First Idealism Summit

Call for Abstracts

First Idealism Summit

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. April 12-13, 2024.

The First Idealism Summit will take place in Chapel Hill, NC on April 12-13, 2024. It is intended as a gathering for those who work on contemporary versions of idealism, to present their work, exchange ideas, make connections, and discuss idealism. This Call for Abstracts invites submissions of abstracts of papers to be presented at the Summit. Abstracts should not exceed 1000 words, and should be emailed to [email protected] They can be attached as pdf or docx document, or they can be included in the body of the message. The deadline for submitting abstracts is January 15, 2024. Notifications of acceptances will be sent out as soon as possible afterwards. A keynote address will be given by Michael Pelczar of the National University of Singapore. 

Topics of suitable papers include any discussions of issues tied to contemporary idealism. These include, but are not limited to arguments for or against particular forms of idealism, critical discussions of contemporary versions of idealism, presentations of new forms of idealism, new applications of idealism, and so on. It should be stressed that arguments against idealism are just as suitable to be presented as arguments in favor of idealism. Each speaker will have roughly 40 minutes to present their work, followed by an extended discussion period.

In much of the contemporary philosophical scene idealism is dealt with as a position that is mostly of historical interest, and thus most of the work on idealism these days is focused on the study of historically significant idealists, like Berkeley, Kant, Hegel, and many others. The focus of the Idealism Summit is not on the work of historical figures, but on the consideration of idealism as a topic in contemporary metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, ethics, the philosophy of language, and so on. Thus papers that are primarily scholarship on historical figures are not ideally suited for this conference, although views or arguments inspired by historical figures are most welcome. 

The author of each accepted abstract will be hosted at a local hotel during the conference, and they will be a guest at two conference dinners. However, the budget does not allow for paying travel cost as well. Still, this arrangement will hopefully make it financially possible for many philosophers to present their work. More information about this conference, abstract submission, and other ways to participate besides being a speaker can be found on the web site of the Idealism Network: idealismus.net For any questions, please contact Thomas Hofweber at [email protected]