DEPARTMENTS

The CPA office is located in the heart of the Faculty of Philosophy at Saint Paul University

We gratefully acknowledge the University's continuing support.
Les bureaux de l'ACP se trouvent au sein de la Faculté de philosophie à l'Université Saint-Paul.

Nous remercions grandement l'Université pour son soutien continu.

The Canadian Philosophical Association Biennial Book Prize

2009 Winners

Winners:
Anjan Chakravartty, A Metaphysics for Scientific Realism: Knowing the Unobservable, Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Chakravartty's A Metaphysics for Scientific Realism: Knowing the Unobservable is an outstanding study in the philosophy of science that makes very important contributions to metaphysics and epistemology. The book skilfully develops an original and rich version of scientific realism, which is the view that the best scientific theories correctly describe both observable and unobservable parts of the world. The author provides strong arguments for substantial positions concerning the nature of properties, structures, causality, natural kinds, and approximate truth. The writing is clear and compelling, and the result is a strong contribution to the understanding of scientific knowledge.
Michel Seymour, De la tolérance à la reconnaissance, Les éditions du Boréal, 2008.
Michel Seymour cherche à faire, en développant un argumentaire philosophique de 700 pages, une théorie libérale des droits collectifs. Tout au long du livre, Seymour rattache sa discussion à un commentaire de l'actualité politique, afin de montrer les limites de l'approche adverse fondée sur la reconnaissance unique des droits individuels et l'intérêt de son approche alternative pour la résolution de conflits sociaux bien typiquement canadiens et québécois. Le livre de Seymour ne se distingue pas seulement par l'originalité de la position qu'il parvient à défendre, mais aussi par le chemin qu'il prend, en injectant dans le débat des considérations ayant trait à la « reconnaissance », thème qui est de plus en plus prégnant dans la philosophie politique en général. En bout de ligne, l'œuvre de Seymour constitue une contribution significative aux débats pour lesquels les philosophes politiques canadiens ont une reconnaissance internationale.
Catherine Wilson, Epicureanism at the Origins of Modernity, Oxford University Press, 2008.
Catherine Wilson's volume addresses an important topic – not just at the historical level, but also because Epicureanism is an unacknowledged force to be reckoned with in philosophy even today. One of her principal objectives is “to establish that an intellectually compelling and robust tradition took materialism as the only valid frame of reference, not only for scientific inquiry but for the deepest problems of ethics and politics.” The quality of writing and the high level of scholarship provide a context for current discussion not only in the history of philosophy, but also on central issues in moral philosophy. As one reviewer has noted, “Wilson's book is interesting in that it raises important questions about what the history of philosophy should be.” It is a volume from which we can all learn much.
Honourable Mentions:
Jeffrey Reid, L'anti-romantique : Hegel contre le romantisme ironique (Québec : Les Presses de l'Université Laval) 2007.
John Schellenberg, The Wisdom to Doubt: A Justification of Religious Skepticism (Ithaca: Cornell University Press) 2007.
Martin Thibodeau, La théorie esthétique d'Adorno (Rennes : Presses universitaires de Rennes) 2008.
Evan Thompson, Mind in Life (Cambridge USA: Harvard University Press) 2007.
Sergio Tenenbaum, Appearances of the Good: An Essay on the Nature of Practical Reason (New York: Cambridge University Press) 2007.
Bas C. Van Fraassen, Scientific Representation (New York: Oxford University Press) 2008.

The CPA would like to thank warmly the members of the jury and its sponsors, Les Presses de l'Université Laval and La Chaire La philosophie dans le monde actuel, for their generous support.

2007 Winners

Claude Panaccio, Ockham on Concepts, Ashgate, 2004.

Panaccio provides an original and accessible account of the theories developed by William of Ockham in semantics and the philosophy of mind. While this account is thorough, clear, and largely persuasive, it is not merely historical. Panaccio's over arching goal is to demonstrate the important linkage – and illuminating mutual understandings – between Ockham's theory of concepts and those of Jerry Fodor and other present-day philosophers.

Panaccio's careful interpretation shows that most exegetical puzzles can be resolved. The comparison he draws between Ockham's and Foder's theories of concepts makes it clear that there is "no fatal incommensurability" (p. 181) between medieval and modern doctrines.

The jury was impressed by the way in which Panaccio's book elucidates the value that past texts, which are technically well informed both in the language and intellectual context, can have with contemporary conceptions and debates.

Kenneth Dorter, The Transformation of Plato's  ‘Republic', Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2006.

Dorter's impressive study of Plato's Republic is a comprehensive treatment of the dialogue from beginning to end and helps to resolve vexing and apparently intractable internal contradictions within the dialogue. Dorter argues that Plato often begins with simple models in order to explore them and then transforms them into far more complex and subtle analyses. The attention to the inner development of the argument enables the author to bring to light the dynamic and, ultimately, coherent structure of the work as a whole.   

The jury commends the book as one of the most significant contributions to Plato's Republic in recent years. It has high praise for Dorter's engaging narrative, which remains centred on the important human questions at stake and in doing so provides a richly rewarding study.

Louis Valcke,  Pic de la Mirandole. Un itinéraire philosophique, Les Belles Lettres, 2005.

Autodidacte de génie élevé par sa mère, le jeune et beau Comte de la Mirandole, prince de Concordia, tenta dès son jeune âge de maîtriser toutes les sciences "humaines et divines."   Son fameux débat sur les 900 thèses philosophiques et théologiques l'a rendu célèbre en 1486. Mais Pic de la Mirandole meurt à l'âge de 31 sans avoir pu achever son rêve d'unifier  les écoles philosophiques de son temps.

L'ouvrage de Louis Valcke "démêle la légende de l'histoire et peint la complexité de ce personnage, aussi irritant que séduisant, qui n'a cessé de faire rêver les intellectuels européens." 

Le jury  note que le beau travail de Louis Valcke a le grand mérite de situer Pic dans son époque et de rendre justice à la diversité complexe de sa pensée.  Valcke expose avec érudition et clarté les composantes du paysage philosophiques dans lequel Pic a grandi [pour citer Roger-Pol Droit].

Mentions Honorables:

Ralph Pred,  Onflow:  Dynamics of Consciousness and Experience, MIT Press, 2005.
Paul Thagard, Hot Thought: Mechanisms and Applications of Emotional Cognition,  MIT Press, 2006.
Rebecca Kukla, Mass Hysteria: Medicine, Culture, and Mothers' Bodies, Rowman and Littlefield  Publishers, 2005.
Dale Turner, This Is Not a Peace Pipe: Towards a Critical Indigenous Philosophy, University of Toronto  Press, 2006
Syliane Malinowski-Charles, Affects et conscience chez Spinoza. L'automatisme dans le progrès éthique,  Georg Olms Verlag, 2004.
Michel Seymour,  L'institution du langage, Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal, 2005.