The central axis of the World Congress “What is it? That’s the Question!”, to be held in Rio de Janeiro in July 2026, is philosophy’s founding inquiry, formulated by Socrates and Plato: ti esti? (“what is it?”). This universal question transcends disciplinary boundaries. It concerns how we define, understand, and investigate objects of knowledge, inquiry, and action — making it immediately meaningful not only for philosophers, but for researchers across all fields.
The congress aims to bring together all areas of philosophy — ethics, metaphysics, logic, epistemology, aesthetics, political philosophy, and philosophy of science — around a shared methodology of conceptual investigation centered on the question “what is X?”. By combining conceptual unity with thematic plurality, the event seeks to foster dialogue among diverse traditions while encouraging meta-philosophical reflection on definition, explanation, and conceptual analysis. We warmly invite contributions that engage this question from theoretical, historical, logical, or interdisciplinary perspectives, provided they maintain a clear focus on conceptual inquiry. Submission Guidelines: - Deadline for abstract submission: February 15, 2026 - Abstract length: typically 300–500 words - Abstracts should clearly state: the question addressed and the methodology used to approach it - Talk duration: 30 minutes (including discussion) “What is it? That’s the Question!” Rio de Janeiro, July 27–31, 2026 https://sites.google.com/view/what-is-it/
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