Sami Pihlström to Become a New Professor at UH

On Friday the 31^st of January, the Chancellor of the University of Helsinki gave a decision according to which professor Sami Pihlström may be appointed to a professorship in Philosophy of Religion at the Faculty of Theology. In October 2012, the Dean of the Faculty had appointed a search committee to prepare the appointment process. In January 2014, the committee proposed Pihlström for the position. The faculty will now proceed into preparing the employment contract, which has to be signed by both parties before the actual recruitment takes place. The Chancellor’s decision comes as very welcome news also for the CoE, whose team 3 on Contemporary Philosophy of Religion Pihlström leads.

A January of Firsts

The CoE started its official existence in the beginning of this calendar year. In traditional metaphysician’s jargon, this institutional coming-into-being constituted a ‘substantial change’. As a consequence, various types of activities started running as well, making this month a January of firsts.

On Thursday the 16^th, we had our opening gathering, where information was provided, and to some extent, the first year also sketched. Tuula Sunnarborg, the Financial Planner of the Faculty of Theology started by initiating us into administrative practices and relevant IT systems. The CoE Director Risto Saarinen then continued by discussing practical issues and upcoming dates of importance. After the event, our Coordinator Lauri Uusi-Hakala e-mailed a memo of the meeting together with the slides of Tuula’s presentation to all the participants.

The 23^rd of January brought the beginning of our weekly informal Thursday afternoon coffee breaks. Ritva Palmén, who works as a Research Doctor in Team 2 (Medieval and Early Modern Thought) will be running this cosy event which takes place in the comfortable surroundings of the department library.

On Tuesday the 28^th, all the teams met among themselves at the same time in the afternoon. Our Team 3 (Contemporary Philosophy of Religion) had invited Professor Arto Laitinen from the University of Tampere to give a presentation on theories of recognition. This was a very good, informative and fruitful occasion, which resulted in further discussion and an inspiring exchange of ideas. After the meeting at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, whose Director our team leader Sami Pihlström also is, there was a more informal gathering where all CoE members from different teams could take part. This is a format of team meetings and common gatherings that is intended to be repeated several times during the first year.

On the 30^th of January, the Faculty of Theology then organized a research evening at the University of Helsinki Banquet Rooms on Unioninkatu. In the programme, there were talks on EU funding and research communication, a guest lecture, presentations of research projects, and introductions of new employees of the Faculty. After these, the participants proceeded to have dinner and to enjoy an evening of congenial conversation.

Ilkka Pyysiäinen and Arto Laitinen, the guest of Team 3

E. J. Lowe (1950-2014) - Some Personal Recollections

The philosophical year 2014 had a very sad beginning, as the start of this week brought the tragic news of Jonathan Lowe’s death at the age of 63. Professor Lowe had various contacts with Finland, and during recent years, many of us here got to know his deep wisdom, warm friendliness, and kind generosity. Among many other things, he was a great contemporary metaphysician. The Durham Department’s memorial notice by Robin Hendry and Matthew Radcliffe has been published by Brian Leiter. In the following, I shall present some personal recollections.

I had already been reading some of Jonathan’s work when I came into personal contact with him. This happened in March 2006 when he wrote to me in relation to Tuomas Tahko’s AHRC doctoral research funding application. Jonathan was named as the first referee, and I was the second, having earlier supervised Tuomas’s master’s thesis at the University of Helsinki. These official dealings with Jonathan soon led to discussions of more substantial matters, as well as of possible forms of co-operation.

On behalf of the Academy of Finland research project The Nature of Philosophical Knowledge led by Professor Leila Haaparanta at the University of Tampere, I then got to invite Jonathan to our metaphilosophical congress on Philosophy as a Discipline. The event took place on 7-8 September 2006, and Jonathan came with his wife Susan, giving a talk on “Metaphysical Realism, Essentialism, and the Grounds of Modal Knowledge”. The congress was also attended by S. Albert Kivinen, who has done much over the decades in Helsinki to further metaphysics.

Soon after Jonathan’s first visit to Finland, Leila Haaparanta’s new project The Possibility of Metaphysics in Twentieth Century and Contemporary Philosophy got a four-year funding from the Academy of Finland. During spring 2007, I gave lecture courses on The Metaphysics of Universals and Particulars in both Helsinki and Tampere, incorporating Jonathan’s four-category ontology into the curriculum, and continuing discussions with him.

In June 2007, I met Jonathan again at Trondheim, where Jonathan Knowles organized a workshop on Metaphysics and Naturalism. In attendance were also Hilary Kornblith and Alexander Bird. Sharing accommodation and a means of transportation with these speakers led to a very nice and intellectually stimulating experience. It was also highly interesting to observe the way in which Jonathan discussed various aspects of his position with Hilary and Alex.

In September 2007, the Academy project on the possibility of metaphysics started a research seminar which focused on a close reading of Jonathan’s book on The Four-Category Ontology. A highly valuable addition to the seminar was the possibility of turning directly to Jonathan in connection with puzzling issues. As was his way, Jonathan responded lengthily, carefully explaining all the relevant details, and sending his own related research papers as further clarifications. In connection with the seminar, Markku Keinänen was also invited from Helsinki to Tampere to participate in the meetings.

In November 2007, I made my first visit to Durham. Jonathan was an incredibly kind and generous host, arranging time to meet me for discussions at his office as well as in various cafés and restaurants. He introduced me to his colleagues and offered the use of a working space at the department. On some evenings, I was invited to his home, where Susan displayed an impressive ability to conjure up delicious vegetarian dishes.

My first visit ended with a memorable grand finale, and a true Harry Potter moment, as I got a seat at high table next to Jonathan and Susan, participating in a University College dinner at Durham Castle’s Great Hall. The castle is situated opposite to the magnificent Durham Cathedral, and for my final night after the dinner, I got to stay in the castle’s wonderful Chaplain’s Suite with no less than four beds. Having my breakfast served at my very own private table on the castle corridor right outside the suite gave me a final taste of the magic of Durham of which Jonathan was an essential part.

In May 2009 Jonathan then came to Tampere to give a State of the Art course on metaphysics in the context of the Finnish Doctoral Programme of Philosophy. After Jonathan’s second visit to Finland, I made a second trip to Durham later in the year, again in November. Jonathan’s third visit to Finland took place a year after that, in October 2010, in connection with a workshop on E. J. Lowe’s Metaphysics organized at the University of Turku. On this occasion, I presented a paper with the title “Notes on Persons as Primitive Substances”, and sadly, met Jonathan for the last time.

I remember the excitement of coming to contact with Jonathan’s writings after my earlier research related with Quine’s austere ontology. For me, the desert landscape suddenly came alive with all kinds of inspiring possibilities and richer conceptual horizons. In Finland, Jonathan was an important background figure in Haaparanta’s Possibility of Metaphysics project, and his influence continues also in her current Academy project Judgement and Human Rationality. For the formation of Dynamis – The Finnish Network for Metaphysics, Jonathan was also significant, as most of the initial members were directly in contact with him over recent years. In various ways, Jonathan’s work lives on, and he is missed by many.

Researcher in the CoE for 2014-2016

I shall be working as a salaried researcher in the CoE for the period of its first half from the beginning of 2014 to the end of 2016. My immediate context will be team 3, which focuses on creating philosophical models to help understand contemporary religious discourse. The research team is lead by Sami Pihlström who is currently also the director of the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies.

I studied, received my doctoral degree in theoretical philosophy, and held research and teaching positions at the University of Helsinki. For the past five years, however, I have been operating as a part of the philosophy unit at the University of Tampere. After half a decade and a very enjoyable work period at Tampere, I shall be returning to the Helsinki City Centre Campus. I am also looking forward to a continuing cooperation with Tampere.

More Information on the Centre of Excellence

Risto Saarinen, the Director of the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence Reason and Religious Recognition has established a new personal website including a section on the CoE titled 'Recognition' [link here].

A concise information sheet on the structure and themes of the CoE, its vice-director, and the leaders of the three teams can also be found on the Helsinki Faculty of Theology's website [link here]. Research team 1 is lead by Ismo Dunderberg, team 2 by Virpi Mäkinen (the CoE's vice-director) together with Taneli Kukkonen, and team 3 by Sami Pihlström.

Categories of Being

As a central part of my research background, I have co-edited with Leila Haaparanta a volume with the title Categories of Being: Essays on Metaphysics and Logic, published by Oxford University Press in 2012. In addition to writing parts of the Introduction, my personal contribution consists of the Chapter 15 on "Quine, Predication, and the Categories of Being" (pp. 338-357).

More information on the contents and contributors of the Categories of Being volume can be found at the publisher's website. [A link to the publisher's page here.]

The volume has been reviewed by Stephen Read in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. [A link to the review here.]

Beginnings

The Centre of Excellence held its startup gathering on Monday, 23 September 2013, at the University of Helsinki's Faculty Hall of Theology. A couple of weeks before, a story involving the CoE had also appeared in Kirkko & Kaupunki (No 34, p. 3) [in Finnish, link here].

The governing board of the CoE consists of the director, the vice-director, and the leaders of the three teams in which individual scholars work. Team 1 focuses on Christianity, Judaism and Greco-Roman Thought, Team 2 on Medieval and Early Modern Thought, and Team 3 on Contemporary Philosophy of Religion.