bring out neglected discontinuities between Wittgenstein's early and later thought and to reorient the interpretation of Wittgenstein's later work by clarifying precisely what it was in his early work which he sought to criticize. Most of the controversy surrounding this interpretation, however, has focused on the reading of the "Tractatus" which it presupposes.
Another area in which Conant works is the history of analytic philosophy, in which he has written especially about the work of Gottlob Frege
Gottlob Frege
Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege was a German mathematician, logician and philosopher. He is considered to be one of the founders of modern logic, and made major contributions to the foundations of mathematics. He is generally considered to be the father of analytic philosophy, for his writings on...
, of Rudolf Carnap
Rudolf Carnap
Rudolf Carnap was an influential German-born philosopher who was active in Europe before 1935 and in the United States thereafter. He was a major member of the Vienna Circle and an advocate of logical positivism....
, as well as about the relation between the views of both of these figures and those of Wittgenstein. A related theme running throughout Conant's work is the relation between the ideas of Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
, and the Kantian tradition more broadly, and the analytic tradition. Although his philosophical orientation is largely that of someone trained in the analytic tradition, Conant has also written a series of widely discussed essays on various so-called “Continental" Philosophers, most notably on Kierkegaard and on Nietzsche. It is especially in connection with his readings of specific texts by Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Wittgenstein that he explores the theme of how the literary form of a philosophical text is intertwined with its philosophical content. Conant has also written a number of essays exploring the treatment of philosophical ideas in literary texts, ranging from the short stories of Franz Kafka to the novels of George Orwell. A recurring topic throughout Conant’s work is that of philosophical skepticism
Philosophical skepticism
Philosophical skepticism is both a philosophical school of thought and a method that crosses disciplines and cultures. Many skeptics critically examine the meaning systems of their times, and this examination often results in a position of ambiguity or doubt...
. In this connection, he has drawn an influential distinction between two varieties of skepticism, which he calls “Cartesian skepticism” and “Kantian skepticism” respectively.
Aside from Cora Diamond, the four names in contemporary philosophy with which Conant's is most often linked are those of Stanley Cavell
Stanley Cavell
Stanley Louis Cavell is an American philosopher. He is the Walter M. Cabot Professor Emeritus of Aesthetics and the General Theory of Value at Harvard University.-Life:...
, Thomas Kuhn
Thomas Kuhn
Thomas Samuel Kuhn was an American historian and philosopher of science whose controversial 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions was deeply influential in both academic and popular circles, introducing the term "paradigm shift," which has since become an English-language staple.Kuhn...
, John McDowell
John McDowell
John Henry McDowell is a South African philosopher, formerly a fellow of University College, Oxford and now University Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Although he has written extensively on metaphysics, epistemology, ancient philosophy, and meta-ethics, McDowell's most influential work...
, and Hilary Putnam
Hilary Putnam
Hilary Whitehall Putnam is an American philosopher, mathematician and computer scientist, who has been a central figure in analytic philosophy since the 1960s, especially in philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, philosophy of mathematics, and philosophy of science...
. He has worked with each of these philosophers and has written several essays on each of them. He has edited two volumes of Hilary Putnam's papers and co-edited (with John Haugeland
John Haugeland
John Haugeland was a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago from 1999 until his death. He was chair of the philosophy department from 2004-2007. He spent at most of his career teaching at the University of Pittsburgh...
) one volume of Thomas Kuhn's papers, with a second posthumous work by Kuhn soon to be completed.
Conant has taught as a visiting professor at the College de France, Potsdam University, University of Amsterdam, University of Bergen, University of Helsinki, University of Iceland in Reykyavik, University of Picardy in Amiens, and University of Uppsala. From 1990 to 1993 he was a Fellow at the Michigan Society of Fellows and from 2008 to 2009 at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. From 2006 to 2008, together with David E. Wellbery
David E. Wellbery
David E. Wellbery is a prominent literary critic within German Studies.He is currently the LeRoy T. and Margaret Deffenbaugh Carlson University Professor at the University of Chicago. He holds appointments in Germanic Studies, Comparative Literature and in the Committee on Social Thought...
, he was a co-recipient of a Mellon Foundation Saywer Seminar Grant. He is the co-recipient of two Humboldt TransCoop Awards, one with Sebastian Rödl and one with Pirmin Stekeler-Weithofer
Pirmin Stekeler-Weithofer
Pirmin Stekeler-Weithofer is a German philosopher and professor of theoretical philosophy at the university of Leipzig. He was the president of the international Ludwig Wittgenstein society and is now a vice-president of this institution.- Philosophy :The philosopher studied mathematics and...
, each of which has facilitated numerous philosophical projects, workshops, and conferences sponsored jointly by the Departments of Philosophy at Leipzig University and the University of Chicago.
At the University of Chicago, Conant organizes and runs both the Wittgenstein Workshop (together with Michael Kremer) and The German Philosophy Workshop (together with Robert B. Pippin
Robert B. Pippin
Robert B. Pippin is an American philosopher. He is the Evelyn Stefansson Nef Distinguished Service Professor in the John U. Nef Committee on Social Thought, the Department of Philosophy, and the College at the University of Chicago....
), each of which meets on a bi-weekly basis during the academic year and serves as a forum for both graduates students and international scholars. He serves on a number of academic advisory boards, including those of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, the Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen, the Berlin Center for Knowledge Research, the North American Nietzsche Society, and the Internationale Ludwig Wittgenstein Gesellschaft. He is also a member of the senior editorial board of the journal Wittgenstein-Studien: Internationales Jahrbuch für Wittgenstein-Forschung.
In summer 2011, the Institute of Philosophy of the University of Porto in Portugal hosted a conference titled The Logical Alien at 20, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the publication of James Conant's paper "The Search for Logically Alien Thought".
Conant is currently working on four projects: a monograph on skepticism entitled Varieties of Skepticism, a co-authored collection of essays with Cora Diamond entitled Wittgenstein and the Inheritance of Philosophy, a book on film aesthetics entitled The Ontology of the Cinematographic Image, and a forthcoming collection of interpretative essays on a variety of philosophers entitled Resolute Readings.
External links
- James Ferguson Conant: Curriculum Vitae
- James Conant's webpage at The University of Chicago Department of Philosophy website
See also
- American philosophyAmerican philosophyAmerican philosophy is the philosophical activity or output of Americans, both within the United States and abroad. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes that while American philosophy lacks a "core of defining features, American Philosophy can nevertheless be seen as both reflecting and...
- List of American philosophers