The modes of thinking, the ways of speaking

National Research University, Higher School of Economics,

 School of Philosophy (NRU HSE)

XI International Conference

Modes of Thinking, Ways of Speaking

The conference will be held from October 7 to 10, 2020 in Moscow, on the campus of the Higher School of Economics (HSE).

 The working languages ​​of the conference are Russian and English.

Theme of the Conference:

“Philosophy, Its Past and Future”

Over its long history in different cultures and countries, philosophy has evolved and transformed. In certain periods, it was indistinguishable from science, in others from theology and literature. For some traditions, the focus of philosophy is logic and analysis, whereas in others it is thought of as a spiritual practice.  These diverse faces of philosophy make us wonder if there is an unmistakable way to identify the “essence” of philosophy in history. Put otherwise, is “philosophy” really a distinct and autonomous form of thought?  Or, is it tied to historical circumstances and inextricably bound-up with other disciplines? Within the framework of our conference, we will reflect on the various approaches to philosophy in the past as well as identify new directions that philosophy might take in the future.

The first plenary session will discuss the formation of canonical interpretations of the history of philosophy. Specifically, this session will focus on the criteria for including and excluding certain figures, questions, and methods in the history of philosophical thought. In this context, it will be important to show how historically contingent ideas about what philosophy should be form the basis for constructing a historical narrative and thereby determine the identity of philosophy as such. This plenary session will be held in English. Organizers: Silver Bronzo (NRU HSE), Stefan Hessbrüggen-Walter (NRU HSE)

The second plenary session, ‘Philosophy in Russia in the 19th – 20th Centuries: Practices of the Self’, will discuss how philosophy in Russia in the 19th – 20th Centuries worked as ‘practice of the self’. This session will examine notions of “spiritual exercise” that were intended to transform a person’s worldview and identity and influence their style and political decisions. Examining philosophy as a “spiritual exercise” raises questions about the boundaries and purpose of philosophy. What did practitioners expected from philosophy? How did they see its purpose? And what was regarded as risky discussion? Finally, this session will debate the role of professors: should they be a “scientist” or a “prophet”? And what does it meant to be a “philosopher”, generally? The plenary session will be held in Russian. Moderator: Andrey Teslya (Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, St. Petersburg State University).

The third plenary session will be an anniversary celebration. It is dedicated to the fifteenth anniversary of the School of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, Higher School of Economics. Moderator: Anastasia Ugleva (NRU HSE).

As part of the breakout sessions, discussions are planned on:

— forms in which philosophy manifests itself in different times and in different cultural contexts, in order to consider what is included in the concept of “philosophy” at different points in its history.

— a number of fundamental problems associated with the formation of the historical and philosophical canon.

— determining the main trends in the development of philosophy today; the identification of the main challenges and tasks that will determine the essence of philosophy in the near future.

— clarifying the place and significance of Russian philosophy (past and present) in the context of international philosophical thought;

— examining new approaches to the teaching of philosophy in a historical manner.

By May 15th, 2020, we ask the session organizers to send an official application to the organizing committee through the web-form https://forms.gle/T86gVSXUSjxD9AvE8

The application should contain the following information:

 — title and short abstract in Russian and English (or only in English, if the session is conducted in English)

 —  main language of the session (Russian/English)

 —  information about the organizers of the session

 —  if available: information about the participants in the session with the names of papers and abstract

—  mandatory: an indication of whether the session will attract external participants or is closed for them.

For the individual application download the application form. Форма заявки-СМПГ-2020.docx
Please send it to phillangcult@gmail.com not later than August 10th.

The full registration fee for conference participants is 1500 rubles per person. The registration fee for students is 750 rubles. Members of the organizing committee and session leaders are exempted from the registration fee.

If the conference is held online, registration fees will not be collected. Further information about this will appear on the conference website by September 2020.

Conditions for participants:

The conference organizing committee does not cover the costs of traveling to and staying in Moscow. However, the committee is ready to provide information about finding the best accommodation option.

Important dates:

 — 15.05.2020 - acceptance of applications for sessions and round tables

 —  30/06/2020 - acceptance of individual applications with abstracts

 — 15.07.2020 - participants are informed of the decision of the organizing committee

 — 30/09/2020 - registration of participants

Conference Program Committee:

Radaev Vadim V., First Vice Rector, NRU HSE

Boytsov Mikhail A., Dean, Faculty of Humanities, NRU HSE

Rutkevich Alexey M., Academic Supervisor,  Faculty of Humanities, NRU HSE

Porus Vladimir N., Academic Supervisor, School of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities NRU HSE 

Ugleva  Anastasia V., Head of the School of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, NRU HSE

Conference Organizing Committee:

Drozdova Daria, Assistant Professor, School of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, NRU HSE; Head of the Organizing Committee

Hessbrüggen-Walter Stefan, Associate Professor, School of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, NRU HSE

Bronzo Silver, Assistant Professor, School of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, NRU HSE

Teslya Andrey, Scientific Supervisor, Centre for Russian Thought Studies, Senior Research Fellow, Associate Professor, The Institute for the Humanities, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University; Senior Research Fellow, Institute of the History of St. Petersburg State University

Marey Alexander, Assistant professor, School of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, NRU HSE

Marey Maria, Lecturer, School of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, NRU HSE

Veretennikov Andrei, Assistant professor, School of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, NRU HSE

Porfireva Sophy, graduate student of the School of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, NRU HSE

Zakharova Elizaveta, Research Assistant, Center for Fundamental Sociology, NRU HSE

Fedorova Maria, undergraduate student of the School of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, NRU HSE 

Reference Information: 

For more information, please contact phillangcult@gmail.com