Co-organised by
Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, Belgrade
Centre for Advanced Studies, University of Rijeka, Croatia
Ethics Study Group, Belgrade, Serbia.
Philosophical practice is gradually becoming an established philosophical profession with an
increasing amount of clients such as organizations, government or individuals. Whilst
retaining the philosophical curiosity faced with the perennial questions of life, meaning and
values, philosophical practice seeks to make the philosophy of any school, conceptual
background or methodological focus as practical as any discipline can become: it seeks to
use philosophy to foster the quality and transparency of the meaning of life, both
organisational (or corporate) and individual. The community of philosophical practitioners has
grown to an impressive group of philosophers ranging from the so-called philosophical
‘generalists’ to specialists from varied fields as philosophy of language on the one hand and
traditional metaphysics, on the other engaged in consultations, advice of organizations or
facilitating Socratic group dialogue. The common denominator of all these philosophers’ work
is their quest to allow the wisdom, experience and conceptual rigour that characterise
philosophy to bear upon the solution of everyday individual or organisational problems,
dilemmas and issues.
Apart from becoming a profession, philosophical practice is generating another impact, which
has not been sufficiently addressed so far. It is impacting the mainstream academic
philosophy in ways that need to be critically explored so that the interaction of philosophical
practice and the philosophy limited to teaching and research is made fruitful. Namely,
philosophical practice is opening entirely new areas and themes of philosophical insight that
require novel methods and new resources to be invested in the traditional philosophical
exploration of the actual pre-requisites, contexts and consequences of the application of
philosophy to everyday life. This is an exciting area of research which promises to
emancipate some aspects of traditional academic philosophy from its main problem these
days: its removed position from the public and the everyday concerns of ordinary people. At
the same time, philosophical practice is establishing itself as a genuine discipline of
academic philosophy, as the practical application of philosophy leads, as in all areas of
philosophical life, to the opening of new philosophical questions. Philosophical practice is
thus both a profession and a philosophical issue in itself. This is so much the case that the
impact of the lessons learned in philosophical practice deserves the name of a new discipline
of research and teaching philosophy itself.
The aim of the 13th International Conference of Philosophical Practitioners is to bring
together, in a highly inclusive way, philosophical practitioners from around the world and
generate a series of sessions which will show the public what philosophical practice is and
how it is growing into both a profession and a new philosophical discipline. Demonstrations
prevail. However, the conference also provides accredited master classes for philosophical
practitioners, opportunities for exchange of experience among practitioners, lessons for
students or lay public, and free consultations by practitioners from all over the world.
Prospective contributors are asked to send a 250 word abstract of their presentations, or a
description of their demonstration sessions, performances or interactive workshops,
accompanied by a 200 word biography, to
13thicpp@gmail.com. The deadline for abstracts
or session descriptions is 31 January 2014. Decisions on acceptance will be made and all
applicants notified by 31 March 2014.
The conference will be held at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of
Belgrade, in central Belgrade. Sessions and workshops will run at several locations in central
Belgrade.
The registration fee for the conference is EUR 150 if paid by 15 April 2014, EUR 200
between 15 April 2014 and 15 July 2014, and EUR 250 if paid between 15 July 2014 and the
beginning of the conference including the registration session ad the commencement of the
conference on 15th August 2014. The fee includes conference materials, coffee breaks and a
cocktail at the conclusion of the conference.
Participants are advised to arrive to Belgrade on 14 August 2014 and plan to depart on 19
August 2015.
Belgrade offers a variety of accommodation, most of which is reasonably priced and good in
quality, close to the centre of the city and to all venues of the conference. For those
participants who are interested in student accommodation the organisers will make every
effort to explore such options, but anyone interested in this type of room should contact
Aleksandar Fatic (aleksandar.fatic@gmail.com) as soon as possible.
The working language of the conference is English.
Conference Organizer: Aleksandar Fatic, PhD, Research Professor, University of Belgrade,
aleksandar.fatic@gmail.com
Advisory Committee:
Constantinos Athanasopoulos, PhD, FHEA, Research Affiliate, Department of Philosophy, OU (UK);
President of the Hellenic Society for Philosophical Practice (Greece).
Oscar Brenifier, Chairman, Institut de Pratiques Philosophiques (France).
Viktoria Chernenko, Philosophical Practitioner, member of Institut de Pratiques Philosophiques
(Russia).
Guido Giacomo Gattai, Philosophical Counselor, member of Institut de Pratiques Philosophiques
(Poland).
Ora Gruengard, PhD, Philosophical Practitioner; Senior Lecturer, Shenkar College Shenkar College
of Engineering and Design (Israel).
Peter Harteloh, Ph.D., Philosophical Practitioner, Erasmus Institute of Philosophical Practice.
Rotterdam (The Netherlands).
Lou Marinoff, Professor & Chair, Department of Philosophy, The City College of New York (USA);
President, APPA ― American Philosophical Practitioners Association.
José Barrientos Rastrojo, Professor of Philosophy, University of Sevilla (Spain).
Young E Rhee, Professor, Department of Humanities Therapy, Humanities Institute, Kangwon
National University (Korea).
David Sumiacher D’Angelo, National Autonomous Universtity of Mexico (Mexico).
Detlef Staude, Philosophical Practitioner, President of Network for Practical Philosophizing
philopraxis.ch (Switzerland).