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Call for Papers Theme: In Search of the Complex Political Thought of a Pluralistic Democratic Society Type: Workshop Institution: Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law Location: Oñati (Spain) Date: 23.–24.7.2015 Deadline: 14.12.2014 __________________________________________________ The workshop combines political philosophy and empirical (qualitative and quantitative) research. The topic of proposed workshop focuses upon the meanings and mutual correlations attributed to the classical categories of political philosophy by contemporary public opinion. It refers to a research project being currently carried out in Poland as an illuminating case study. The hypothesis of the project states that the meanings and mutual correlations assigned to these categories by contemporary responders are fully comparable with their meanings and mutual correlations developed by the most prominent representatives of classical political philosophy. In Poland, this hypothesis has been already confirmed by previously done qualitative research and will be also verified by quantitative research. Political philosophy is being used to interpret the dominating currents of political reflection and argumentation in the pluralistic spectrum of contemporary public opinion. Basic scholarly questions proposed for workshop discussion: 1. Who is responsible for the interpretation of basic concepts which a democratic society is based upon? (the legislature, the executive, the court, or the electorate themselves?) 2. Does democracy imply an imperative to learn the will of the people with all available scholarly apparatus and scientific instruments? Are there any (normative) limits to it? 3. Are there any limits to the level of philosophical sophistication concerning the basic concepts a society is based upon? 4. Can ordinary citizens successfully seek and interpret their meaning? 5. What is the value of public knowledge of the most basic concepts prevailing in a particular society in the democratic process of decision making? 6. What are the strengths and weaknesses of a reconstruction of the basic concepts a democratic society is based upon by using jointly focus group interviews and representative quantitative research? 7. Can a society as a whole be considered the author of an eclectic political doctrine? 8. What are the strengths and weaknesses of such a doctrine by comparison with that constructed by a single political philosopher or political theorist? 9. Is it worth considering a similar research to be done in other European countries? 10. Is it possible to extrapolate the questions from the inquiry conducted in Poland (a country of predominantly Catholic culture, of relatively successful transformation from state led to market oriented economy) to other European countries (of more secular culture, in a middle of economic crises and social upheaval)? The deadline for submissions (Pre-registration form) has been extended to December 14th 2014. The call is open for participants with or without a paper. Coordinators: Zbigniew Rau (University of Lodz) Maciej Chmielinski (University of Lodz) Contact person: Malen Gordoa Mendizabal [email protected] Contact person in Poland: Michal Rupniewski [email protected] For further information, please visit: http://www.iisj.net/iisj/de/workshop-calendar-2015.asp?cod=8371&nombre=8371&prt=1 __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org __________________________________________________
