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Call for Papers "The Future Man" International Conference Tehran University Allameh Tabataba'i University Tehran (Iran) 22-23 November 2009 __________________________________________________ During a few decades ago, great advances in sciences and technology as well as certain socio-economic and cultural processes had projected a positive and optimistic image of mans future. However, the persistence of these advances and the pace of developments have transformed this optimistic image. The upsetting of the balance of nature and the cropping up of cultural, social and economic problems have gradually changed contemporary mans attitude to the future. More than any other time in the past, contemporary man regards himself and the means to his life as being in a process of transmutation and contemplates his future with fear and hope. In these circumstances, many thinkers and scholars need to address the fundamental question concerning the current conditions and the future of man. More than ever before, we are urged to think and provide an answer to the question What is the future of man and the world likely to be? Various universities and research institutes all over the world have in recent years embarked on extensive studies about the future. These studies have gradually taken the form of academic disciplines and courses. Research on the future of technology and experimental sciences, the humanities and social sciences, culture, art, economy, politics and religion are among the key research areas of our time. It seems that no viable cultural, political, economic and educational plan can be drawn up today without a true conception of the future, so much so that having a probable image, or images, of the future man is an essential prerequisite for starting serious researches. It should be borne in mind that research in these fields requires an interdisciplinary methodology. Scholars in diverse disciplines explore common questions and engage in various debates in order to consider the different aspects of this issue. Mans future is a principal concern of all the people living on the earth and as such is not bound to any certain geographical region. This fact requires that scholars from different cultures and nations discuss their conceptions of this issue and by so doing pave the way for further researches. This suggests that such researches must be intercultural, and representatives from various cultures should debate and evaluate their understandings and views on world problems, promoting interchange and cooperation through encouraging this debate. The dialogue of the representatives of various cultures on the fundamental problems of contemporary world is the first step towards mutual understanding and cooperation. The question regarding the future man can in this context be significant and serve as an impulse for the intervention of scholars from various fields in this important debate. As one of the most ancient and fecund human cultures, the Iranian culture can draw on its rich heritage and actively contribute to the search for possible answers to this question. This contribution necessitates the partnership and interaction of Iranian thinkers and elite intellectuals with thinkers from other cultures to promote this dialogue and by so doing make it possible for these researchers to be ever more fruitful. The international conference on The Future Man is planned on the basis of this approach. In order to contribute to this new area of contemplation and research, we call on scholars and researchers of various disciplines to join us for an exchange of ideas. The main topics of the conference are indicated in the list below, though, of course, other themes could also be included at the suggestion of researchers wishing to participate in this conference. Conference Topics 1. Theoretical-Philosophical Aspects - Approaches and Methodologies of Research on the Future and the Future Man - Philosophical Systems and the Future Man - Transformability of the Existential Structure of Man - Transmutation of the Fundamental Categories of Philosophical Thought 2. Culture and the Arts - Future Studies on Culture and the Arts - Cultural Theories on the Future Man - The Future Man as Portrayed in Literature - The Media and the Visual World - The Future of Cultural Relations - The Future of Information Technology (Artificial Intelligence, the Real and Virtual Worlds, ...) 3. Society, Politics and Economy - Future Studies in Social, Political and Economic Studies - Transformation of the concepts of Society, the Individual, the Family, Property, Labor, Leisure, ... - The Future of Power relations, Capital and Culture - Transformation of Political Concepts: Power, the State, International Bodies, ... - Globalization and Its Consequences in Society, Politics and Economy 4. Science, Technology and Nature - Transformation of the concepts of Nature, Science and Technology - Biological Sciences, Medicine and the Future Man - Reconsideration of Aims-setting in Science and Technology 5. Ethics and Education - Transformation of Values and the Future Man - Ethical Systems and the Future of Individual and Social Ethics - Principles, Methods and Objectives of Education with a View of the Future Man - The Relation between Ethics, Education and Science 6. Religion - The Future Man and Religion - The Image of the Future man in Eastern and Abrahamic Religions - The Future of Inter-Religious Relations - The Image of the Future man in Theological Texts - The Conceptions of Islamic Thinkers and Philosophers of the Future Man 7. Iran - The Future and Future Man as Portrayed in Iranian Culture - The Iranian Peoples Attitude towards the Future - The Future and Future Man in Contemporary Iranian Literature and Art Dates The conference will be held on 22 and 23 November 2009. Deadline for submission of abstracts: 6 July 2009. Deadline for submission of papers: 27 October 2009. Abstracts should include: A maximum of 300 words. Abstracts and full papers should be typed as Microsoft Word documents using font size 12. Both the file as well as a printed copy of the abstract should be sent to the conference secretariat. The authors CV and Abstracts and complete papers could be submitted in Persian, English and German. Submitted papers will be evaluated and accepted in one of the following two forms: - Publication in the conference proceedings and reading in the conference, - Publication as an essay collection (book bearing an ISBN specification). Correspondence could be either posted or emailed to the conference secretariat. Registration Registration should be acknowledged at the reception desk on October 27th, 2009 Registration fee is €100 For students is €50 Include 3 nights of accommodation. Cash payment, after the arrival on the conference Conference Team: - M. R. Hosseini Beheshti, Prof. of Philosophy, Tehran University - A. Mosleh, Associate Prof. of Philosophy, Allameh Tabatabai University, Email: [email protected] - N. Zafaranchi, Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies (IHCS), Email: [email protected], [email protected] Conference website: www.interculturalstudies.ir Further enquiries and any suggestions should be emailed to the Conference Organizer: [email protected] Contact: Secretariat of the Conference on the Future Man College of Literature and Foreign Languages Allame Tabataba'i University Sa'adat Abad Tehran Iran Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.interculturalstudies.ir __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org
