CFP: The Philosopher

Call for Papers

A Weaponised Earth: The Elements of Death and Disappearance

The Philosopher Spring 2027

Speaking of the agency of nature is now common practice. The biosphere is recognised as being life sustaining and its vitality essential to human existence. Following thinkers such as Felix Guattari, nature has also been recognised has having subjective qualities, inseparable from the meaning and values humans attribute to life and the visions we conjure of what constitutes a just and habitable future. The philosophical legacy of Immanuel Kant looms large over this aesthetic terrain, notably his work on the beautiful and the sublime, which still compels us to consider the complex relationship between humans and life-world systems.  

Yet if we accept the planetary biosphere is life giving and sustaining, might it also be life taking? We only have to think of the way oceans and deserts have been consciously weaponised to bring about the death and disappearance of precarious human bodies. Nature is capable of revealing back “signs of life”; unusual flora and fauna grow where bodies are decomposing which suggests a kind of witnessing by nature. Does this complicity and witnessing in acts of killing point to a different kind of agency? What does that mean for how space is lived and imagined? And does it require us to speak to a more than human relationality?     

This special edition of The Philosopher  (https://www.thephilosopher1923.org/) invites contributions dealing in a broad sense with the weaponisation of the earth. We encourage submissions that specifically question the violent agency of nature; the conscious weaponisation of the elements (earth, air, fire and water); the terror of the sublime; and how the planetary biosphere is witness to human atrocities, thereby challenging our understanding of forensic, aesthetic, and ontological awareness. Contributions that address the interplay between visibility and disappearance in acts of killing that require a rethinking of ecologies of belonging and thought are also encouraged.  

The volume will complement the A Natural History of Violence exhibition to be held in Puebla, Mexico in 2027 by the acclaimed Mexican painter Chantal Meza, whose art will feature throughout the edition. A series of events and masterclasses will be held (physically and virtually) in association with this that will draw from the volumes contributions.  

Deadlines:  Submission of Proposed Abstracts: May 1st 2026 

Submission of 1st Drafts:  September 1st 2026 

Submission of final drafts: December 1st 2026 

Contributions: Submit an abstract (250-400 words) using The Philosopher submission form (see bottom of this page). Include “Weaponized Earth” in your working title and the intended genre from the following:

Essays: 3000 word limit addressing the key themes 

Creative Interventions: 1500 word limit, which can be in a poetic or literary style 

Interviews: 2000 word limit with leading authorities from academic, policy, activist, or cultural spheres.

Please note: The Philosopher is a magazine of public philosophy. Contributions should be written in clear, non-technical language that is suitable for a general audience and avoids excessive jargon.