First annual doctoral philosophy conference connected young academics across the Czech Republic

Conference Students Achievements

From September 12th to 14th, 2024, the first annual doctoral philosophy conference "Perspectives of Thinking" took place at the Academic Conference Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague.

Presentations of research by students of doctoral programmes from all over the Czech Republic were the main goal of the conference, which was jointly organised by all eight departments of philosophy from the philosophy faculties in the Czech Republic that guarantee doctoral programmes. It was sponsored by the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Among the participating institutions was also the Department of Philosophy of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen.

The initiative to organise the conference came from the heads of the philosophy departments, while the PhD students themselves took the responsibility for organising the event. The conference offered a platform for the presentation of dissertation projects and professional research, and at the same time created a space for establishing new contacts and sharing experiences between young academics from different universities. "It is sad when our PhD students are intimately familiar with foreign philosophy departments, yet have no idea what the philosophy department in the next town looks and functions like. Yet that is where their lifelong contemporaries in the field are growing up," said Ludmila Dostálová, Head of the Department of Philosophy at the Faculty of Arts of UWB, who described the inspiration for the joint conference.

The conference was officially opened on Thursday afternoon by the Director of the Institute of Philosophy Ondřej Ševeček and the Head of the Department of Philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen Ludmila Dostálová. Over the course of three days, more than 50 PhD students, i.e. almost half of all students, presented their topics, which reflected a wide range of philosophical trends and schools of thought. Discussions included Stoicism, Anselm's Cur Deus Homo, Kant, Nietzsche, Deleuze, as well as topics such as aesthetics, ethics and the philosophy of artificial intelligence. 

"I think that despite the bad weather and the small changes in the program, the conference went smoothly. It was a great opportunity to meet colleagues from different parts of the country and to learn about what they are working on," says one of the organizers, Tereza Matějková from the Department of Philosophy in Pilsen. "Throughout the whole time there was a relaxed and friendly atmosphere among all those who came, whether they were students or academics. I hope that we will be able to maintain this newly established tradition," she concludes. 

In the future, the conference should acquire a travelling character - according to the organisers, the next edition is planned to take place in Olomouc. More information about the conference can be found on the official website: https://perspektivy.flu.cas.cz

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Faculty of Arts

Naděžda Hlaváčková

20. 09. 2024