Principles and their Limits

Philosophers have long thought that principles are tightly bound to the nature of the philosophical enterprise itself. Epictetus, for instance, says “what is it that we go to philosophers for? To learn what we don’t suppose that we know. And what is that? General principles.” But while philosophers see principles hard at work in guiding reasoning and structuring understanding across the gamut of human activity and inquiry, the ontological status, features, function, and limits of these principles are much contested.

MPA welcomes abstracts of papers for presentation from professionals and graduate students on any philosophical topic connected to principles and their role in philosophy. Possible topics include: what are principles? Are principles a necessary part of moral judgment or practical thought? What role can or should principles play in moral, political, or legal disagreement? Which are the correct principles of distributive or relational justice? May law include moral principles not announced by precedents or statutes? How do principles relate to natural law? What is the role of principles in scientific theory and explanation? What place do principles have in the correct account of fundamental reality? How have philosophers throughout history conceived the answers to these questions? Does reliance on principles in our thinking take a different form given the prevalence of LLMs and generative learning models?

The Keynote Lecture, “The Limits of Moral Principles” will be given by Samuel Fleischacker, LAS Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at University of Illinois, Chicago

Submissions: Abstracts of not more than 500 words can be submitted at the following link until January 1, 2026: https://forms.gle/96iVUMRy3th28Snh6

 For questions, email [email protected] or [email protected]