"'To Condemn Nothing and Profit from Everything Good:' Leibniz and the History of Philosophy."

Date/Time: March 8, 5pm
Place: Bozorth 118

Christopher Noble, of the Philosophy and Religion Studies Department at Rowan, will present a talk entitled "'To Condemn Nothing and Profit from Everything Good:' Leibniz and the History of Philosophy." 

Prof. Noble has provided us with the following abstract of his talk: “The German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz is often described as an “eclectic” or “syncretic” thinker, meaning that his philosophical system brings together ideas from philosophers of different time-periods and intellectual traditions. As he himself wrote in wrote in 1706, “My general maxim is to condemn nothing, and profit from everything good.” This presentation will elucidate the strategies Leibniz employed in engaging the global history of philosophy up to his time in order to answer the question of what it would mean for a philosopher to live up to this maxim. It will also contrast Leibniz’s approach to philosophical history with standard historiographical methods employed by historians of philosophy today."

Theorizing at Rowan is a series of public, work in progress lectures covering a broad range of topics of relevance to scholars in philosophy, religion studies, and other related disciplines. The goal of the series is to promote scholarly exchange in the Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies, the rest of the university, and among interested scholars throughout the region. Speakers will include members of the department, faculty from elsewhere at Rowan and from other institutions.

All Theorizing at Rowan events are free and open to the public. All interested faculty, students and members of the community are warmly encouraged to attend.

Further information about the Theorizing at Rowan series, including a full schedule of upcoming talks, as well as posters and abstracts for individual events, can be found at: http://theorizing-at-rowan.tumblr.com/