International conference on Greek Philosophy and the Environment

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THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR GREEK PHILOSOPHY ( IAGP )
THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR GREEK PHILOSOPHY & CULTURE
THE SOCIETY FOR ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHY (SAGP - USA)
and other academic and cultural institutions and organisations have decided to organise the:

TENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GREEK PHILOSOPHY

on the topic of:

PHILOSOPHY AND ECOLOGY :
GREEK PHILOSOPHY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

The Conference will take place on one of the Aegean islands in August 23-28,1998.

The Conference will have the following aims:

1. To examine the relationship between Greek thought and philosophy and the environment. To survey and identify the sources in Greek thought that would yield a picture of how the Greeks viewed nature and the environment and the relationship of man to these and to the cosmos.

2. From this examination to ascertain whether there exist principles and unifying perspectives in Greek thought which would aid us in our quest to bring modern man and his activities into harmony with nature and the environment.

3. To subject modern environmental theories, philosophies, and movements to a critical philosophical examination from the standpoint of Greek thought in which their metaphysical, political and ethical premises will be examined.

4. To arrive at guidelines for further philosophical inquiry and at a framework for policy in environmental affairs.

The conference is open to all philosophers, specialists in Greek philosophy and culture, environmental professionals, government officials, health and medical professionals, and concerned citizens who are interested and dedicated to finding ways to bring insight and cures to the ecological crisis of our times.

The main subject areas of the conference which will include history of concepts and sources, and contemporary methodological, moral, political and scientific issues, are likely to be divided into topics along the following lines:

1. Early Greek conceptions of nature, the cosmos, ecology and environment.
2. Plato and Aristotle on nature and environment and the common good.
3. Hellenistic Philosophy and the concept of physis and living in accordance with nature.
4. Neo-Platonic, Byzantine, post-Byzantine and modern Greek philosophy on nature and the environment.
5. The role of classical Greek metaphysical, psychological, cosmological and ethical theory in the elucidation and discussion of issues in environmental philosophy.
6. Methodological issues in contemporary philosophy of environment.
7. Questions in environmental ethics, critical survey of major issues.
8. The concept of the environment as a common good for all mankind, nations and communities (common good, relationship to the cultural environment, possibility for harmony and other issues).
9. Scientific and technological innovation and the environment. The search for principles and guidelines that may harmonize development and rapid growth with balance in nature.
10. An examination of the values underlying modern manÕs attitude towards manipulation of nature and suggestions about the life- styles and values that would be consistent with the common good and a harmonious human existence integrated with and within nature.

Participation will be one of the following kinds:

1. The presentation (approx. ten) of original academic Papers of 30 mins. duration, i.e. a maximum of ten typed pages, double-spaced, and page coverage 16 x 20.
2. The presentation of original academic Papers of 20 mins. duration, i.e. a maximum of seven typed pages, double-spaced, and page coverage 16 x 20.

The Papers in the first category will be in the form of a penetrating outline of the problems, an evaluation of the research undertaken in connection with the subject and the systematic examination of current philosophical problems concerning enviromental philosophy.

Papers in this category will be assigned by the Organising Committee to Invited Speakers who should express their interest promptly and state their preferences concerning the topic they wish to deal with, sending all the necessary information ( a detailed curriculum Vitae and an Abstract of their paper) to the Organising Committee.

The texts to be read at the Conference in their final form should be typed on disk 3.5 and on an Apple computer (Software MS Word 4.0 and upward and in GR Times font or equivalent) or in Word 6.0 and upwards for Windows using Times New Roman fonts (and saved as Rich Format Text [RFT] ) with page coverage 18 x 12.

Fuller texts of the above Papers (15-20 pages) of both categories (a and b) will be published in the Conference Proceedings. Texts in their final form for publication must be on disk in accordance with the specifications above[see also FORM No 7] .The disks (3.5) should be sent, together with one printed hard copy of the Paper, to the IAGP.

Texts in their final form for publication must be submitted at the latest by the end of September 1998.

The Conference is, of course, open to anyone (Greek or not) who wishes to attend, provided that he or she contacts the Organising Committee and completes the necessary forms (nos 1, 2 and 3 ) and pays the Conference fee. Similarly, persons accompanying participants should also complete the forms and pay the Conference fee specified in PARTICIPATION form No 3.

The official languages at the Conference will be Greek, English, French and German.

Greeks who present Papers are kindly asked to submit an acceptable English translation of their Papers which will be read at the Conference. This should be submitted to the Conference Secretary two months before the opening of the Conference.

Applications for all kinds of participation must be received by: 30 December 97.

Applications should be made on PARTICIPATION FORM No 1.

PARTICIPATION FORM No. 2 should be sent no later than : 28 February 1998.

PARTICIPATION FORM No. 2 should be accompanied by an Abstract of the Paper to be presented together with an English translation in the case of Greek scholars.The Abstract should bewritten in such a way as to give a clear indication of ideas and the line of argument that the finished paper will be pursuing.

The full texts of the Papers (two copies) should be sent to the Organising Committee by: 30 May 1998.

During the Conference, there will be an EXHIBITION OF BOOKS ON PHILOSOPHY. Authors of books, particularly those connected with the topic of the Conference, are kindly requested to send copies of their books so these may be included in the exhibition (FORM No. 5 ).

Participants wishing to be included as Invited Speakers should send the texts of their Papers to the Conference Secretariat by: 15 March 1998.

All participants will be notified by March 1998 concerning the form of their participation in the Conference.

The Organising Committee hopes to be able to cover the cost of board and accommodation for Invited Speakers during the Conference. However, the Organizing Committee reserves the right to provide up to 30 min. of speaking time to members of the Conference whose expenses will not be covered as Invited Speakers. Moreover, in keeping with a standard principle of the IAGP, every endeavour will be made to ease the financial burden of Speakers at the Conference.

Conference participants who are coming to the Conference for the first time are advised that cancellations cause major logistical, scheduling and economic problems for the organization of an international conference of this scope. The conference attempts to achieve the spirit of Hellenic philosophy as a way of life and consequently tries to include many activities whose purpose is to enrich participants with exposure to Greek culture, both ancient and modern, and to an environment where discourse may occur with the warmth of hospitality, friendship and intervals of relaxation and feasts . To this end the conference includes simultaneous translation to facilitate communication among the participants, outings, receptions and other activities that are seriously disrupted by cancellations and schedule changes. We ask that only those who are certain of their attendance submit the forms for participation.

Further details concerning the organisation of the Conference will be given in the next Circular, which will be sent to all those expressing a wish to participate in the Conference and who have already sent their PARTICIPATION FORM No 1.

Correspondence relating to the Conference should be sent to the following address:

Professor Konstantine Boudouris
President of the Organising Committee
Tenth International Conference of Greek Philosophy
5 Simonidou Str., 174 56 ALIMOS - GREECE
TEL.01- 9923281, 01-728.7545, FAX. 01-7248979,
E.M.:[email protected]

Persons living in North America (USA or Canada) may contact for information on any matter relating to their participation in the Conference:

a. Professor Thomas M. Robinson
Honorary President of IAGP
Department of Philosophy
University of Toronto
215 Huron St. 9th Floor
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1
Tel. 001 416-978-2824. Fax: 001 416-978-8703.
E-mail: [email protected]

b. Professor Gerasimos Santas
Honorary President of IAGP
Department of Philosophy
University of California
Irvine, California 92717-4555, USA.
E-mail:[email protected]

c. Professor Joanne Waugh
Department of Philosophy, CPR 107
University of South Florida
Tampa, Florida33620, USA .
FAX.001- 813-974-5918.
E-mail: [email protected]

In the belief that this Conference will be of great significance and present an exceptional opportunity for research, thought and clarification of aspects on a subject of particular relevance in our technologically dominated age, we hope that the Conference will provide participants with an opportunity for true recreation and spiritual uplifting.

With kind regards

Professor Konstantine Boudouris
President of the Organising Committee

FIRST CIRCULAR
SEPTEMBER 1997

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