Notions of “the future” are tied to the human experience of time and history. They evoke a range of meanings, some hopeful and some foreboding. They raise questions about human agency, individual and social aspirations, and visions of historical progress. They require reflection on the nature of time and whether it is linear, circular, multidimensional, or teleologically driven. While these questions are of perennial interest to philosophers, our present moment prompts us to examine notions of futurity and visions of the future with a renewed sense of urgency. In the last century, human life and society have changed dramatically. When imagining possible futures, we must ask how technology, artificial intelligence, climate change, social justice movements, the economy, political institutions, and other significant factors will impact the trajectory of the future. Moreover, speculation about the future requires reflection on the past. For this conference, we welcome papers that explore conceptions of futurity and visions of the future through the lens of any figure(s) in the history of philosophy.
The History of Philosophy Society was established to support and encourage scholarship on the history of philosophy from diverse perspectives. We welcome the richness of multiple approaches to the history of philosophy, as well as various traditions (Africana, American, Asian, Caribbean, European, Latin American, etc.). HOPS provides a forum for various interpretive methods, including, but not limited to, analytical, deconstructive, feminist, hermeneutic, phenomenological, and pragmatist interpretations of texts and philosophers from antiquity through the early 20th century.
Please send submissions as an email attachment to historyofphilosophysociety@gmail.com no later than January 30, 2024. Submissions should consist of the full paper (35 minutes of reading time, approx. 5000 words) prepared for anonymous review.