The Future of Philosophy

Conference Theme: The Future of Philosophy

2025 Fordham University Philosophy Graduate Student Conference

March 28 & 29, 2025

Hosted by the Fordham Philosophical Society

Keynotes: Dr. Laura Specker Sullivan (Fordham University) and Dr. Joseph Trullinger (George Washington University)

As emerging scholars, each of us share a vested interest in the critical engagement of how philosophy addresses the future as well as the future of academic philosophy itself. It is therefore no surprise that many of our philosophical pursuits are deeply engaged with questions about the future. Environmental philosophy examines the future ramifications of how we treat and inhabit the planet. Philosophers of science explore the implications of human innovation, particularly in light of recent advancements in AI research. Our collective experience of a global pandemic has sparked new interest in the phenomenology of time. Metaphysicians address questions surrounding the nature of time itself, while epistemologists might inquire about the mind’s relationship to the future and its impact on our knowledge and epistemic practices. Finally, metaphilosophy provides the discipline with valuable critiques about the future of philosophy as it evolves in the face of new challenges and opportunities.

This conference will provide a platform to examine, debate, and reevaluate both the future of philosophy as well as philosophies of the future. We invite graduate students in philosophy and related academic disciplines to submit abstracts that explore “The Future of Philosophy” through the aforementioned frameworks and any other relevant discourse. As we are interested in discussing this topic across several main axes, possible inquiries may include, but are not limited to:

• What does an emancipated and emancipatory philosophy look like?

• What structural or theoretical supplements and alterations might the discipline need?

• Who counts, or should count, as a philosopher and what projects count as philosophical?

• Which forms of philosophy are underrepresented that should come to the forefront?

• What should our methods of philosophical inquiry be?

• Should philosophy rely on, and analyze, empirical evidence?

• Should philosophy theorize on actuality rather than formal possibilities?

• What should our relationship to the future be?

• Does the future exist as a deterministic projection from the present?

• Is the future just an illusory social construction of our hopes and fears?

• Does the future even exist?

• Will philosophy cease to exist in the future as an academic discipline?

• Should philosophy find a way to bridge the divide between other academic disciplines?

• Should philosophy find a way to bridge the divide between its continental and analytic traditions?

Other work broadly related to “The Future of Philosophy” is also welcome. We welcome your participation and look forward to your contributions.

Please submit a 300-500 word abstract prepared for blind review to [email protected] in PDF format. In the body of the email, please include:

Name

Email

Paper title

Keywords (maximum five)

Institutional Affiliation

Submissions are due by January 1, 2025. After anonymous review, applicants will be notified by January 15, 2025. Presentations will be limited to 20 minutes followed by a 10 minute Q&A.

The conference will take place in person on March 28 & 29, 2025 on Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus located at 441 East Fordham Road, Bronx, NY 10458.

For questions, please contact the conference organizers at [email protected]