CFP: 19th Annual Lighthearted Philosophers' Society Conference

The Lighthearted Philosophers’ Society (LPS) is an organization for philosophy of humor and for humorous philosophy and other related areas. We strive to create a venue for professional philosophy that is welcoming, engaging, and most importantly funny. Please join us in our merry ruminations!

Our conference attracts scholars from all over the nation and across the world. We are interested in philosophy of humor and humorous philosophy from any philosophical tradition. We’d especially enjoy papers on philosophical questions about humor. We also feature undergraduate work.  All are welcome to send work in any of the submission categories listed below.

Submission Requirements:

All materials should be prepared for blind review; contact information, affiliation, whether you would like to volunteer as a heckler (see below), etc. should be included on a separate cover sheet. We will accept submissions in the following forms:

1) Full paper submissions: Please prepare papers with limited time for presentation in mind (2,500-3,000 words is preferable).

2) Panel proposal: Panel description should be 350-500 words and should specify what each panelist will contribute.

3) Individual Short Performances: Submissions should include a 350-500 word rationale describing the theoretical contribution of the performance piece as well as a 350-500 word abstract describing the nature of the performance itself. Please include any audio-visual requests in the abstract.

4) Abstract submissions: Abstracts should be 350-500 words, and should be accompanied by a references/work cited page. Please note that we give preference to full papers.

Please note: All undergraduate work should be clearly marked “UNDERGRADUATE” via a running header on all pages of the submitted document so that it can be reviewed separately.

Hecklers (commentators) will accompany each accepted submission. If you are interested in volunteering to comment and are not submitting a paper, please email the conference organizer with your areas of specialization, contact information, and affiliation, and indicate that you would like to volunteer as a heckler. Otherwise, if you would be interested in providing a commentary, please indicate this on your submission cover sheet.

Selected papers will be considered for the Joseph S. Ellin Memorial Essay Prize ($100)

Selected hecklers will be considered for the Richard C. Richards Almost Memorial Prize ($50)

Selected undergraduate work will be considered for the Eugenio E. Zaldivar Award ($75)

Submission Deadline is July 15th, 2025. Those selected will be notified by August 15th, 2025.

Please submit your papers electronically, uploading your file prepared for blind review to this link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf1EwhtcDp6hblPgcQZJLgk-FhQOSuS0k6b06_ECNVK2TmhoQ/viewform?usp=sharing

Questions? Send them to [email protected]. We'd be happy to email you the submission link if you cannot copy and paste the above link in a new browser window.