Weekly online seminar series organized by Robert Pasnau, professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado Boulder, current Paris IAS Fellow, with the support of the Paris IAS.

Program

Introduction
by Robert Pasnau

The Speaking Animal: Philosophy of Language in the Age of al-Fārābī”
by Nadja Germann (Freiburg)

Abstract

Experts of medieval philosophy are well acquainted with Arabic names like al-Fārābī, Avicenna, and Averroes. However, only few scholars are aware that at the same time as these ‘giants,’ a host of other thinkers were active, some of whom had, in fact, a tremendous impact on 12th/13th-century Islamic philosophy and beyond. And even fewer specialists have taken note of the specific prosperity and sophistication distinguishing a field we would nowadays classify as philosophy of language. In this talk, I will focus on core features of this ‘forgotten tradition’ and some of its major protagonists, particularly, al-Jāḥiẓ (d. 868) and Ibn Jinnī (d. 1002).

No registration needed. You can watch live and participate in the Q & A following this Zoom link: https://iea-paris.zoom.us/j/97913851674