CFP: 2026 Philosophy of Social Science Roundtable

We welcome extended abstracts (between 600-1,200 words) for papers on any topic in the philosophy of the social sciences, especially those that allow interdisciplinary research connections and that are consequential for practicing social scientists. The two-day workshop will allow intensive discussion of the work of its contributors.

Please email submissions to [email protected] no later than December 15, 2025. Abstracts should be blinded and attached to the email as a Microsoft Word document; please include your full name and affiliation in the accompanying email; please also indicate if you would like to be considered for the award for best graduate presentation; lastly, please indicate if you would like to be considered for a travel stipend, as some might be available on a case by case basis.

Papers in all areas of the philosophy of the social sciences are encouraged, including in the philosophy of economics and political science, as well as in underrepresented areas, such as the philosophy of psychology and philosophy of history. Selected papers will be published in a special issue of Philosophy of the Social Sciences.

This year’s Roundtable will host Maggie Penn (Political Science and Data & Decision Sciences, Emory) and Jennifer Raff (Anthropology, University of Kansas) as keynote speakers. We will have an ‘author-meets-critics’ session with Armin Schulz (Philosophy, Kansas University) on his new book It’s Only Human: The Evolution of Distinctively Human Cognition. Commentators will be Daniel Kelly  (Purdue University) and Ron Mallon (Washington University in Saint Louis).

The Roundtable is supported by the David H. Kellogg Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, the Department of Philosophy, the Center for Humanities, and the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech.