Apr
13
Sat
NYU-Columbia Graduate Conference in Philosophy, Keynote: Laurie Paul @ NYU Philosophy Dept. rm 202
Apr 13 all-day

The graduate students and faculty of the Columbia and NYU Philosophy Departments invite graduate submissions in any area of philosophy for a conference to be held on Saturday, April 13th, 2019 at New York University.

Submission Guidelines

Please send submission as attachments in .doc or .pdf format to columbianyu.philgradconference@gmail.com by February 3rd, 2018 (Notification by February 17th, 2019).

Papers must meet the following requirements:

  • All papers must be between 3,000 and 5,000 words in length, suitable for a presentation of 30-40 minutes to a general philosophical audience.
  • Submit papers with a separate cover sheet in .doc or .pdf format that includes the following information: name, home institution, contact details, area of paper (e.g. metaphysics, meta-ethics, philosophy of mind, etc.) and an abstract of no longer than 300 words.
  • Papers must be submitted by email in blind-review format.
Feb
15
Sat
After the Welfare State: Reconceiving Mutual Aid @ NYU
Feb 15 – Feb 16 all-day

The 2020 Annual Telos-Paul Piccone Institute Conference
Keynote Speaker: Catherine Malabou, Kingston University and University of California, Irvine.

Conference Description

Although the rise of populism has often been interpreted as the atavistic return of racism and nationalism, the underlying sources have more to do with the collapse of the welfare state model in advanced post-industrial countries, which has resulted in the search for new forms of solidarity that could replace welfare state structures. These structures were first developed in the early twentieth century when a new type of nation-state and industrial economy came into being along with the developing capitalist regime of accumulation. Such a regime brought about the destruction of the existing networks of solidarity—based primarily on family, religious community, and workplace ties—thereby leading the state to intervene in different social services, including health, employment, and senior care, as well as in labor policy regarding such issues as the minimum wage, the length of the working day, retirement, and accident insurance. However, these interventions by the state, whether they responded to labor union protests or arose from anti-socialist preemptive actions by conservative forces, have been accompanied by the growing bureaucratization of its practices, which have come to constitute, along with capitalist commodification, one of today’s fundamental sources of inequalities and conflicts.

The shifting line between the private and the public has had ambiguous effects. In the end, state intervention was carried out not in the form of a true democratization but through the imposition of new forms of subordination. The social result with greater globalization and deindustrialization in most of the advanced industrial countries has been a sense of abandonment, as well as a loss of empowerment and autonomy in all segments of the population. At the same time, with the emergence of post-Fordist capitalism in the late twentieth century, this subordination to the state has taken the opposite form—that of a reduction of state intervention and care, based on the idea that the endless expansion of state services cannot serve as a panacea for all problems. As a result, new distortions in the private/public divide recently have appeared. In turn, the private sphere has become increasingly contentious, first, because of growing privatization of previously public services and, second, because gaining access to those services is left to individual initiative.

The feeling that governments are incapable of dealing with social problems has regenerated the awareness that collective self-management is perhaps inevitable, at both micro- and macroscopic levels: from neighborhood collectives up to lending circles, non-profit societies, religious organizations, and solidarity economies. The contemporary interest in structures of mutual aid relates to the fact that we are living in an era that is clearly looking for new models of human flourishing and social development. Not only must we deal with multiple and recurring crises (finance, food, energy, and environment), but there is a growing recognition that today’s normative agenda has to be much more encompassing and holistic, including issues of gender equality, fair trade, environment, and cultural and religious diversity.

A need to reconceptualize the concepts of the “common good” and “collective interest” is developing out of this set of conditions, leading to new definitions of civic sense, responsibility, and autonomy. The need for intermediary structures between the private and public sphere frames the space of intervention for mutual aid as a new form of social coherence.

But the concept of mutual aid has a complex and contradictory history. According to Peter Kropotkin, there is an innate biological evolutionary tendency toward mutualism in all living beings, an immanent social rationality that orients humanity toward a self-regulated political organization and society. Against social Darwinism, Kropotkin argues that species not only compete but also, and mainly, collaborate. Such an evolutionary vision later formed the core of Edward Wilson’s sociobiology, marking the beginning of the altruism/selfishness debates within which the problematic of mutual help has remained enclosed for decades. Libertarianism, for example, presupposes that individuals’ social behavior is grounded in a natural principle of selfishness that should then become the basis of aid. This vision allows for a deterministic idea of the capitalist economy in which Robert Nozick argues for the principle of a “minimal state” grounded on the fact that no distributive justice can come from above. Similarly, Friedrich Hayek argues that the “true” nature of liberalism lies in the doctrine that seeks to reduce to the minimum the power of the state. Democracy is then only the means for collective decision-making or a utilitarian apparatus for safeguarding internal peace and individual freedom. The capitalist free market, in turn, is said to be the only type of social organization that respects the principle of individual liberty.

If the theory of mutual aid can no longer be grounded in an opposition between the two poles of society and the state, but must be reconceptualized in terms of the mediation between both, the modes of its mediation become the key to the implementation of mutual aid practices. Ideas of family, nation, and religion thus take on new potential significance as the forms of mediation between individuals that can create the basis for networks of mutual aid. Are these the key categories that would embed mutual aid in broader affective, ethical, and metaphysical frameworks, or are there alternative possibilities that would establish new types of networks?

This conference seeks to develop new concepts of mutual aid that are not predetermined by conceptions of biological, economic, or political certainties. Key questions include:

  • Why is mutual aid not linked with theories of social contract, and how do we determine its degrees of separation from the state?
  • How can mutual aid be reconceptualized by renewing intellectual traditions?
  • What are the moral implications and requisites of the concept of mutual aid today?
  • What are the privileged domains of application for mutual aid and what are the organizational principles underlying them?
  • Does mutual aid imply a reorganization of the economy, or is it compatible with or even essential to a capitalist organization of economic life?
  • Does the concept of mutual aid offer tools for reimagining socialism in a way that avoids an overreliance on state power?
  • Does mutual aid require a reconstitution of subjectivity that moves it away from the autonomous individual of liberal theory?
  • What are the prospects and problems of religious frameworks, such as Pentecostalism, that function as the basis for mutual aid?
  • Can the rise of populism be understood as part of a search for new networks for mutual aid? Does mutual aid imply the restriction of its networks to limited groups, implying a relationship to political identity?
  • How does the concept of mutual aid relate to state power and the sovereignty of the state?

Abstract Submissions

Please note: Abstracts for this conference will only be accepted from current Telos-Paul Piccone Institute members. In order to become a member, please visit our membership enrollment page. Telos-Paul Piccone Institute memberships are valid until the end of the annual New York City conference.

We invite scholars from all disciplines to submit 250-word abstracts along with a short c.v. to telosnyc2020@telosinstitute.net by September 30, 2019. Please place “The 2020 Telos Conference” in the email’s subject line.

https://philevents.org/event/show/73818

Apr
3
Fri
1st Annual NYU Philosophical Bioethics Workshop @ Center for Bioethics, NYU
Apr 3 all-day

The NYU Center for Bioethics is pleased to welcome submissions of abstracts for its 1st Annual Philosophical Bioethics Workshop, to be held at NYU on Friday, April 3, 2020.

We are seeking to showcase new work in philosophical bioethics, including (but not limited to) neuroethics, environmental ethics, animal ethics, reproductive ethics, research ethics, ethics of AI, data ethics, and clinical ethics.

Our distinguished keynote speaker will be Frances Kamm.

There will be four additional slots for papers chosen from among the submitted abstracts, including one slot set aside for a graduate student speaker. The most promising graduate student submission will be awarded a Graduate Prize, which includes coverage of travel expenses (up to $500, plus accommodation for two nights) as well as an award of $500. Please indicate in your submission email whether you would like to be considered for the Graduate Prize.

Please submit extended abstracts of between 750 and 1,000 words to philosophicalbioethics@gmail.com by 11:59 pm EST on Friday, January 24, 2020. Abstracts should be formatted for blind review and should be suitable for presentation in 30-35 minutes. Notification of acceptance will take place via email by Friday, February 14, 2020.

When submitting your abstract, please also indicate whether you would be interested in serving as a commentator in the event that your abstract is not selected for presentation. We will be inviting four additional participants to serve as commentators.

Mar
4
Fri
Rachel Barney (U Toronto), “The Ethics and Politics of Plato’s Noble Lie” @ Zoom, possibly in person
Mar 4 @ 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm

Abstract. The Noble Lie proposed by Plato for the Just City in Republic III has been much misunderstood. Its agenda is twofold: to get the citizens of the City to see their society as a natural entity, with themselves as all ‘family’ and akin; and to get the Guardians in particular to make class mobility, on which the justice of the City depends, a top priority. Since the second is taken to depend on the first, the Lie passage amounts to an argument (1) that the survival of a just community depends on the existence of social solidarity between elite and mass, which allows for full class mobility and genuine meritocracy; (2) that this solidarity in turn depends on an ideology of natural unity; and (3) that such ideologies are always false. So the Lie really is a lie, but a necessary one; as such it poses an awkward ethical problem for Plato and, if he is right, for our own societies as well.

 

Presented by SWIP-NYC

Apr
22
Sat
23rd Annual Columbia-NYU Graduate Conference in Philosophy @ NYU Philosophy Dept.
Apr 22 all-day

The graduate students and faculty of Columbia University and New York University invite graduate students to submit papers to present at the 23rd Annual Columbia-NYU Graduate Conference in Philosophy, to be held April 22nd, 2023!

The keynote speaker for this event will be Michael Della Rocca.

The conference will take place in person on NYU’s campus.

This conference is a generalist conference. Any topic which suitable for presentation for a general philosophical audience is welcome!*

Requirements for submission. Papers submitted should be…

(1) 3,000 to 5,000 words in length, suitable for a presentation of 30 to 40 minutes.

(2) Prepared for blind review, in PDF format.

(3) Accompanied with a separate cover sheet with the author’s name, home institution, contact information, topic area(s) of the paper, and an abstract of approximately 300 words.

Submissions should be sent to tinyurl.com/philgradconf. Papers should be submitted by 1/31/2023, and decisions will be sent out by 2/28/2023.

For any further information or inquiries, please contact columbianyu.philgradconference@gmail.com.

*Submissions from graduate students at NYU and Columbia will not be considered for acceptance.

Apr
28
Fri
3rd Annual Philosophical Bioethics Workshop @ Center for Bioethics, NYU
Apr 28 – Apr 29 all-day

The New York University Center for Bioethics is pleased to invite submissions of abstracts for the 3rd Annual Philosophical Bioethics Workshop, to be held at NYU on Friday and Saturday, April 28-29, 2023.

We are seeking to showcase new work in philosophical bioethics, broadly understood. This includes (but is not limited to) neuroethics, environmental ethics, animal ethics, reproductive ethics, research ethics, ethics of AI, data ethics, public health ethics, gender and race in bioethics, and clinical ethics.

Our distinguished keynote speaker will be Professor Ruth Chang, University of Oxford. There will be five additional slots for papers chosen from among the submitted abstracts, including one slot set aside for a graduate student speaker. The most promising graduate student submission will be awarded a Graduate Prize, which includes an award of $500, and may include coverage of travel expenses, depending upon university policies at the time of the award. Please indicate in your submission email whether you would like to be considered for the Graduate Prize.

Please submit extended abstracts of between 750 and 1,000 words to philosophicalbioethics@gmail.com by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Sunday, January 22, 2023. Abstracts should be formatted for blind review, and papers should be suitable for presentation in 30-35 minutes. Email notifications will be sent out by Friday, February 10, 2023.

When submitting your abstract, please also indicate whether you would be interested in serving as a commentator-chair in the event that your abstract is not selected for presentation. We will be inviting five additional participants to serve as commentator-chairs.

This year’s Philosophical Bioethics Workshop is organized by S. Matthew Liao, Daniel Fogal, Claudia Passos-Ferreira, Stephanie Beardman, Dan Khokar, and Jonathan Knutzen of the NYU Center for Bioethics.

Jun
22
Thu
Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness Conference @ Vanderbilt Hall
Jun 22 – Jun 25 all-day

We are pleased to announce that the 26th annual meeting of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness will be held at New York University on June 22-25, 2023.

Submissions for talks and posters are now open with a deadline of February 15, 2023. Conference registration will open in early 2023.

Keynote speakers, symposia, tutorials, and housing have now been arranged, as specified below.

Please direct any inquiries to ASSC26@nyu.edu.

We hope to see you soon in New York!

Ned Block and David Chalmers, Conference Directors

May
3
Fri
4th Annual NYU Philosophical Bioethics Workshop @ Center for Bioethics NYU
May 3 – May 4 all-day

The New York University Center for Bioethics is pleased to invite submissions of abstracts for the 4th Annual Philosophical Bioethics Workshop, to be held at NYU on Friday and Saturday, May 3-4, 2024.

We are seeking to showcase new work in philosophical bioethics, broadly understood. This includes (but is not limited to) neuroethics, environmental ethics, animal ethics, reproductive ethics, research ethics, ethics of AI, data ethics, public health ethics, gender and race in bioethics, and clinical ethics.

Our keynote speaker will be Professor Shelly Kagan, Yale University. There will be five additional slots for papers chosen from among the submitted abstracts, including one slot set aside for a graduate student speaker. The most promising graduate student submission will be awarded a Graduate Prize, which includes an award of $500, and may include coverage of travel expenses, depending upon university policies at the time of the award. Please indicate in your submission email whether you would like to be considered for the Graduate Prize.

Please submit extended abstracts of between 750 and 1,000 words to philosophicalbioethics@gmail.com by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Wednesday, January 31, 2024. Abstracts should be formatted for blind review, and papers should be suitable for presentation in 30-35 minutes. Email notifications of acceptance will be sent out by Friday, February 16, 2024.

When submitting your abstract, please also indicate whether you would be interested in serving as a commentator-chair in the event that your abstract is not selected for presentation. We will be inviting five additional participants to serve as commentator-chairs.

This year’s Philosophical Bioethics Workshop is organized by S. Matthew Liao, Daniel Fogal, Claudia Passos-Ferreira, Dan Khokar, and Jonathan Knutzen of the NYU Center for Bioethics.