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Call for Applications
Theme: Power, Truth, and Trust
Subtitle: In Search of More Human Governance
Type: Annual Seminar
Institution: Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (RVP)
Location: Washington, DC (USA)
Date: 20.8.–21.9.2018
Deadline: 1.4.2018
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Thematic Description
Philosophy is both a way of life and a human-divine Voice capable of
engaging our common cultural endowment and so provide guidance to the
social realties of each age and time. The RVP 2018 Annual
International Seminar is designed to foster a renewed effort towards
a serious exploration of both theoretical and practical insights
regarding issues of truth, power and, finally and importantly, trust
in societies around the world. The ultimate goal, however, is to
re-think some of the key issues that surround governance and as such
call for a renewed understanding of the human being as both
in-the-world and with-others.
In his New Science of Politics, Eric Voegelin provides a compact and
precise expression of the beginning point for the central
considerations of human organization and social realities. Voegelin’s
insight might help us understand the many layers of the ongoing
social processes in the contemporary world. We shall give particular
attention to the critical analysis of Michel Foucault, especially his
attempt to penetrate the microphysics of power. Foucault tries to
uncover the force of truth and the need for parrhesia as part of any
socio-political process based on a renewed form of human
self-understanding. He thinks this can lead up to what might be
understood as a new politics of human liberation. Other authors will
also be used in order to better explore the ontological implications
of the problems we shall be confronting during the Seminar. The goal
is to help understand the cogency of issues attached to the problems
we face in the orders of governance and representation as well as in
the different realms of inter-human communication. The main resources
will be taken from the various philosophical traditions, but always
in order to better confront the many issues of power and governance
characteristic of our technological age.
The RVP international annual seminar has been, for more than thirty
years, a constant invitation to a renewed engagement with practices
and concepts that are timely, especially in periods of crisis and/or
social transformation. At this particular moment in history we are
urged to re-think and re-evaluate issues such as the following:
1. What is the nature of power and how does it relate to truth?
2. What are the implications of critical notions of power and truth
for human self-understanding?
3. How does a critical analysis of both power, truth and trust
reflect itself when it comes to issues of governance in a highly
complex and technologically sophisticated world such as ours today?
4. What is the meaning of democracy in the digital age and how might
it evolve in the near future?
5. What kind of relation should there be democracy and education in
our present global age?
6. Are there different models of democracy?
7. What role does politics play in the humanization of the world?
8. What are the guiding principles to build a more human society in
both individual and institutional levels?
9. What kind of stories and metaphors should we listen to in order to
understand the contribution of different cultures and
civilizations?
10. What kind of contribution can philosophy make toward a more human
governance?
11. How to understand freedom and responsibility?
12. How to live personal and shared identities in connection with
pluralism and the interaction of cultural communities and the
governance required for large scale entities such as nations and
understand international institutions in a context that clearly go
beyond traditional forms of sovereignty?
13. How can trust be regained in the human ability to respect the
humanity of others without suppressing the distinctive realities
of peoples, cultures, and religions?
Indeed, crises are challenges as well as opportunities, hence, the
special focus of the RVP 2018 annual seminar.
Objectives
Besides a philosophical deepening of issues related to truth, power
and trust related to contemporary governance, the 2018 RVP Seminar is
being planned with the following goals:
- to meet, exchange, discuss and consult with scholars and
policy-makers in regard to international experiences in order to
promote democracy and other forms of authentic human governance;
- to understand the nature of socio-political organizations,
including political parties;
- to explore new conceptions of democracy, for instance, democracy
“American style” as described by Alexis de Tocqueville almost two
hundred years ago;
- to clarify the current conditions of democracy around the world and
possibly to examine particular cases of democratization in recent
history.
Expected practical results
The seminar will help participants expand the knowledge and
references on topics such as:
1. the right of citizens to participate in the management of the
State and society;
2. mechanisms capable of ensuring people's right to be part of
managing a State or any other major social organization on the
complex issues;
3. organizational principles and institutional models of operation;
4. human rights and other issues associated with the Rule of Law.
Method
The 2018 RVP annual seminar will focus on issues related to the
above-mentioned questions. It will be projected with the following
characteristics:
1. The number of participants will be limited to about 15 scholars
from around the world gathered for an intensive experience of study
and interchange around a single table;
2. The approach will be interdisciplinary in order to draw upon the
contemporary capabilities of the various realms of the humanities
and penetrate into the roots and meaning of cultures and values
today;
3. The proceedings will be intercultural so that all may come to
benefit from the experiences and commitments of the various
cultural communities from around the world;
4. The seminar will have a duration of 5 weeks, the minimum time for
the issues to mature and the participants reach an ideal degree of
mutual understanding so that new insights might emerge in a context
of academic friendship;
5. The process will be intensive and focused on the detailed analysis
and discussion of a set of related readings;
6. The personal contribution of the participants will require a
complete dedication to the process and presupposes that upon
arrival each member of the seminar will have a well thought-of and
structured paper on any of the issues associated with the topic of
the seminar;
7. The process will culminate with the publication of a volume
consisting of substantive papers written by the individual seminar
participants, intensively discussed in the seminar and then
redrafted and capable of seriously reflecting the work of the
seminar both in terms of the readings proposed as well as of the
discussion produced around them.
Application for Participation
Applications for participation in the RVP 2018 annual seminar should
be sent by email by April 1, 2018 to [email protected]. Participants
cover their own travel costs; the RVP provides simple room and board
during the seminar. The seminar will be conducted in English and held
at the RVP Seminar Room.
Candidates will be notified of acceptance by the end of April, 2018.
As soon as participants confirm their presence in Washington, a
preliminary set of readings will be made available.
In order to be considered, please enclose:
(1) CV describing the applicant's education, professional positions
and activities;
(2) List of the applicant's publications;
(3) Letter stating the applicant's interest and motivation to
participate in this annual seminar; and
(4) Abstract (ca. 500 words) and basic bibliography of the paper the
applicant intends to present during the seminar.
Contact:
Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (RVP)
Gibbons Hall B-12, 620 Michigan Avenue, North East
Washington, DC 20064
USA
Phone: +1 202 319-6089
Email: cua [email protected]
Web: http://www.crvp.org/about-RVP/rvp-mission.html
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