CFP: Disclosure in Thought and Action Philosophical Perspectives on Political Narration and Democratic Prefiguration

Democracy claims to struggle about public affairs through the power of language. Already in Plato’s Republic, political discourse takes two forms: as dialectical discourse, it draws on the power of logos; as narrative discourse, it draws on the power of mythos. While the former relies on proofs, deductions, and discursive necessities, the latter follows a logic of disclosure. The aim here is to make phenomena visible, to open up horizons, and to imagine alternatives. Myth tells stories, reveals perspectives, and highlights connections, thereby bringing things into view in new ways.

While political philosophy and theory have long focused on the power of discursive speech, in recent years there has been a growing interest in narrative forms of speech and aesthetic-performative political practices. Of particular significance here is the motif of prefiguration as a practice of enacting political alternatives and future forms of coexistence in the here and now. Political narration and prefiguration are currently being discussed within various traditions, ranging from political phenomenology to critical theory and post-fundamentalism, and extending into analytical epistemology.

The workshop focuses on the power of disclosure in thought and action in order to explore their potential for a reimagining of democratic debate and political protest. Especially in times when discursive speech in the public sphere is coming under increasing pressure, a return to the aesthetic, narrative, and performative aspects of the political is crucial.

Exemplarily, four traditions can be distinguished in which the power of narrative discourse and the demonstrative aspect of political practice are currently the subject of increased discussion:

(1) Political Phenomenology: Hannah Arendt can today be regarded as a founding figure of political phenomenology. Through her reflections on democratic debate under conditions of plurality, she has brought storytelling into the spotlight as a means of engagement. Storytelling conveys perspectives and attitudes that defy purely theoretical analysis. Central to this is the reference to Kant’s conception of aesthetic judgment, understood as the ability to identify exemplary points of view for evaluation in the absence of ultimate reasons and to solicit agreement with them. Crucial here is the power of the imagination, which brings to mind divergent viewpoints and alternatives to the status quo. The potential of such disclosure for democratic debate under conditions of plurality has been systematically explored, above all, in recent political phenomenology (Loidolt 2017, Herrmann 2023, Bedorf 2025).

(2) Critical Theory: The founding text of Critical Theory, Horkheimer and Adorno’s Dialectic of Enlightenment, breaks radically with the tradition of the systematic treatise. Its specific narrative style—often fragmentary, aphoristic, and mimetic—is not merely a stylistic device but is regarded as a methodological necessity: In order to break through the context of delusion created by instrumental reason, thought itself must take on a form that not only states but, above all, shows. The aesthetic rationality of argumentation preserves the non-identical from the grasp of analytical identity logic through an aesthetic-critical mode of writing. The representation itself thus becomes a site of resistance that prevents the ossification of thought into mere definitions and gives voice to the unresolved nature of experience. This return to the performative power of philosophical writing has once again come into focus in recent Critical Theory (Wesche 2018, Freyenhagen 2025, Saar 2025). Furthermore, Adorno—in contrast to a reading that focuses on the notorious “ban on images”—has recently been rediscovered as a pioneer of a prefigurative form of political action (Sörensen 2022).

(3) Post-foundationalism: Post-foundational theories emphasize that the political space of justification is permeated by power, affect, and desire. Practices of justification are closely linked to the establishment of orders that determine the rules of the game governing what can be said in a democracy (Marchart 2010). Against the backdrop of the classical dispute between philosophy and rhetoric, post-foundationalism understands itself as a project of radical enlightenment that focuses on the complex intertwining of justifications, power, and authority (Kompridis 2006). In this vein, postf-foundationalism conceives of the rhetorical nature inherent in all speech not as a moment of pretense, but as a necessary moment for bringing reasons and justifications to light (Gebh/Seitz 2024). In this context, post-foundationalist thinkers such as Laclau and Mouffe emphasize the importance of the narrative in processes of hegemony formation and point to the rhetorical (metaphorical and metonymic) dynamics involved in the formation of political identities.

(4) Analytic Epistemology: The motif of disclosure is also found in contemporary analytic philosophy. In her work on perspectives, Elizabeth Camp (2017) has argued that our thinking is often structured by complex cognitive frames that cannot simply be broken down into isolated sentences and propositions. Perspectives instruct us to perceive certain aspects of a situation as central and others as peripheral. Rachel Fraser (2021) also makes clear that we must understand narratives as more complex units of knowledge. They are the templates through which we first assemble individual facts into a coherent worldview. Thus, disclosure becomes a central mechanism for how we, as knowing subjects, orient ourselves in a complex world.

For many of the thinkers mentioned, the disclosing moment they focus on theoretically is also reflected in their writing. The traditions gathered here can therefore themselves be examined for their narrative and disclosing dimensions. Accordingly, one may ask what can be learned from the respective form of representation for political discourse or practice. Can the specific logics of philosophical narration be put to fruitful use in the practices of political protest? Conversely, what can philosophy learn from those narrative and prefigurative practices that attempt to point out alternatives and new perspectives in the heat of political struggle? What relationships and transitions exist between disclosing thought and disclosing action? Can “disclosing action” create spaces for understanding where “proving” and insisting on facts fail?

Modalities and Deadlines

·      Workshop format: Productive, constructive discussion and critique of papers (work in progress is expressly encouraged) that are submitted in advance and read by all participants.

·      Language of discussion: German. Papers may be submitted in German or English.

·      Submission of an abstract (approx. 300 words) by July 31, 2026.

·      Notification of acceptance by August 15, 2026.

·      Submission of the workshop paper by December 13, 2026.

·      Submissions to: [email protected]and [email protected]

·      We are planning to publish the contributions as part of a special issue in a relevant journal.

·      We aim to cover travel and accommodation costs, but this cannot be guaranteed at this time.

Concept and organization:

Steffen Herrmann (FernUniversität Hagen)

Sergej Seitz (University of Vienna, ERC Advanced Grant “Prefiguring Democratic Futures”)