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X-WR-CALNAME:INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR PHILOSOPHY AS A WAY OF LIFE © 2026
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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR PHILOSOPHY AS A WAY OF LIFE © 2026
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DTSTART:20210101T000000
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20230705T000000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20230706T235959
DTSTAMP:20250715T025343Z
CREATED:20250715T024856Z
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SUMMARY:"What Exactly is Philosophy as a Way of Life? Boundaries\, Crossroads\, Deadlocks"
DESCRIPTION:Over the past few decades\, the idea of philosophy as a way of life (PWL) has gained undeniable prominence in contemporary philosophical debates. Pierre Hadot forged the notion to denote the specific way in which ancient philosophers conceived of and practiced philosophy\, stressing its performative character and its potential for self-transformation on the basis of what he called “spiritual exercises”. Furthermore\, he also implied that some modern and contemporary philosophers came close to this model of philosophical practice and described it as his own metaphilosophical ideal. Hadot’s account\, followed by the late Foucault’s own reflections on philosophy’s practical and performative potential\, has inspired recent scholarship to define PWL as a metaphilosophical model that can be fruitfully used to (re)read the history of philosophy in an alternative and illuminating way. Some have also argued that PWL is an innovative methodological approach to the study\, research and teaching of philosophy\, that might enable a transformation of philosophical practices in the context of modern universities. Not coincidentally\, these are the two axes of the contemporary discussion on PWL that this project aims to explore. \nHowever\, as much as the expression “philosophy as a way of life” has entered contemporary philosophical debate\, there is still much to discuss regarding what it entails and what distinguishes it from other possible ways of conceiving of and practicing philosophy. Despite several attempts to define and characterise this model (by authors such as John Cooper\, Michal Chase\, John Sellars\, Matthew Sharpe and Michael Ure\, to name just a few)\, consensus has not yet been reached\, and discussion is still underway. The complexity is even greater if we consider related notions such as “art of living”\, Foucault’s “aesthetics of existence”\, Martha Nussbaum’s “therapy of desire”\, or Peter Sloterdijk’s ascetology\, among others. While this complexity and diversity might be fruitful\, it can also introduce much ambiguity in discussions or even hinder further work in the field. \nThe kick-off conference of the project will thus be dedicated to a conceptual and metaphilosophical discussion of the PWL model\, trying to determine its boundaries\, features and distinguishing marks\, as well as the crossroads and deadlocks it might still face and possible ways to overcome them. This will involve addressing a series of controversial open questions\, which include\, but are not restricted\, to the following ones: \n\nDetermining the main distinguishing marks of PWL and contrasting it with other conceptions of philosophy;\nContrasting the specificity of PWL when compared to other ways of understanding philosophy that equally stress its practical and life-changing potential (Foucault\, Nussbaum\, Sloterdijk\, etc.);\nClarifying the practical and performative component that is generally associated with PWL and analyzing its impact on the very object of philosophical (theoretical) concern;\nDefining Hadot’s notion of “spiritual exercises” or Foucault’s closely related term of “technologies of the self” and classifying them into different typologies;\nAnalyzing the specificity of philosophy compared to other currently available “arts of living”;\nReflecting on the boundaries that distinguish philosophy from other spiritual practices\, such as religion\, psychotherapy\, self-help\, etc.;\nExploring the methodological relevance of PWL to the study\, teaching and outreach of philosophy\, when compared to current academic methods and practices;\nAddressing common criticisms and concerns related to PWL;\nDiscussing the main crossroads and deadlocks in the contemporary debate on PWL and addressing possible limits to the PWL understanding of philosophy.\n\n\nConfirmed Speakers\n\nJohn Sellars (Royal Holloway\, University of London)\nMatthew Sharpe (Australian Catholic University)\nEli Kramer (University of Wrocław)\nFábio Serranito (University of Leeds)\nPawel Odyniec (Karlstad University)\nGianfranco Ferraro (Open University\, Portugal)\nMatteo Stettler (Deakin University)\nJordi Crespo (Pompeu Fabra University\, Barcelona)\nHélder Telo (University of Beira Interior)\nLeonard Waks (Temple University)\nAntónio de Castro Caeiro (NOVA University of Lisbon)\nElettra Stimilli (Sapienza University of Rome)
URL:https://www.ispwl.com/event/what-exactly-is-philosophy-as-a-way-of-life-boundaries-crossroads-deadlocks/
LOCATION:NOVA University of Lisbon\, Av. de Berna 26 C\, Lisbon\, Portugal
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DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20230522T000000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20230524T235959
DTSTAMP:20250715T023828Z
CREATED:20250715T023551Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250715T023828Z
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SUMMARY:“Spiritual Exercises\, Self-Transformation and Liberation in Philosophy\, Theology and Religion”
DESCRIPTION:The conference Spiritual exercises\, self-transformation and liberation in philosophy\, theology and religion is inspired by Pierre Hadot’s pioneering work on philosophy as a way of life (manière de vivre). It builds on the significance Hadot attributed to spiritual exercises (exercices spirituels)\, arguing that these were\, beside philosophical discourse\, constitutive of philosophical enterprise in Greco-Roman antiquity and beyond. Hadot’s initial insight was subsequently developed\, in his own distinctive  manner\, by Michel Foucault in theorizing the technologies of the self and care of the self\, and has ever since received considerable attention from scholars working in the field of philosophy\, theology as well as religious studies. \nHadot defined spiritual exercises (exercices spirituels) as “voluntary\, personal practices intended to bring about a transformation of the individual\, a transformation of the self” that rises the individual from an inauthentic condition of life to an authentic one\, providing peace of mind (ataraxia)\, inner freedom (autarkeia) and cosmic consciousness. Furthermore\, relying on the work of Paul Rabbow\, Hadot acknowledged that the expression exercices spirituels is derived from the Catholic theologian  Ignatius of Loyola’s Exercitia spiritualia (1548)\, but that this phrase had a philosophical\, Greco-Roman origin that was later inherited by Christian monks who employed it to denote their own practice. \nThe purpose of this conference is to initiate interdisciplinary research on spiritual exercises in global perspective\, identify primary sources in philosophy\, theology and religious writings addressing these practices\, and to address a number of relevant themes and challenges that such research entails. The conference also aims to help establishing an interdisciplinary\, academic network that will allow for future collaborations in the research activities that will be defined in a research project to be submitted to the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) in 2024. \nThe conference is organized in collaboration between Pawel Odyniec from the Department of Political\, Historical and Religious Studies at Karlstad University and Ervik Cejvan from the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies at Lund University. \nPawel Odyniec is a lecturer (universitetsadjunkt) in Religious Studies at Karlstad University\, Sweden. He holds a PhD in Indology (UU) and three MA degrees in Philosophy (UAB)\, History of Religion (UAB) and Indian Philosophy and Religion (BHU). His research interest covers the area of Classical Indian philosophy in Sanskrit\, particularly Advaita Vedānta and Kashmir Śaivism\, Modern Indian philosophy in English and Hindi\, as well as South Asian religions. He is also interested in cross-cultural approach to philosophy as a way of life (PWL). Pawel is the author of Engaging Advaita: Conceptualising liberating knowledge in the face of Western modernity (2018) and “Rethinking Advaita Within the Colonial Predicament: the ‘Confrontative’ Philosophy of K. C. Bhattacharyya (1875-1949)” (2018). \nErvik Cejvan is a researcher affiliated with the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies at Lund University\, Sweden. He holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion (LU). His research interests intersect between philosophy\, literature\, psychoanalysis and art. In Philosophy as a Way of Life\, he is interested in the relationship between philosophy and spirituality\, writing and psychagogy\, and wisdom traditions. Ervik is the author of Critique of Exaggeration: Thinking Beyond (2021).
URL:https://www.ispwl.com/event/spiritual-exercises-self-transformation-and-liberation-in-philosophy-theology-and-religion/
LOCATION:Lund University & Karlstad University\, Online
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DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20221212T000000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20221214T235959
DTSTAMP:20250715T022753Z
CREATED:20250715T022753Z
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SUMMARY:Philosophy as a Way of Life: New Directions in Research
DESCRIPTION:This three-day event brings together leading scholars from around the world to discuss new directions in historical\, historiographical\, philosophical and metaphilosophical research on philosophy as a way of life\, the approach to ancient philosophy inaugurated by Ilsetraut and Pierre Hadot.
URL:https://www.ispwl.com/event/philosophy-as-a-way-of-life-new-directions-in-research/
LOCATION:Online
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