BW13 Artefacts

BW 13 - ARTEFACTS
Barcelona, 8-9 March 2027
Call for abstracts

Invited Speakers

Maegan Fairchild, University of Michigan  

Enrico Terrone, University of Genoa

Manuel García-Carpintero, University of Barcelona

The Barcelona Workshop series is the flagship international event of the LOGOS Research Group. Over the years, it has provided a forum for new work in analytic philosophy, advanced discussion of current debates, and brought together researchers from around the world. Since its launch in 1999, it has served as LOGOS's principal venue for international academic exchange and engagement.

The thirteenth Barcelona Workshop (BW13) will focus on the philosophy of artefacts. From Aristotle’s distinction between natural and artificial entities to work by Randall Dipert, Beth Preston, Kathrin Koslicki, Risto Hilpinen, Wybo Houkes, Lynne Rudder Baker, Amie Thomasson, Simon Evnine, James Miller, Maegan Fairchild, Manuel García-Carpintero, Enrico Terrone and others, philosophy of artefacts has become an area of research connecting metaphysics, philosophy of language, social ontology, aesthetics, and the philosophy of fiction.

The workshop welcomes contributions engaging with contemporary debates on artefacts, artefact kinds, words and languages, social and institutional objects, artworks, fictional entities, abstract artefacts, and other rule-constituted forms of representation. Submissions may, but need not, address questions such as 

• What distinguishes artefacts from natural objects?
• Can artefacts be defined in terms of intentions, functions, or histories of production?
• Are artefact kinds genuine kinds?
• How should we understand the constitution and persistence of artefacts?
• What role do form, matter, grounding, or constitution play in the ontology of artefacts?
• How should we understand rule-constituted kinds?
• Can social and institutional objects be understood as artefacts?  
• Can words and languages be understood as artefacts?
• Are words, languages, artworks, and fictional works instances of a common kind of abstract artefact?
• What role do intentions play in the creation and identity of artefacts?
• Can artefacts be abstract entities?
• What ontological status should be assigned to abstract artefacts?
• Are artworks, fictional works, and fictional characters distinctive kinds of artefact?
• Can works combine fictional and non-fictional elements, and if so, how should such hybrid works be understood?

SUBMISSIONS
Abstracts of approx. 1000 words, for 40 min presentation and 20 min discussion, should be prepared for anonymous blind evaluation and submitted to Easy Chair by December 15th 2026: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=bw13

Authors will be notified of the outcome by 31st January

Organization:

Marta Campdelacreu, UB

Teresa Marques, UB

Levan Sikharulidze, UB

Tiago Veloso, UB

Paulina Kraft, UB