The next meeting of the History of Philosophy Working Group will take place on November 5th at 12:00 in A223. Andrew Stephenson will present material from a book manuscript on Kant's Logic. Pre-read is not required but a draft is available here (pp.7–25), via lrz sync+share (LMU login required).
Session Abstract: Standard modern views of traditional logic have it that the Aristotelian square of opposition and conversion rules are only valid given assumptions of existential import. A formal and philosophical reconstruction of the relevant fragment of Kant's logic is given that allows him to validate the full square and conversion rules without existential import, where the role of existential import is replaced by Kant's distinctive, anti-rationalist principle of the indefinite extendibility of conceptual determination. This result is also suggestive of how Kant's rationalist predecessors had an alternative resource enabling them to validate the square and conversion rules without existential import, namely an ontology of mere possibilia.