May 11
Daniel Elon and Idit Chikurel with Peter Thielke and Caterina Marinelli
Dual Book Panel: Recent Work on Salomon Maimon
Maimon’s Philosophy between Spinoza and Kant (Elon, with comments from Thielke)
Maimon’s Theory of Invention (Chikurel, with comments from Marinelli)
1. Abstract, Elon: The relation between Maimon’s and Spinoza’s thought is complex. This book shows that, despite various affinities, they develop importantly different accounts of the intellect—whether human or divine. The study thereby allows for new perspectives on range of centuries-old debates concerning the status of God, the world, and human thought, particularly as regards the philosophy of Maimon, and generally provides the reader with a rich and novel account of his thought.
2. Abstract, Chikurel: How can we invent new and certain knowledge in a methodical manner? This question stands at the heart of Maimon's theory of invention. Chikurel argues that Maimon's contribution to the ars inveniendi tradition lies in the methods of invention which he prescribes for mathematics. Chikurel thus explores a range of neglected material in Maimon concerning the philosophy of mathematics and more, shedding new light on his thought.
Daniel Elon is lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at the Ruhr University, Bochum. He studied philosophy, German literature, and language at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Germany (2008–2014), earning a B.A. in 2012 and M.A. in 2014. His PhD studies took place in Bochum and at the Universität Hagen in Germany from 2015 to 2020, with visits to Yale University (Visiting Assistant in Research) and Johns Hopkins University (Visiting Graduate Scholar) in 2019. His book Die Philosophie Salomon Maimons zwischen Spinoza und Kant. Akosmismus und Intellektkonzeption [The Philosophy of Salomon Maimon between Spinoza and Kant: Acosmism and the Intellect] was published in 2021 with Meiner.
Idit Chikurel is a postdoctoral fellow at the Maimonides Center for Advanced Studies at the University of Hamburg. She obtained her PhD in Philosophy at Tel-Aviv University in 2019 and holds a master’s degree from the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas. Her dissertation was published as a monograph entitled Salomon Maimon’s Theory of Invention: Scientific Genius, Analysis and Euclidean Geometry in 2020 by De Gruyter. She has previously been a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Potsdam, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, The Selma Stern Center for Jewish Studies at Humboldt University and ETH Zürich, conducting projects on the history and philosophy of science as well as on Jewish philosophy.
Peter Thielke is Robert C. Denison Professor of Philosophy at Pomona College. He is a scholar of the history of philosophy, with an emphasis on Kant and German Idealism, as well as the rationalist and empiricist traditions leading up to Kant. He also has a research interest in epistemology and aesthetics.
Maria Caterina Marinelli has just completed a PhD in Philosophy en cotutelle between Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. She is currently working with Ives Radrizzani on the first volume of Salomon Maimon’s Gesamtausgabe, to appear with Frommann-Holzboog.
A recording of the session will be made available on the “Downloads” page for some time following the event.
(The “Downloads” page is password-protected, and the password is available to all members of the Spinoza and EMP Workshop email list.)