Call for Papers 2016

Scheduled for the 2016 Eastern Division meeting of the
American Philosophical Association (Washington, DC)

Philosophy and Film

This is a preliminary topic announcement for conference meetings in Washington, DC (January 6-9, 2016), San Francisco, CA (March 30 – April 3, 2016), and Tel Aviv, Israel (May 2016).

Send inquiries to:

David P. Nichols

Call for Papers 2014-2015

Scheduled for the 2015 Pacific Division meeting of the
American Philosophical Association (Vancouver, Canada)

Philosophy, Psychopathology, and Neuroscience:
Contemporary Empirical & Interpretative Issues and Debates

The 2013 centennial anniversary of Karl Jaspers’ General Psychopathology (GP) has brought significant attention to Jaspers scholarship, including  publications (One Century of Karl Jaspers' General Psychopathology, eds. Giovanni Stanghellini and Thomas Fuchs, OUP), national conferences (Philosophy and Psychiatry: The Next Hundred Years, CfP, St Catz Colloquium, Oxford, United Kingdom, July 2013), and international philosophical debates (Centennial Celebration of Jaspers' General Psychopathology, World Congress of Philosophy, Athens Greece, August 2013).  Recent developments in neuroscience, for example the use of fMRI brain imaging techniques pose ongoing questions about the relevance of Jaspers' GP to issues and debates raised by empirical and interpretive psychiatry as well as psychotherapy. Mind reading and mental surveillance, neural alteration of morality and neuroethics, the medicalization of sexual orientation and human feelings, new understandings of vegetative consciousness, and the sociality of human consciousness. Focal points include but are not limited to: What is living and what is dead in the GP in relation to contemporary developments in neuroscience, psychopathology, psychotherapy and related disciplines? Do developments in neuroscience and contemporary reception of the GP vindicate psychobiological approaches? What are the hermeneutical limits of evidence-based medicine and what role will Verstehen play in contemporary clinical and diagnostic and classificatory practices (DSM-V)?

Submissions are welcome from philosophers, clinicians, scientists and others with experience and or interest in contemporary neuroscience and mental health issues and debates. Post-docs and graduate students are encouraged to participate.

Please send your working title, brief abstract (200 words), a short biographical statement (ca. 100 words), and telephone/email contact to: Helmut Wautischer with copy Gregory J. Walters by September 1, 2014. Earlier submissions are appreciated.

Selected papers will be presented at the Pacific Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association in Vancouver, Canada: April 1-5, 2015. Presentations should be held to 20 minutes max in presentation time, however, extended versions of the presentations will be considered for publication in Existenz.

Notification of placement will take place by November 2014.

Scheduled for the 2014 Eastern Division meeting of the
American Philosophical Association (Philadelphia, PA)

Philosophy, Psychopathology, and Neuroscience:
Contemporary Empirical & Interpretative Issues and Debates

The 2013 centennial anniversary of Karl Jaspers’ General Psychopathology (GP) has brought significant attention to Jaspers scholarship, including  publications (One Century of Karl Jaspers' General Psychopathology, eds. Giovanni Stanghellini and Thomas Fuchs, OUP), national conferences (Philosophy and Psychiatry: The Next Hundred Years, CfP, St Catz Colloquium, Oxford, United Kingdom, July 2013), and international philosophical debates (Centennial Celebration of Jaspers' General Psychopathology, World Congress of Philosophy, Athens Greece, August 2013).  Recent developments in neuroscience, for example the use of fMRI brain imaging techniques pose ongoing questions about the relevance of Jaspers' GP to issues and debates raised by empirical and interpretive psychiatry as well as psychotherapy. Mind reading and mental surveillance, neural alteration of morality and neuroethics, the medicalization of sexual orientation and human feelings, new understandings of vegetative consciousness, and the sociality of human consciousness. Focal points include but are not limited to: What is living and what is dead in the GP in relation to contemporary developments in neuroscience, psychopathology, psychotherapy and related disciplines? Do developments in neuroscience and contemporary reception of the GP vindicate psychobiological approaches? What are the hermeneutical limits of evidence-based medicine and what role will Verstehen play in contemporary clinical and diagnostic and classificatory practices (DSM-V)?

Submissions are welcome from philosophers, clinicians, scientists and others with experience and or interest in contemporary neuroscience and mental health issues and debates. Post-docs and graduate students are encouraged to participate.

Please send your working title, brief abstract (200 words), a short biographical statement (ca. 100 words), and telephone/email contact to: Gregory J. Walters with copy to Helmut Wautischer by May 15, 2014. Earlier submissions are appreciated.

Selected papers will be presented at the Eastern Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association in Philadelphia: December 27-30, 2014. Presentations should be held to 20 minutes max in presentation time, however, extended versions of the presentations will be considered for publication in Existenz.

Notification of placement will take place by October 2014.

Call for Papers 2013-2014

Scheduled for the 2014 Pacific Division meeting of the
American Philosophical Association (San Diego, CA)

Jaspers and Heidegger on the Art of Vincent Van Gogh

We invite proposals for papers that compare Jaspers and Heidegger with respect to their analyses of Vincent van Gogh. Special priority will be given to proposals pertaining to the “world” of the artist or his work. For instance, papers may address any of the following questions, or questions within the same topical range: How do Jaspers and Heidegger take van Gogh to illustrate what it means to belong to a world? What is the significance of Jaspers focusing more on the artist’s world and Heidegger focusing more on the world of the artwork itself? What might the world of van Gogh’s work tell us about transcendence? How do Jaspers and Heidegger take van Gogh to illustrate the transformative power of art for the world that encompasses us? How might the different perspectives of these philosophers, or the life and work of van Gogh himself, inform the future of art interpretation, especially with respect to world?

Selected papers will be presented at the Pacific Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association in 2014 (San Diego: April 14-19, 2014), and will be considered for publication in Existenz.

Send one-page proposals (200 words) to the program chair listed below by May 31, 2013.  Earlier submissions are appreciated.

David P. Nichols

Notification of placement will take place by August 2013.

Scheduled for the 2014 Central Division meeting of the
American Philosophical Association (Chicago, IL)

Jaspers and Heidegger on the Art of Vincent Van Gogh

We invite proposals for papers that compare Jaspers and Heidegger with respect to their analyses of Vincent van Gogh. Special priority will be given to proposals pertaining to the “world” of the artist or his work. For instance, papers may address any of the following questions, or questions within the same topical range: How do Jaspers and Heidegger take van Gogh to illustrate what it means to belong to a world? What is the significance of Jaspers focusing more on the artist’s world and Heidegger focusing more on the world of the artwork itself? What might the world of van Gogh’s work tell us about transcendence? How do Jaspers and Heidegger take van Gogh to illustrate the transformative power of art for the world that encompasses us? How might the different perspectives of these philosophers, or the life and work of van Gogh himself, inform the future of art interpretation, especially with respect to world?

Selected papers will be presented at the Central Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association in Chicago: February 26-March 1, 2014 and will be considered for publication in Existenz.

Send one-page proposals (200 words) to the program chair listed below by May 31, 2013.  Earlier submissions are appreciated.

David P. Nichols

Notification of placement will take place by August 2013.

Call for Papers 2012-2013

Scheduled for the 2013 Pacific Division meeting of the
American Philosophical Association (San Francisco, CA)

Philosophical Faith, The Future of Humanity, and Posthumanism

This session is organized around the question of “Post-Humanism,” in other words focused on the second part of the recently published KJSNA collection that celebrated its 30th Anniversary, Philosophical Faith and the Future of Humanity (Springer, 2012). “The Future of Humanity” will address the questions of “Post/Trans/Meta Humanity.” Our invitation or “call for papers” is therefore directed to scholars who are concerned with the dramatic changes taking place in technology and the redefinition of what it means to be human. This includes the “Singularity” hypothesis of Ray Kurzweil, the exponential evolution of neuroscience and bio-technology and their implications for human identity. Attention may also be given to what many regard as being the current “crisis” in the humanities or Geisteswissenschaften as traditionally understood as a result of these developments, and the triumph of the social sciences in the displacement of the humanities in a liberal arts education.

Selected papers will be presented at the Pacific Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association (San Francisco: March 27-31, 2013), and will be considered for publication in Existenz.

Send proposals (less than 500 words) to both members of the program committee listed below by June 30, 2012.

Alan M. Olson
Helmut Wautischer

Notification of placement will take place by September 2012.

Scheduled for the 2012 Eastern Division meeting of the
American Philosophical Association (Atlanta, GA)

Arendt, Heidegger, Jaspers, and Nietzsche

We cordially invite proposals (150 words) exploring various aspects on on topics and/or problems directly related to Jaspers' works on existentialism and phenomenology, and related later philosophical works. Conference organizers also welcome topics and/or problems bearing on the relevance of Jaspers’ understanding of philosophy and psychology for contemporary scholarship and scientific research.

Selected papers will be presented at the Eastern Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association in Atlanta: December 27-30, 2012 and will be considered for publication in Existenz.

Send one-page proposals (150 words) to both members of the program committee listed below by May 1, 2012.

Lydia Voronina

Notification of placement will take place by July 2012.

Seventh International Jaspers Conference

in conjunction with the XXIII. World Congress of Philosophy
August 4 –10, 2013, Athens, Greece

"Philosophy as Inquiry and Way of Life"

The International Association of Jaspers Societies invites members of the international community of scholars to participate in the Seventh International Jaspers Conference. The Conference focuses, though not exclusively, on

(1) the Centennial celebration of Jaspers' General Psychopathology,
(2) Karl Jaspers' Philosophy as Inquiry and Way of Life,
(3) Karl Jaspers and Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)

For inquiries and paper submissions clearly indicate in the subject line one of the three topics: "General Psychopathology," "Jaspers Way of Life," or "Jaspers & Arendt."

Send correspondence about "General Psychopathology" to the program co-chairs Michael Schwartz and Gregory J. Walters at gp@karljaspers.net

Send correspondence about "Jaspers Way of Life" to the program co-chairs Alan M. Olson and Gregory J. Walters at office@karljaspers.net