From October 13th-20th, 2025, Professor Claudine (York University) travelled from Canada to Macau. She enjoyed her stay here as a Visiting Distinguished Professor, under the invitation of her former student—and now UM faculty—Professor Benjamin Winokur. The week was filled with philosophical events both formal and informal.
The first major highlight was an October 15th Lecture titled “Investigating a Philosophical Method”. This was a sustained reflection on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s methodology for approaching foundational questions in the philosophy of language, as derived from her career-long interest in mastering Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations.
Seen above: participants at the “Investigating a Philosophical Method” Lecture. Claudine Verheggen is seen holding a certificate of recognition for her Visiting Distinguished Professorship.
The second major highlight was Professor Verheggen’s participation in a reading group among faculty and graduate students, focusing on yet another Wittgensteinian masterwork: the posthumously published notebooks published collectively by the title On Certainty. Discussants expressed several competing views about the text’s aims and theoretical contributions.
Seen above: participants in the October 17th reading group discussions of Wittgenstein’s On Certainty. On this occasion, the discussion included professor Robert Myers (York University) and Professor Adam Andreotta (Curtin University).
The week’s grand finale was a philosophical workshop titled “Subjective, Intersubjective, Objective”. The workshop’s title was a nod to a famous compilation of essays published by the late, great philosopher Donald Davidson (of whom Professor Verheggen was once a student).
The workshop involved several other contributors. Among the professors, there were: Claudine Verheggen (York University), Robert Myers (York University), Adam Andreotta (Curtin University), Nicholas Rimell (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Neil Sinhababu (National University of Singapore), Akiko Frischutt (Sophia University), Kevin Lynch (Huaqiao University), Benjamin Winokur (University of Macau), and Nevia Dolcini (University of Macau). Among graduate student commentators, there were: Chu Kin-Lok (University of Macau), Saibiayi Alimu (University of Macau), Rao Zhengyu (University of Macau), Wenyu Yang (Chinese University of Hong Kong), and Wai Ching Cheng (Hong Kong University). Seven talks were presented in total, with seven commentaries and Q&A sessions.
Seen above: the photo shows the workshop participants, except for Benjamin Winokur (who was taking the photo)
Seen above: the photo shows several workshop participants at a post-workshop dinner held at Antica Trattoria.
Professor Verheggen’s visit was a wonderful success, and we thank her for her energetic contributions to the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies during her stay in Macau.