CFP: Philosophical Perspectives on Harmony

Workshop Date:                    July 15-17, 2019

Workshop Venue:        Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)

Submission Deadline:    November 30, 2018

This international workshop aims to bring together scholars to explore conceptions of harmony and closely related ideas in various philosophical and cultural traditions.

Harmony or similar ideas can be found in virtually all traditions of thought. Yet, its meaning varies greatly, ranging from pure concord to a transformative process for accommodating diversity and minimizing conflict. Greek philosophers Heraclitus, Pythagoras, and Plato presented competing conceptions of harmony; whereas Heraclitian processive harmony presupposes ongoing opposites, tension and conflict, Pythagorean harmony and Platonic harmony are founded on a pre-determined order. In China, various schools of thought took harmony/harmonization as an effective way to optimally coordinate differences and productively transforming reality, yet their conceptions diverged. In modern times, especially in the West, the concept of harmony has been taken almost exclusively as concord rather than a dynamic process. Mainstream Western philosophical discourse seldom includes the idea or ideal of harmony. Is harmony still relevant in the world today? If yes, what form of harmony is desired and how should harmony be constructed in contemporary contexts? Careful studies of harmony and closely related ideas are needed to address these fundamental questions.   

The workshop presents a platform for scholars to explore a broad range of philosophical perspectives on and cultural traditions relating to harmony, from harmony as agreement, peace, to a dynamic, integrative transformation for new relationships and new reality through mutual engagement. In addition to historical studies, we are particularly interested in papers that directly engage contemporary issues and address the relation of harmony with other moral and social ideals. We seek extended abstracts (500-800 words) that examine the conception(s) of harmony in a thinker, a philosophical school, and a cultural tradition, or explore the relation between harmony and other philosophical concepts. Examples of topics include:

·         Harmony and the Good

·         Harmony and Diversity

·         Harmony and Justice

·         Harmony and Human Rights

·         Harmony and Mathematics

·         Harmony in African Philosophy

·         Religious Harmony

·         Aesthetic Harmony and Logical Harmony

·         Aesthetic versus Ethical Harmony

·         Harmony and Process

·         Harmony and Evolution

Submission of Proposals

Submissions should include a title, an abstract of 500-800 words and a brief biography including name, institutional affiliation, and email contact. Only previously unpublished papers and those not already committed elsewhere can be accepted. Submission deadline is November 30, 2018. Please send abstracts and inquiries to [email protected]. Successful applicants will be notified by 15 January 2019 and their full papers (7000-8000 words) are due by 15 June 2019.

The organizers will provide participants with return economy airfare up to S$2000 (depending on home regions) and local accommodation during the workshop. The organizers plan to publish an edited volume with selected papers presented in this workshop; participants are expected to prepare accordingly.

Workshop Convener:

Prof Chenyang Li (Nanyang Technological University-Singapore)

Workshop Advisory Committee:

Prof Asma Afsaruddin (Indiana University)

Prof Robert Neville (Boston University)

Prof Philip Pettit (Princeton University/Australian National University)

Prof Brook Ziporyn (University of Chicago)