Call for Abstracts: XIIIth Mediterranean Roots of Philosophy

Croatian Philosophical Society and the Department of Philosophy at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split are organizing the international and interdisciplinary symposium XIIIth Mediterranean Roots of Philosophy. Man is the measure of all things – Protagoras, on the 2500th anniversary of his birth, which will take place from April 4 to April 6 2019 in the conference hall of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Poljana kraljice Jelene 1/III (Peristil), Split. Croatia.

The Mediterranean is the cradle of western philosophy and science which, together with the Mediterranean heritage of Hebrew-Christian religious tradition sets the foundations of Western European culture and civilization. Western philosophy and science begin their historical development at the start of 6th century BC on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean sea, specifically in Asia Minor, in the Greek colonies of Miletus and Ephesus and surrounding islands; it then spreads to Elea and Sicily and reaches its peak in Athens, one of the centers of ancient Mediterranean. Later development of ancient philosophy, from Hellenism to the medieval epoch, through new intellectual centers of Alexandria, Antioch, Carthage and Rome is also crucially related to the Mediterranean. Creation, conflict and mutual permeation of Mediterranean cultures, a distinctive Mediterranean multiculturalism gave an essential mark to the future growth of philosophy in the West. Ancient Greece and Rome, the Hellenistic-Roman heritage, Byzantine world, Oriental Arabic traditions with the mark of the new religion of Islam all blend into Muslim Arabic medieval philosophy, culture and civilization. The Byzantines introduced the Arabs to Greek philosophy, and they, through the mediation of the Crusades and the work of its leading philosophers Avicenna, Averroes and Ibn Haldun returned the forgotten legacy of Aristotelian philosophy back to Europe.

The next aspect relevant to the topics of the symposium refers to the foundation of Croatian philosophy which, both in its beginnings and on its zenith, has its roots in the Mediterranean part of its multiregional cultural identity. Starting with Hermann of Dalmatia, continuing through Marko Maruliæ and Matija Vlaèiæ Ilirik (Matthias Flacius Illyricus), Frane Petriæ (Franciscus Patricius) and Ruðer Boškoviæ (Roger Joseph Boscovich), to mention only the most significant figures.

Third set of themes congenial to the idea of this symposium relates to the philosophical and interdisciplinary reflection of the peculiarities of the Mediterranean multicultural space which gave birth to the current inter-civilizational tensions threatening to escalate into the clash of civilizations, but also open the possibility of dialogue and reconciliation. That situation naturally suggests the following set of questions discussed at the symposium:

·         Do the Mediterranean roots of philosophy influence the origin and development of the contemporary philosophy of the Mediterranean?

·         Philosophical reflection of the Mediterranean multiculturalism

·         Incentives of the Mediterranean philosophy for the establishment of global ethos as a prerequisite of inter-civilizational dialogue

·         Philosophy of the Mediterranean as a globalization paradigm

This year, according to relatively reliable sources, we mark 2500 years since the birth of Protagoras of Abdera, the famous pre-Socratic philosopher, who inaugurated a new anthropological period of Greek philosophy with his most famous statement: "Man is the measure of all things: of the things that are, that they are, of the things that are not, that they are not." Protagoras and Socrates led philosophy out of esoteric expert groups to the agora – the passionate public sphere. The Sophistic movement that Protagoras led is remembered for its detrimental effects, such as demagogy, and its superficial and voluntaristic relativism, but also for its progressive contribution to ancient enlightenment and education for democratic citizenship. In addition to the above-listed traditional topics on the Mediterranean roots of philosophy, we believe that the dedication of this year's symposium to Protagoras' anthropocentrism will inspire participants to include in their contributions, among other things, the issues of Mediterranean antiquity and Renaissance as well as modern multicultural humanism, which was a general theme of the latest XXIV World Congress of Philosophy, under the title “Learning To Be Human,” held in Beijing in August 2018.

The conference fee for the symposium is 50€, which includes conference materials, coffee breaks, the book of abstracts and calls for publication (free of charge, double peer-review). Proof of payment and certificate of participation given during the conference.

We invite you to submit your abstracts not later than 18th February 2019 to the following address: (via e-mail) [email protected] or (via mail) Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Philosophy, Poljička cesta 35, 21000 Split / for Mediterranean Roots of Philosophy. Registration form is available below.