The Nature of Social Identities: Metaphysics, Epistemology, and Politics

The Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, invites submissions for a conference on the metaphysical and epistemological foundations of social identities, organised within the research project Identity Politics: Metaphysics and Epistemology.

Conference Theme

In recent decades, political and social debates have increasingly focused on identity-based groups defined by characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, class, religion, or age. These developments have generated extensive discussion in political philosophy and social theory. However, many of the metaphysical and epistemological assumptions underlying identity politics remain insufficiently examined.

This conference aims to investigate the nature, constitution, and epistemic role of social identities. In particular, we seek to explore the mechanisms through which identities emerge as robust social and political entities, and the ways in which identity-related features—such as lived experience, self-identification, social recognition, and shared narratives—contribute to their formation and persistence. 

Another central aim is to examine whether different identities (for example, race, gender, sexual orientation, or class) are constituted through similar or distinct metaphysical and epistemic mechanisms. Comparative approaches that analyse similarities and differences across identities are especially welcome. 

The conference will also address the epistemological aspects of social identities, including questions concerning situated knowledge, epistemic authority, intersectionality, and conflicts among different socially situated perspectives.

Topics

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

Metaphysics of Social and Political Identities

• Social construction of identity categories
• Relations between biological facts and socially constructed identities
• The “reality” of socially constructed kinds
• Narrative coherence and the unity of political identities
• Self-identification, authenticity, and identity formation
• Identity boundaries and the possibility of passing

Epistemology of Social Identity

• Epistemic authority of lived experience
• Insider/outsider epistemology
• Epistemic injustice and social bias
• Intersectionality and epistemic norms
• Argumentation and epistemic authority
• Incommensurability between identity-based perspectives
• Identity as epistemic authority
• The rights and responsibilities of epistemic communities. 

Submissions from metaphysics, epistemology, social philosophy, feminist philosophy, philosophy of race, and related areas are welcome.

Keynote speaker: Kristina Rolin (Tampere University)

Submission Guidelines

Please submit an anonymous abstract of 400–500 words.

The submission should be attached to the email in .pdf format and prepared for blind review. Please include the following information separately in the body of the email: your name(s), affiliation(s), contact information, the title of your talk.

Important Dates

• Abstract submission deadline: June 20, 2026
• Notification of acceptance: July 30, 2026
• Conference dates: October 6–7, 2026

Conference Details

• Location: Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic (Arna Nováka 1, 602 00 Brno)
• Format: in-person
• Language of the conference: English
• Conference fee: 50 EUR. The conference fee is intended solely to cover catering costs during the event (coffee breaks and refreshments) and the conference dinner. The venue is provided by the host department, and all conference materials will be distributed electronically. Participants who wish to attend only the talks, not the conference dinner, may contact the organisers to arrange a reduced fee.

Submission

Please send submissions to: [email protected]

Contact

For inquiries, please contact: Radim Bělohrad, Ph.D. ([email protected])

Organizing committee

Radim Bělohrad, Ph.D. 

Zdeňka Jastrzembská, Ph.D. 

Marek Picha, Ph.D.

Dagmar Pichová, Ph.D.