Real Values. Axiological Realism in Early Phenomenology and Analytic Philosophy
 

Second Biennial Meeting of the Network for Phenomenological Research

With Ruth Chang (Oxford), Louise Hanson (Durham), Kevin Mulligan (Lugano/Geneva), Graham Oddie (Boulder), Wlodek Rabinowicz (Lund), and Christoph Halbig (Zurich).
To be held in Neuchâtel (October 24-25, 2019) and Zurich (October 26).

In the last decade, "robust" axiological realism - the view that values are irreducible properties and that they are independent from our attitudes towards them - has gained traction among analytic philosophers. However, this view has a long and fascinating history that extends far beyond the borders of analytic philosophy. In particular, the work of early phenomenologists such as Brentano, Geiger, Husserl, Ingarden, Scheler, Stein, Reinach, von Hildebrand, or Hartmann contains numerous insights into the nature, existence, and varieties of values (where the notion of “value” is understood in a broad way, comprising ethical, epistemic, aesthetic, religious, hedonic, and other kinds of values). This strongly suggests that our understanding of values may considerably benefit from bringing together the contemporary debate about values with early phenomenology. Against this background, the main aims of this conference are to explore new directions of research into axiology and to shed new light on the ideas of early phenomenologists.

The conference, which is also the Second Biennial Meeting of the Network for Phenomenological Research, will take place in Neuchâtel and Zurich and will feature some of the leading figures in value theory. The first two days of the conference (October 24-25, 2019) will take place in Neuchâtel, after which we move to Zurich for the third day of the conference (1'30h by train).

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We invite abstracts for presentations of 30-45 minutes. Papers can deal with any aspect (or kind) of values by considering them from the perspective of metaphysics, philosophy of mind, epistemology, action theory, theory of emotion, cognitive psychology, ethics, or any other philosophical discipline pertinent. Papers addressing the interconnections between contemporary value theory and early phenomenology are particularly encouraged. Abstracts should be prepared for blind review and be no longer than 1'000 words. Deadline for submissions is June 9th. Please send abstracts to olivier (dot) massin (at) me (dot) com. Submissions from early career researchers and from researchers identifying as a member of a currently underrepresented group in academia are particularly welcome. For further information, please contact felix (dot) timmermann (at) philos (dot) uzh (dot) ch .