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Pragmatism and the Analytic – Continental Split

Invited Speakers (in alphabetical order):

• Dr. Michael Bacon (Royal Holloway)
• Prof. Shannon Dea (University of Waterloo)
• Prof. Christopher Hookway (University of Sheffield)
• Prof. Christopher Norris (Cardiff University)
• Dr. Komarine Romdenh-Romluc (University of Sheffield)
• Prof. Robert Stern (University of Sheffield)
• Prof. Robert Talisse (Vanderbilt University)
• Prof. James Williams (Deakin University)

We are pleased to invite abstracts for submission to the upcoming “Pragmatism and the Analytic – Continental Split” conference, to be held at the University of Sheffield on the 9th – 11th of August 2017. The conference will explore the pragmatist tradition in philosophy and its relation to the divide between analytic and continental philosophy.

Like the analytic and continental traditions, pragmatism developed around the turn of the 20th century. The early pragmatists influenced (and were influenced by) the founding thinkers on both sides of the divide, and their work contains elements which both the analytic and the continental traditions can recognise. Charles S. Peirce, for instance, developed a first-order logic alongside a sophisticated general theory of signs. James’s detailed phenomenological analyses of experiences and late metaphysical speculations have resonances within the continental tradition, whilst his philosophy of mind and meta-philosophical reflections have been taken up within the analytic tradition. In the next generation, figures such Jane Addams, John Dewey, and Alain Locke saw in pragmatism a way to use philosophy for educational and political uses, and rejected the elitism and intellectualism they saw infecting philosophy of all kinds. Contemporary pragmatists can be found on both sides of the supposed split.

Consequently, pragmatism provides a unique lens through which to view the analytic – continental split. Some have hoped that pragmatism might provide a kind of “bridge” between the two traditions, whereas others have suggested that the best aspects of pragmatism can be assimilated to one side or the other. Still others have suggested that pragmatism represents a unique option, irreducible and perhaps even superior to either side.

We invite submissions of abstracts on the conference topic, of up to 500 words (for some ideas on possible topics, see below). We welcome speakers from all traditions within philosophy, and from areas of cross-disciplinary interest. Speakers will be allowed approximately 20 minutes for presentation, followed by 10 minutes of questions.

For more information, please visit our website pacsconf.weebly.com or email us at pacsconf [at] gmail.com.

Submissions: We will be accepting abstracts of up to 500 words. Please prepare abstracts for blind review, and send to pacsconf [at] gmail.com by the 16th of April. Formats preferred are .doc, .pdf, or .txt. Cover sheets should include your name, email address, institutional affiliation, and the title of your proposed paper.

Important Dates:

Deadline for submissions: 16th of April 2017 Notification of acceptance: by 5th of June 2017 Date of conference: 9th – 11th of August 2017

Possible topics include:

• Early analytic and continental responses to pragmatism
• Pragmatism’s influence on analytic or continental philosophy
• Pragmatism and Critical Theory
• Relations to idealism in the three traditions
• Phenomenology in pragmatist inquiry
• Post-structuralism and pragmatism
• Semiotic analysis in the three traditions
• The importance of language in philosophical methodology
• The types and importance of “experience” in the three traditions
• The types and importance of “realism” in the three traditions
• The place of metaphysics in philosophical inquiry
• The role of the community in philosophical inquiry
• The possibility of normative inquiry
• Philosophy’s relation to science
• Should philosophy be useful?