"The most persistent principles of the universe were accident and error”

 

- Frank Herbert, Dune

 

 

Ladies, Gentlemen and Others,

we would like to invite you to participate in the 7th edition of PhilosophyCon with one of the philosophical quotes from Frank Herbert’s Dune, which has just debuted in cinemas in the form od a new film adaptation. This year's event will be held on December 3-5th 2021 in a hybrid format: 3th December at University of Silesia in Katowice and 4-5th December at Pedagogical University of Krakow and online via Zoom. The event will be streamed on Facebook and YouTube.

The co-organizers of the PhilosophyCon 77: Aborted Carbon are the University of Silesia, the Pedagogical University of Krakow, the Political Doctoral Science Club at the University of Silesia, Philosophers’ Doctoral Scientific Association "Zagreus" at the University of Silesia, Philosopher’s UŚ Association, “Brains up” Silesian Cognitivist Assosciation, EduVRLab Research Laboratory, and the Optimum Pareto Foundation.

Thanks to the editions so far, each year about 600 beings learn more about such fantastic issues like rhetoric of video games, bioethical aspect of augmentations straight out of the Deus Ex series, and ontological plots of well-known manga and anime.

PhilosophyCon proudly stands on two pillars: the conference and the convention.
In the conference part, philosophers and other scientists (from literary scholars, through theologians, to palaeontologists) from Polish and foreign universities will combine their passion for science with their love for pop culture (movies, games, books, comics and much more). The topics proposed by the organizers concern cybernetics, cyberpunk, ecoethics, bioethics and science fiction.
Whether you already are a researcher or aspire to be one, feel invited to submit your presentation abstracts. We would like not only to reflect on how philosophy is able to analyze popular culture but also to ask if pop-cultural authors are philosophers themselves by including philosophical content in their pieces.
As this iteration of the cycle is inspired by the writings of Frank Herbert, presentation submissions concerning his works are especially welcome, yet do not limit yourself to those.
There is an almost infinite range of topics you can propose for our conference (and convention!). We are interested in all types of pop-cultural works, genres and activities, including films, TV series, novels, short stories, video games, board games, pieces of music, concerts, music videos, as well as ‘borderline’ types of artworks (comics, gamebooks, visual novels, street art, fashion…), and fan activities (conventions, fan fiction, fan clubs, fandom creativity and behavior on the Internet, LARPs, etc.). Analyzes made from the point of view of any philosophical subdiscipline are all welcome. To inspire you, we present some possible ways of confronting philosophical frameworks with the subject-matter of popular culture below. Of course, we are sure you are going to surprise us with your own ideas.

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Proposed issues:

• cybernetics

• bioethics

• ecoethics

• ecology

• environment pollution

• eco-pop-culture

• the works and life of Frank Herbert

• science fiction literature

• the anatomy of sandworms :)

• ecological positivism

• the ontological apparatus of writers

• fictional religions and real religions
  songwriters as philosophical anthropologists

• utopias and dystopias vs. current political philosophy

• instances of pop culture as thought experiments

• pop-cultural portrayals of science and progress vs. philosophy of science, of nature, and of mind

• popular culture and philosophical theories about the great social topics such as war, toleration, justice

• theatre, ritual, education, entertainment – what are fan meetings for?

• conservative and emancipatory messages in pop culture

• philosophical presentations of belonging/exclusion and stereotypes/violence in fandoms (sexism, racism, classism/economic exclusion)

• aliens or fantastic species/races be truly as radically Other
   

Of course, we are sure you are going to surprise us with your own ideas!
We accept applications in two forms:

 

• Video abstracts – considered first, recording time 1-2 minutes.

• Written abstracts – considered second, between 1000 and 2000 characters.

In the commentary to the abstract, please add information about the preferred form of presentation:

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A) live lecture (ath the venue)

B) live lecture held online through Zoom

C) video essay / pre-recorded lecture

The maximum speaking / video time is 30 minutes. The uploaded videos will be made available in advance and will be discussed by the creators and viewers during the event in a workshop.

Applications should be sent via the form on our website:

https://philosophycon.wixsite.com/philosophycon

or via e-mail for the videoabstracts:

philosophycon@gmail.com

In case of sending the videoabstract, please also fill in the website form and write “video” in the abstract text field.

In the  abstract (min. 1000, max. 2000 characters for the written one), and also in your speeches, please include elements listed below:

 

• Introduction

• The aim of the study

• thesis and/or hypothesis

• the state of current research and the meaning of the study

• material and method

• results

• points for discussion

• conclusions

Due to the very open character of the event we ask you to deliver presentations taking into account the audience might be comprised of underage viewers and laymen. Please keep highly specialist details for a publication in the journal.
Post-conference publications are planned in the Folia Philosophica journal.
The convention part of the event includes attractions available for everyone, such as RPG sessions and board games (online), competitions, meetings with special guests, workshops, film screenings and live music.
What else? As usual, you can decide! We’re recruiting people who run special attractions through the website https://philosophycon.wixsite.com/philosophycon
 

All anticipated (and unforeseen) surprises will be announced in the coming weeks on the Facebook page (facebook.com/philosophycon) and our partners' websites.
Active and passive participation in the event is free of charge. See you soon!
Abstract deadline: 30 October 2021. Decision about acceptance will be issued until 15th of November.
ATTENTION! In case of changes in the pandemic rules and regulations, the event will be held only online.
 

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