CFP: Lund Early-Career Conference: The Language of Moral Repair

CFP: 3rd Annual Lund-Early Career Conference: “The Language of Moral Repair”

The Lund Early-Career Conference is a forum dedicated to forging connections between research and researchers in selected topics from both theoretical and practical philosophy. The conference is aimed at Ph.D.-candidates and early-career researchers working in philosophy or related fields, such as psychology or cognitive science, relevant for the theme of the conference.

Each year we select a theme based on topics of interest from within the subdivisions of the Lund Philosophical department (Theoretical Philosophy and Practical Philosophy) with the goal of finding under-explored connections ripe for interdisciplinary investigation. This year we’ve chosen the theme ‘The Language of Moral Repair’, broadly construed, with the aim of bringing together ethicists, philosophers of language or mind, and philosophers of emotion to tackle questions of how these topics are related to each other.

Dates: 22nd - 23rd of November, 2024

Keynote speaker: Lucy McDonald, King's College London

All speakers will be given a 45 minute slot for a presentation followed by a 45 minute Q&A session beginning with questions and remarks from an assigned commentator.

All submissions should be prepared for blind review and should include a separate document containing the following information: your name, paper title, institutional affiliation, e-mail address, and phone number. The initial submission should consist of an extended abstract (1000 words maximum) for a paper suitable for the presentational format (4000 - 5000 words). The paper should be submitted upon notification of acceptance as a speaker.

Submission deadline: August 15th, 2024.

Notification of acceptance: August 31st, 2024.

Please submit papers via e-mail with “2024 Conference Submission” in the subject line to [email protected].

As a guide to what kind of contributions would be relevant, we’ve distinguished some suggested topic. These are intended as guidelines and other interesting proposals related to the theme are also welcome.

• What kind of speech act is an apology?

• Are the rules governing apologies constitutive or regulative; is a defective apology still an apology?

• What are the felicity conditions for the successful performance of speech acts aimed at moral repair?

• To what extent is moral repair something accomplished through singular speech acts versus extended conversational exchanges?

• In the context of moral repair, what categorisation of speech acts do expressions such as 'I apologise' and 'You are forgiven' belong to, and what is their significance?

• To what extent is the recipient's uptake essential to apology and forgiveness, and how does it influence the success of these speech acts?

• What constitutes the successful restoration of a moral relationship, and how can this be assessed linguistically and contextually?

• How do established conventions and cultural norms shape the discourse and practice of moral repair?

• What role does the interplay between speaker intentionality and audience interpretation play in the effectiveness of moral repair speech acts?

• How do non-verbal cues and contextual factors complement verbal apologies and forgiveness and contribute to the overall process of moral repair?

• What ethical considerations and dilemmas arise in the practice of verbal moral repair, especially in contexts of significant harm or injustice?

• How do contemporary linguistic theories and philosophical discourses address the limitations and challenges of verbal moral repair in achieving reconciliation and reparation?