Dawes Hicks Symposium
Rationalism, Platonism and God
A symposium on early modern philosophy

Wednesday 26 May 2004
British Academy, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1
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The Dawes Hicks symposium for 2004, hosted by the British Academy, will be
on central themes in the thought of the three major "rationalists",
Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz, relating them to the wider philosophical
and theological tradition.  The main speakers will be John Cottingham,
Robert M. Adams and Michael Ayers.

Professor John Cottingham, The University of Reading, will examine several
important Platonic strands in Descartes’ philosophy which are in varying
degrees of tension with more ‘modernizing’ impulses in his thinking.  The
paper will focus on three main areas of the Cartesian system, namely
cosmology, metaphysics and morals.

Professor Michael Ayers, FBA, Wadham College, Oxford intends to consider
Spinoza's relation to Platonism.  He will focus in particular on Spinoza's
monism and on his radical solutions to such issues as the relations between
universals (eternal truths) and particular things, and between the divine
mind and human minds.

Professor Robert M. Adams of Yale University intends to present a paper
centered on Leibniz's conception of God as ens realissimum, and on his view
of the divine attributes and their relation to the properties of other
things.

All three papers will be directed towards the analysis of the philosophical
positions and motives of the authors discussed, in the light of their
intellectual context.  There will also be contributions from prepared
discussants: Dr Douglas Hedley, Cambridge University, Dr Sarah Hutton,
Middlesex University, and Dr Maria Rosa Antognazza, King’s College, London.

Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting free of charge. The meeting
starts with coffee at 11am. All those attending are warmly encouraged to
stay to lunch where there will be an opportunity to meet the speakers and
continue discussion with other members of the company in an informal
setting (lunch, including refreshments costs £11.00 per person).

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