We are pleased to announce the call for papers for the 31st International Conference of the International Hegel Society, that will be held at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, on May 17th through 20th, 2016. The topic will be “Know Thyself – Anthropological Perspectives“. Below the text of the call.
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Call for Papers: July 1 – October 15, 2015
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Know Thyself – Anthropological Perspectives
31ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF
THE INTERNATIONAL HEGEL SOCIETY,
MARKING THE COMPLETION OF THE EDITION G. W. F. HEGEL, GESAMMELTE WERKE
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
May 17th through 20th, 2016
Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Classical German Philosophy / Hegel Archive (Ruhr University Bochum) in cooperation with the International Hegel Society and the North Rhine Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
“Know thyself” – Hegel chose to begin his entire philosophy of mind with this “absolute commandment”. The self-knowledge in question differs explicitly from knowledge of particular capacities, propensities, and weaknesses in the individual self, and also from the ability to recognize such characteristics in others sometimes called “knowledge of men”. Important though such knowledge may otherwise be, Hegel regards it as philosophically trivial. When he prefaces his philosophy of mind with the absolute commandment “Know thyself”, he means “knowledge of the genuine reality of the human being, of what is essentially and ultimately true and real — of mind itself as the true and essential being”.
But what is “the genuine reality of the human being”? That is the perennial question of anthropology, as timely as it is ancient. In recent years anthropology has been at the forefront of interest to a degree unrivaled by other disciplines, in philosophy as well as in other areas of intellectual endeavor. As always, this heightened attention is a symptom of crisis. If we already knew for certain what form the answer should take, we would not have to ask the question, What is the human being?
“Know thyself – Anthropological Perspectives”: The 31st International Conference of the International Hegel Society will be devoted to considering the perspectives on the “genuine reality of human being” opened by Hegel’s philosophy and to gauging both the extent to which they remain convincing and the respects in which they seem problematic or subject to renewal. At issue is the entirety of Hegel’s philosophy of mind and the resources it provides for philosophical anthropology. We welcome talks that focus on human beings, rather than merely on “the subject”. New approaches to anthropological aspects in Hegel’s logic and philosophy of nature are equally encouraged. Especially up for discussion, however, is the part of the Encyclopedia to which Hegel himself gave the title “Anthropology” and to which he devoted the recently edited lecture courses. In traversing this passageway between the philosophy of nature and the philosophy of mind, Hegel formulated insights into human life (including its pathologies) whose full significance we are still far from having exhausted.
Fittingly, given the conference’s thematic emphasis, the current edition of Hegel’s lectures in the historical-critical edition G.W.F. Hegel, Gesammelte Werke, makes available new material spanning logic, the philosophy of nature, subjective spirit, right and world history, and the philosophies of art and religion. The 31st Meeting of the International Hegel Society in Bochum in 2016 will mark the completion of the comprehensive edition produced under the aegis of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts – a welcome occasion to put those red volumes not on the shelves, but at the center of a productive debate on Hegel’s contribution to a philosophical anthropology.
Contributions are welcome in German, English, and French.
Sections
1. Science of Logic
2. Philosophy of Nature
3. Anthropology – The Soul
4. Phenomenology and Psychology
5. Philosophy of Right
6. Philosophy of History
7. Philosophy of Art
8. Philosophy of Religion
9. Contexts and Discussions: Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
10. Contexts and Discussions: Renaissance and Modern Philosophy
11. Contexts and Discussions: Anthropology in the 19th and 20th Centuries
12. Contexts and Discussions: Contemporary Philosophy
CALL FOR PAPERS: JULY 1 – OCTOBER 15, 2015
If you would like to contribute a paper to one of the parallel sections, please submit a descriptive summary of your paper by October 15, 2015. Contributions should be no longer than 20 minutes and written in German, English, or French. The following information must be provided with the submission:
- Author’s name
- (Institutional) address
- Email address
- Title of the lecture
- A descriptive summary of the paper indicating its relevance to the topic of the congress (1500 to 2500 characters including spaces)
- An indication of the section for which the paper is intended
- A short abstract of the lecture (600 to 800 characters including spaces)
Summaries and abstracts exceeding the specified length will not be considered.
A later publication of the lectures in the Hegel-Jahrbuch is planned.
Registration without a paper
Participation in the congress is also possible without a paper. The deadline for registration without a paper is March 1, 2016. Your (institutional) postal address is requested.
Registration and submission of papers should be sent via e-mail to hegelkongress2016@rub.de.
For further information see: www.hegelkongress2016.rub.de.
Contact and information:
Scientific Director: Prof. Dr. Birgit Sandkaulen
Congress Management: Dr. Oliver Koch
Below you can find the links to the pdf versions of the call:
Printable Version