What is Philosophy for? - Morning

Course Programme

10:00 Session 1 Doing Philosophy: The Role of History   Dr Cecilia Muratori

The role of history in philosophical investigations is controversial. Is it necessary to reconstruct the history of an idea, following it across different contexts and languages, in order to understand it? Or are ideas as such ahistorical? This session will consider the status of the history of philosophy within the broader field of philosophical studies. We will ask whether philosophy has a history, whether it is worth retracing it and how to do it.

11:15 Coffee

11:45 Session 2 Doing Philosophy: The Cultivation of Practice     Dr Cecilia Muratori

What is the duty of the philosopher? Should the cultivation of philosophy be understood as preparation for action? In this session we will discuss the relationship between philosophical knowledge and its application in deciding how to live. The tutor will introduce the field of practical philosophy as well as key terms used to define it, especially ‘ethics’ and ‘morals’. 

13:00 Finish

Cecilia Muratori is Research Fellow at the University of Warwick. She is a historian of philosophy who publishes and teaches in English, Italian and German. Her main research interests are the role of mysticism in philosophical speculation, and the definition of the border dividing humans from animals. Her first monograph is dedicated to the mystical philosopher Jacob Böhme and his remarkable afterlives in German Idealism, and especially in the reception of G.W.F. Hegel: ‘The First German Philosopher’: The Mysticism of Jakob Böhme as Interpreted by Hegel (2016). While she was Research Fellow at LMU Munich (2009-2013) and at Harvard-I Tatti (2013-2014) she developed an interest in Renaissance animal ethics: on this subject she has published several articles and edited two essay collections (The Animal Soul and the Human Mind: Renaissance Debates (2013), and Ethical Perspectives on Animals in the Renaissance and Early Modern Period, co-edited with Burkhard Dohm (2013)). She is now completing her second monograph, on the topic of philosophical vegetarianism in the Renaissance.  Recently, she has also published a co-edited volume on philosophical historiography:  Early Modern Philosophers and the Renaissance Legacy (2016).

Lunch

A selection of sandwiches will be available to purchase in the Terrace Bar.

Additional requirements

ICE is committed to providing equality of opportunity and to a proactive and inclusive approach to equality. We aim to support and encourage under-represented groups, promote an inclusive culture, and value diversity.

Further information about student support.

Entry requirements

No academic qualification is required, and most courses are suitable for students who are new to the subject.

All teaching is in English (unless a foreign-language course). If your first language is not English, you need to satisfy yourself that you have the required near-native command of the language to get the maximum benefit from studying with ICE.

This course takes place at Madingley Hall, home to the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education.

About Madingley Hall

Madingley Hall itself is an impressive manor house dating back to the mid-16th century. The decoration of the Saloon and the formal Stair Hall was carried out 200 years later, and the whole fabric was renovated with great care around 1900. About four miles from the centre of Cambridge, the Hall stands in several acres of beautifully-maintained gardens and overlooks a landscape which has changed relatively little since it was laid out by Capability Brown. It is just four miles from the centre of Cambridge, and only 60 minutes from London, with excellent links to London airports.

Getting here

For more information see directions to Madingley Hall

We now have a mini-bus service which runs between the station and Madingley Hall. For the timetable and further information, please see our Lifelong Learning page or contact the reception desk at ICE.