The question of conceptualism and non-conceptualism is a central issue for contemporary debate today. However, the relationship between concepts and practices has not been fully explored. For phenomenology scholars, the question of concepts and their relation with perception, bodily dimension, intersubjective and cultural experience is a well-known crucial topic, which represents a still open question.
By his interpretation of Kant and Sellars, McDowell held that concepts permeate our perceptions. From this claim, philosophers specializing in different areas have engaged in an ever-expanding discussion of how concepts relate to our experience. In particular, Dreyfus, relying on his reading of Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty, has intensively argued that concepts do not intersect our practices. This brought into play the question of the relationship between conceptual content and praxis, engaging in particular phenomenologists, who have always tackled, starting from Classic Phenomenology, the issues of the nature of concepts.
The aim of the conference is to focus on the relation between concepts and practices and understand whether and how these two domains intertwined with each other. Are they distinct dimensions? Do concepts originate from practices or vice versa? Do practices transform our conceptuality? How does the relationship between them shed a light on the nature of both? To answer these questions, it is necessary to consider that both notions can be variously interpreted.
As we know, determining the nature of conceptual content is a challenging task for phenomenologists, as its meaning has been understood differently (from Husserl onwards) and it still today allows for diverse interpretations for contemporary scholars. Besides, “practice” may be conceived of as the domain of pre-cognition, composed of skills, tacit rules, and behavioural attitude, the domain of action, or also of cultural habits, and social life; it can even refer to the different methods embedded in diverse disciplines (from philosophy to technical and artistic disciplines).
For the conference, this variety represents a fertile chance to gather diverse comprehensions of the topic at stake and enrich our mutual perspectives. For this reason, papers should be included within the framework of phenomenology or in the dialogue between phenomenology and (neo-)pragmatism or analytic philosophy.
Suitable topics may include, but are not limited to:
- the relation between concepts and perception;
- the connection between concepts and embodiment;
- the link between concepts and everyday habits and/or cultural practices;
- the link between concepts and gender and/or ethnic practices;
- the intersection of concepts and practices in ethics;
- the intersection of concepts and practices in art;
- the intersection of concepts and sciences or technologies.
Details of the conference
Date: 8th-9th of June, 2023
Place: University of Padua, Italy
Keynote Speaker: Prof. Mark Wrathall (Oxford University, UK)
Submission guidelines
Submission Deadline: 1st of February, 2023.
We welcome submissions for 25 minutes presentations, followed by 20 minutes for discussion,
in order to allow a concrete and productive debate among participants.
Please submit an abstract of 250-400 words (title included) in pdf format by the 15th of January
2023, to the following address: interlacing.padua2023@gmail.com
The working language of the workshop will be English.
The submission needs to include two documents in pdf-format:
- Abstract of the presentation, prepared for blind review
- Document which states name, address, institutional affiliation and title of the presentation.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the organizers using the e-mail address:
interlacing.padua2023@gmail.com
Organizing committee
Giulia Lanzirotti (giulia.lanzirotti@unipd.it)
Roberto Redaelli (roberto.redaelli@fau.de)
Luca Bianchin (lucabianchin89@gmail.com)