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Call for Papers
Theme: Virtues and Values in Greek Philosophy and in Global Era
Type: 32nd International Conference of Philosophy
Institution: International Association of Greek Philosophy (IAGP)
International Center of Greek Philosophy and Culture (ICGPC)
South African Society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities
Location: Vouliagmeni (Greece)
Date: 10.–13.7.2020
Deadline: 31.3.2020
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Description
The International Association of Greek Philosophy (IAGP) calls upon
philosophers and thinkers throughout the world to participate in the
32nd International Conference of Philosophy.
We have selected this topic based primarily on two factors, i.e.
Greek philosophy: and contemporary state of affairs of globalization.
Α(1). Greek philosophy from its inception and throughout all phases
of its development and transformations had as its guiding light the
Socratic question: “How ought one to live one’s life?” (πῶς
βιωτέον;). These reflections which occurred under radically different
circumstances from the polis to the Hellenistic kingdoms, the Roman
Imperium, Byzantium and beyond, provide a vast reservoir of wisdom in
clarifying the meaning of the present topic “virtues and values in
Greek philosophy and in global era”.
Α(2). We invite thinkers throughout the world to present and share
their views and the fruits of their research on the topic of virtues
and values in the age of globalization.
Virtues and Values
Two of the main issues in ancient ethical discussions were 'virtues
and vices' (ἀρεταὶ καὶ κακίαι), and the aim of life or the Highest
Good (τὸ τέλος, summum bonum). Virtue, ἀρετή, was usually considered
as one of the constituents of the best way of life, or of the Highest
Good – the other usual constituent being wisdom or knowledge. For
some, the τέλος also included some 'goods' other than virtue or
knowledge, although usually to a lesser degree.
For the Stoics only virtue and knowledge constituted the highest
good, or indeed, were regarded as good altogether. Everything else
which we call good in our everyday language was for them
'indifferent' (ἀδιάφορον), neither good nor bad. But even among these
'indifferent' objects, states or actions, some were obviously
regarded as preferable to others (πρoηγμένα). Health, for example, is
preferable to sickness, and even moderate wealth to abject poverty.
To account for such differences, the term ἀξία, value, was borrowed
from the language of possession and commerce. Wealth is thus not a
good, no better than poverty: but it has greater 'value'.
This rather minor ethical term came to its own some time in mediaeval
or modern thought, where the one τέλος of the ancient philosophical
schools came to be replaced, to some extent, by 'principles of
morals', 'moral imperatives' and 'moral values'. In a way, this may
point to a more circumspect approach to the problem of 'how should
we live' (τίνι τρόπῳ χρὴ ζῆν): no longer one general aim for all our
actions, but a number of aims, which can, of course, also clash
between them and contradict each other – hence, to some extent, the
rise of casuistry and of moral relativism. The ethical thought of
some modern philosophers – Spinoza, and Kant are two examples – can
thus be regarded as something of a reaction against the idea that
'all values are born equal'.
Our conference will deal with various aspects of the difference
between 'virtue ethics' of antiquity (and of some contemporary
philosophers such as Alasdair MacIntyre), and the prominence of
'moral values' as one of the main constituents of modern ethical
inquiry, as well as with the relation between the pursuit of the one
final aim of life in ancient ethical theory and the admission, in
much of modern ethical and social thinking, that there are many
different aims of life, and that there may not be a sure method of
deciding which of them is the Highest Good.
Some suggested topics:
1. Virtue and knowledge as the aim of life in ancient philosophical
theories.
2. Virtue and knowledge as against bodily and external goods. Can
there be a hierarchy between them? Can one reconcile them when
they seem to contradict each other?
3. Happiness as the aim of life in ancient and modern thought. Is it
the same happiness?
4. Happiness as wholly internal or partly dependent on external
circumstances. Omnia bona mea mecum sunt?
5. 'Value' as a subsidiary moral principle in ancient thought and its
relation to the idea of 'conscious choice' (προαίρεσις).
6. Happiness and virtue in the philosophical sense being 'dethroned'
in late ancient and mediaeval Christian thought.
7. Religious 'beatitudo' replacing ancient 'felicity' (and beatitudo
in its ancient senses) in mediaeval Christian thought.
8. Beatitudo non est virtutis praemium sed ipsa virtus (Spinoza): a
reaction against religious 'beatitudo'?
9. The rise of 'value' from a minor ethical term to a more central
criterion of ethical behaviour.
10. The concept of 'moral values', its origins and history.
11. Was there an idea of the difference between values and of the
relativity of some values in ancient thought?
11. 'Values' in various human disciplines in modern times
(anthropology, philosophy of law, religious studies).
12. Must 'values' always be relative?
13. Can there be a compromise between 'virtue ethics' and 'moral
values'?
14. Human nature and the concept of virtue and value among various
state of affairs.
15. Regarding virtue, can there be a confluence of Eastern and
Western philosophy?
16. The conception of virtue and value in non-western
cultures” (Africa, China, India, Japan, Korea, etc).
17. Any scientific paper relevant to the subject of the Conference
and dealing with Greek philosophy can be submitted for
consideration.
(These are only a few suggested themes. Papers on any other theme
dealing with the relations between virtue and value will be
considered).
Venue
The Conference will be held from the 10th to the 13th of July 2020 at
the seaside town of Vouliagmeni (Athens Riviera, Greece), at the
Amarilia Hotel.
Contact:
International Association of Greek Philosophy
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://www.iagp.gr
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