CFP: Conversations XVI: Work

Work holds significant sway over our daily lives and societal structures, shaping how we organise ourselves and our communities. The nature of work has undergone profound transformations, and with ongoing advancements in AI, it is poised to evolve further. While work remains pivotal, questions arise regarding its nature, its value to humanity, and its impact on various facets of our lives.

The 16th Cave Hill Philosophy Symposium seeks to delve into these issues, exploring the philosophical underpinnings of work. We are interested in papers that consider the ontological, ethical, political, economic, and social dimensions of work. Key themes for exploration include the nature and value of work, what role work ought to have in our lives, whether work should be conceived in different ways in small states, how work intersects with other aspects of life and may enhance and/or inhibit them, how climate change considerations should factor into how we conceive of work, whether we need different types of social and economic arrangements for work, reimagining work in the light of AI developments, and the feasibility of universal basic income initiatives. In keeping with the spirit of our conversations, we hope to bring together thinkers operating in and across different philosophical, political, and cultural traditions as well as other disciplines that share a boundary with philosophy.

Keynote speaker: Dr Joshua Preiss, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Program in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Minnesota State University, Mankato. His recent monograph was Just Work for All: The American Dream in the 21st Century (2021) and his current research includes the book project The Ethics of Industrial Policy, which centres on the ethics, politics, and economics of technological change and the future of work. His forthcoming articles include “Community, Care, and Social Recognition in a Post-Covid World of Work” in Moral Challenges in a Pandemic Age (Routledge) “Freedom and Financial Market Reform” in the Anthology The Philosophy of Money and Finance (Oxford) “The Moral and Political Importance of Good Jobs” in The Oxford Handbook on Philosophy and Work, “Opportunity Issues: Which American Dream?” in the Routledge Handbook on the American Dream, and “Global Value Chains: A Moral Cost-Benefit Analysis” in The Cambridge Handbook on the Economics of Global Value Chains.

Submission guidelines: Abstracts of 300-500 words should be sent as an attachment (Word-compatible or pdf format) by August 16, 2024 to [email protected]. Feedback on abstracts will be provided by August 31, 2024. Participants whose abstracts are accepted by the vetting committee will then be asked to submit their completed papers via email as an attachment using .odt, .doc or .pages format by October 31, 2024. These papers will then be shared for other participants to consult prior to the conference with the intention that time at the Symposium can be devoted more to discussion than to exposition of the written papers.