Christopher Izgin
Research on Aristotle’s axioms has centered primarily on the principle of non-contradiction. Until today, however, a thorough account of the principle of excluded middle (PEM) appears to be missing. My dissertation is intended to fill this gap in research on Aristotle and on ancient theoretical philosophy more generally. My doctoral supervisors are Jonathan Beere (Professor of Ancient Philosophy and History of Knowledge at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) and Marko Malink (Professor of Philosophy and Classics at New York University).
PEM occurs in an ontological and what I call a ‘psycho-linguistic’ version. The ontological version says it is necessary that everything either be (such and so) or not be (such and so). The psycho-linguistic version says it is necessary that one member of a pair of contradictory propositions be true—tertium non datur. I focus on questions such as the following: What is the relation between PEM's ontological and psycho-linguistic versions? What is the relation between PEM and other Aristotelian principles, such as the principle of non-contradiction? Are there any exceptions to PEM, such as future contingents? And how does Aristotle defend PEM against philosophical doctrines that amount to its denial in Metaphysics Γ.7?
CV
Research Interests
| AoS | Ancient Philosophy (especially Philosophy of Language, Logic, Metaphysics), Aristotle |
| AoC | Analytical Philosophy (especially Philosophy of Language, Philosophical Logic, Metaphysics), Kant, Wittgenstein |
Academic Education
| 08–12/2022 | Visiting Student Researcher (Philosophy), New York University |
| 04–06/2022 | Recognized Student (Philosophy), University of Oxford |
| 2019– | Ph.D. candidate (Philosophy), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Philosophy, Research Training Group "Philosophy, Science and the Sciences" |
| 2017–2018 | M.A. in Classics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin |
| 2014–2018 | M.A. in Philosophy, Goethe University Frankfurt |
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2013–2014 |
Studies in Linguistics (M.A.), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin |
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2010–2013 |
B.A. in German Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin |
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2009–2010 |
Studies in Medicine, Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg |
Grants and Fellowships
| 2020– | Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German Academic Scholarship Foundation), doctoral scholarship |
| 2019– | Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), doctoral fellowship |
| 2016–2017 | Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German Academic Scholarship Foundation), research grant for a stay in New York under the supervision of Marko Malink (Professor of Philosophy and Classics at NYU), second reviewer of my master's thesis in Philosophy |
| 2009–2018 | Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German Academic Scholarship Foundation), full scholarship (with a break between 04/2017–04/2018) |
Academic Positions and Teaching (Selection)
| 2019– | Doctoral researcher ("wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter") at the Department of Philosophy of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Research Training Group "Philosophy, Science and the Sciences"), position funded by the DFG |
| 2018–2019 | Research associate ("wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter", predoctoral) at the Department of Philosophy of Goethe University Frankfurt |
| Teaching | |
| Summer 2019 | "Aristoteles' assertorische Syllogistik" ("Aristotle's Assertoric Syllogistic"), graduate seminar (description) |
| "Platons ethische Frühschriften" ("Plato's Early Ethical Writings"), undergraduate seminar (description) | |
| Winter 2018 | "Aristoteles: Metaphysik Gamma" ("Aristotle: Metaphysics Gamma"), graduate seminar (description) |
| "Die Lügnerparadoxie" ("The Paradox of the Liar"), undergraduate seminar (description) | |
| 09/2015 | Lecturer at the Department of Protestant Theology of Goethe University Frankfurt |
| Teaching | |
| Summer 2015 | "Griechische Lektüreübung (Vorbereitung auf das Graecum)" ("Greek Reading Proficiency [Preparation for the State Exam in Greek]"), two-week intensive course (description) |
Select Academic Talks ('*' indicates peer-reviewed)
| 03/2022 | "Aristotle on the Versions of the Principle of Non-Contradiction", Aristotle's Organon in Old and New Logic, c. 1800–1950, Villa Vigoni at Lake Como (Italy) |
| 12/2012 | "Aristotle on the Logical Relation between the Principles of Non-Contradiction and of Excluded Middle in Metaphysics Γ.4" (comments by Leonardo Chiocchetti, LMU Munich), 7th Munich-Berlin Graduate Workshop in Ancient Philosophy (online) |
| 05/2021 | "Are Aristotle's Definitions of Truth and Falsity Platonic? Aristotle's Metaphysics Γ.7, 1011b26–7, and Plato's Sophist, 240e20–241a1" (comments by Prof Mark R. Wheeler, San Diego State University), West Coast Plato Workshop (online conference) |
| 02/2021* | "A New Approach to Aristotle's Definitions of Truth and Falsity in Metaphysics Γ.7" (comments by Prof Michail Peramatzis, University of Oxford), 24th Annual Oxford Graduate Philosophy Conference (online conference) |
| 12/2020 | "Aristotle's Logical Syntax: A Reconstruction and Analysis" (comments by Fabian Ruge, LMU Munich), 6th Munich-Berlin Graduate Workshop in Ancient Philosophy (online conference) |
| 11/2020 | "Axioms in Aristotle's Non-Axiomatic Syllogistic", 31st Novembertagung on the History and Philosophy of Mathematics (online conference) |
| 11/2020 | "Seins- und Denkgesetze bei Aristoteles", Promovierendenforum der Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (online conference) |
| 02/2020 | "Dialektik der Pflanze: Spott in Aristoteles' Metaphysik Buch Γ", Philosophie in der Komödie – Komödie in der Philosophie, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg |
| 09/2019 | "The Principle of Excluded Middle in Aristotle", VI. internationaler Kongress der Gesellschaft für antike Philosophie (Forum für Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden), Goethe University Frankfurt |
| 07/2018 | "Negation in Aristotle's Term Logic" (comments by Wenjin Liu, Princeton University), 8th Princeton-Humboldt Graduate Conference in Philosophy, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin |
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04/2017 |
"Aristoteles' Prinzip vom ausgeschlossenen Dritten", Logik zwischen Mathematik und Philosophie, University of Göttingen |
Academic Service
| 02/2021 | Co-organization of the online workshop “Philosophischer Mythos – Mythische Philosophie”, together with Dr Sandra Erker (FU Berlin) |
| 12/2020 |
Co-organization of the online workshop “6th Munich-Berlin Graduate Workshop in Ancient Philosophy”, together with Caterina Pavoni, Leah D. Rotsia (both LMU Munich), and Benjamin Wilck (HU Berlin) |
Publications
- Izgin, Christopher. 2020. “Internal Negation and the Principles of Non-Contradiction and of Excluded Middle in Aristotle”, History and Philosophy of Logic 41(1): 1–15. DOI:10.1080/01445340.2019.1683793.
Professional Memberships
- GANPH (Gesellschaft für antike Philosophie)
- DGPhil (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Philosophie)
- GAP (Gesellschaft für Analytische Philosophie)
- VICTR (The Virtual International Consortium for Truth Research)
Contact: christopher.izgin@hu-berlin.de