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Call for Papers Theme: A Hidden Treasure Subtitle: Editorial, Historical, and Philosophical Issues in Avicenna’s “Minor” Works (rasāʾil) Type: 4th International Meeting Institution: Avicenna Study Group Département d'études moyen-orientales, Université d’Aix-Marseille Location: Aix-en-Provence (France) Date: 13.–15.9.2023 Deadline: 18.9.2022 __________________________________________________ This conference will continue the successful format of the Avicenna Study Group (three meetings in 2001, 2002, and 2021 with two volumes of proceedings in 2003 and 2004 and a third volume forthcoming) and will turn to another pivotal topic in the study of Avicenna and his philosophy: the papers will explore the corpus of Avicenna’s widely neglected so-called “minor” works and investigate their relevance for understanding Avicenna’s thought and influence, both on the Eastern and the Western intellectual tradition. The corpus of smaller treatises, tales, and letters on various topics attributed to Avicenna poses particular challenges both in terms of philosophical and philological analysis. In 2014, Dimitri Gutas (Avicenna and the Aristotelian Tradition, 2nd ed.) provided a revised list of works that included, alongside the well-known summae, also the lesser-known shorter writings. While the authenticity of some of these rasāʾil remains questionable, it is clear that they all shaped in different degrees the perception on Avicenna throughout the centuries and, thus, deserve more attention from scholars to bring to light their variegated history of transmission and reception as well as their value for understanding Avicenna. Many of these smaller texts remain unedited and discuss topics that are rarely studied or appear otherwise difficult to integrate into the systematic framework of Avicenna’s philosophy. They may enrich or surely substantiate our own view of Avicenna, while inauthentic treatises could provide important insight into Avicennian circles and later forgeries may have been sources of misconceptions and erroneous or otherwise peculiar readings among interpreters in history. Against this background, the fourth meeting of the Avicenna Study Group aspires to set a new standard in dealing with the important corpus of Avicenna’s “minor” works and welcomes rigorous and innovative contributions that could feature, for example: - editions, - translations, - manuscript studies, - historical reconstructions, - philosophical analyses, - new hitherto unknown or unlisted treatises, - comparisons with other “minor” works as well as - comparisons with the “major” works. As with the first three meetings of the Avicenna Study Group, the proceedings of the conference will be published. All contributors are expected to prepare their papers after the conference for inclusion in the volume prior to the subsequent – fifth – meeting of the Avicenna Study Group scheduled for 2025. The conference will probably have fifteen slots available for presentations, of which five are open to the call for papers. Each presentation will run for 45 minutes plus 30 minutes of discussion. Presentations can be held in either French or English. Early career submissions and submissions from members of underrepresented groups within the study of (the history of) philosophy are particularly encouraged. The following scholars have already confirmed their contribution: - Jean-Baptiste Brenet (Université Panthéon-Sorbonne) - Cristina Cerami (CNRS, UMR 7219 Sphère, Paris) - Mohammad Javad Esmaeili (Iranian Institute of Philosophy, Tehran) - Dimitri Gutas (Yale University, New Haven) - Jawdath Jabbour (CNRS, centre Paul Albert Février, Aix-en-Provence) - Damien Janos (A.v. Humboldt Stiftung/LMU Munich) - Jules Janssens (De Wulf-Mansion Centre, Leuven) - Meryem Sebti (CNRS, UMR 8230 Centre Jean Pépin, Paris) - Tony Street (University of Cambridge) - Nadjet Zouggar (Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, Iremam) Please submit your application via email, by 18 September 2022, to: andreas.lam...@ru.nl and olga.lizz...@univ-amu.fr Your email should indicate “ASG IV” in the subject line and your submission should include (as an attached file, Word or PDF) a short abstract of 300–500 words about your planned presentation and a CV indicating your name and preferred email address, your institutional affiliation, and your career stage. Selected participants will be informed by 3 October 2022. Costs for travel and accommodation will be covered. Organisers Olga L. Lizzini Aix-Marseille Université/CNRS-Iremam Email: olga.lizz...@univ-amu.fr Andreas Lammer Radboud University Nijmegen/CHPS) Email: andreas.lam...@ru.nl __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: https://interphil.polylog.org InterPhil List Archive: https://www.mail-archive.com/interphil@list.polylog.org/ __________________________________________________
