CFP: Philosophy and the Climate Crisis

Climate change presents a major challenge for our time. It is expected to greatly increase global temperatures, “natural” disasters, political instability, war, disease, drought, and famine in this century. Its impacts are far-reaching and distributed unequally. In this conference, we aim to make progress toward addressing climate change, both by addressing the philosophical challenges it raises, and by working together to encourage sustainable practices in teaching, research, administration, advocacy, and community engagement.

To keep the conference sustainable, accessible, and low cost, the conference will be held virtually via Zoom. We will have keynote sessions with Marion Hourdequin and Kyle Whyte with live Q&A. Other talks will be organized into live panels of three speakers each. These panels will include a pre-read (5000 word maximum) and/or pre-watched talk (20 minute maximum) in advance of the live panel. Each live panel will include a separate Q&A for each talk, followed by time for general discussion. The conference will also include additional informal discussion time as well as moderated forum discussions without presenters.

Possible subjects of submissions include, but are not limited to: 

(I)  Moral and political responses to climate change: issues of climate justice, inequality, human rights, indigenous rights, climate colonialism, environmental racism, degrowth, migration, responses to disaster and emergency, adaptation and resilience, and individual responsibility.

(II)  The role and responsibility of philosophers: sustainable practices within philosophy, effective teaching about climate change, public philosophy, and the role of philosophers in on- and off-campus advocacy

Please submit anonymized abstracts of no more than 1000 words to [email protected], by October 31, 2020, with “Conference submission” in the subject line. In your email, please include your contact information and your preference of conference format: pre-read (5000 word maximum), pre-watch (20-minute maximum), or both pre-read and pre-watch.

Acceptance decisions will be made by December 1. All accepted participants will be required to submit their talk and/or paper by April 1, and then attend their live panel during the conference dates. 

We especially welcome submissions from indigenous philosophers, philosophers of color, women, younger philosophers, philosophers outside North America and Europe, and members of other frontline populations disproportionately impacted by climate change.