Aug. 18, 2011

Philosophy Lecture Series to Explore German Thinker Heidegger

The School of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America presents its 44th annual Fall Lecture Series, which this year will explore the philosophical thought of Martin Heidegger, a German philosopher known for his existential and phenomenological explorations of the question of "being."

"Of the thinkers of the last century to whom the epithet 'philosopher' can justly be applied, Heidegger was undoubtedly the most influential, the most demanding, and the most controversial," says John McCarthy, dean of the philosophy school.

"Each of the lecturers in this year's series enjoys an international reputation for his contributions to the philosophical exegesis of Heidegger's work. Professor Holger Zaborowski - who has just published in German what is destined to be the standard scholarly study of the vexed question of Heidegger's relation to National Socialism [or Nazism] - is to be commended for having assembled such an illustrious group of speakers," McCarthy says. "Anyone interested in securing a better understanding of Heidegger, specialist and non-specialist alike, will want to attend these lectures."

The event, which takes as its motto Heidegger's claim that the human being is "the shepherd of being," is among the longest continuously running major philosophy lecture series in the country. The 11 lectures will be delivered by scholars from the United States and abroad, and are free and open to the public. To watch the lectures live, click here .

All the lectures will be held Fridays at 2 p.m. in the Aquinas Hall Auditorium located on CUA's campus at 620 Michigan Ave., N.E. The dates, names of the speakers and the titles of their lectures follow.

  • Sept. 9: Daniel Dahlstrom, professor of philosophy and chair at Boston University, "Rethinking Difference"
  • Sept. 16, Holger Zaborowski, associate professor of philosophy at Catholic University, "Thinking, Truth, and Technology. Heidegger's Later Philosophy as a Philosophy of Freedom"
  • Sept. 23, William McNeill, professor emeritus in history at the University of Chicago, "Tracing Techne: Heidegger, Aristotle, and the Legacy of Philosophy"
  • Sept. 30, Richard Capobianco, professor of philosophy and chair, Stonehill University, "Heidegger's 'The Truth of Being' "
  • Oct. 7, Richard Polt, professor of philosophy and chair at Xavier University, "Drawing the Line: Political Thought in Heidegger's Lecture Courses and Seminars of 1933-1935"
  • Oct. 14, Theodore Kisiel, distinguished research professor of philosophy at Northern Illinois University, "How Heidegger Resolved the Tension Between Technological Globalization and Indigenous Localization: a 21st Century Retrieval"
  • Oct. 21, Charles Bambach, professor of history at the University of Texas, "Heidegger's Poetic Measure: An Ethics of Haunting"
  • Nov. 4, Rudolf Makkreel, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Philosophy at Emory University, "Heidegger's Non-Idealistic Reading of Kant's Transcendental Philosophy"
  • Nov. 11, Richard Velkley, Celia Scott Weatherhead Professor of Philosophy at Tulane University, "Political Philosophy and the Ontological Question"
  • Nov. 18, Walter Brogan, professor of philosophy at Villanova University, "The Intimate Interplay of Existence and Facticity in Heidegger's Being and Time"
  • Dec. 2, Rudolf Bernet, professor of philosophy at the Catholic University of Leuven, "Heidegger on Plato: Truth and Myth"

The lecture series, offered each year since 1967, is made possible by a grant from the Franklin J. Matchette Foundation and support from the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation and the George Dougherty Foundation. For additional information, contact the Office of the Dean, School of Philosophy, at 202-319-5259, e-mail cua-philosophy@cua.edu , or go to http://philosophy.cua.edu/lectures/index.cfm .

MEDIA: For details about covering the lectures, contact Katie Lee or Mary McCarthy in the Office of Public Affairs at 202-319-5600.

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