Shawnee National Forest
Call for Abstracts and Proposals
The Hocking-Cabot Seminar
Where: The Shawnee National Forest
near Carbondale, Illinois
When: July 12-16, 2010
Eligibility:
Scholars in the early stages of their careers, i.e., persons holding Ph.D.s for less than ten years. Advanced graduate students will also be considered. We seek philosophical work, but the Ph.D. held (or sought) need not be in philosophy, strictly interpreted.
Purpose:
The purpose of the Hocking-Cabot Seminar is to foster original systematic philosophy. In recent decades, the trend in professional philosophy has been toward increasingly specialized discussion of minutely portioned problems, or endless scholarly commentary upon figures long past. The Hocking-Cabot Seminar is designed to encourage bolder, more comprehensive, more systematic, and more speculative projects.
Proposals:
Submit a one page (single-spaced) summary of your interest in systematic philosophy, including your sense of the term “systematic philosophy,” and your plans for developing such a philosophy. Include in this proposal a separate abstract of 100 words for a paper, to be written if the proposal is accepted, that will employ in original ways either the philosophical and scientific ideas of Jaakko Hintikka, and/or the philosophical, theological, and social thought of Robert Cummings Neville. If your proposal and abstract are accepted, you will receive general guidelines for writing the paper, but the paper will ultimately be presented in a time period of 40 minutes at our seminar. Proposals and abstracts should be sent as one document to:
Please visit our website:
The deadline for proposals is April 15, 2010. Those selected will be notified by April 30th.
Acceptance:
The ten best proposals will be accepted. These ten authors will receive a generous travel allowance and have all expenses paid while attending the five-day Seminar, led by Professors Hintikka and Neville, who will also present their own latest work. The discussions, morning and afternoon, will be intense examinations of how the participants’ current work may be furthered in original directions, with an eye to their systematic development. Since Professors Neville and Hintikka are among the best living systematic philosophers, our belief is that others who share their temper and philosophical ambition will benefit greatly from the opportunity to work closely with them and to consider how a systematic philosophy is created.
Publication:
A prominent publication of all the presented papers is expected, including the papers of Hintikka and Neville.
Setting:
The setting is the comfortable Little Grassy Lodge in the beautiful Shawnee National Forest. The Lodge is part of a larger complex called “A Touch of Nature,” affiliated with Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, which is the institutional host of the Hocking-Cabot Seminar. www.ton.siu.edu/index.php. Excellent meals will be provided, as well as generous free time and opportunities for socializing.
Sponsors and Hosts:
The Hocking-Cabot Seminar is sponsored by The Hocking-Cabot Fund for Systematic Philosophy, established by Richard Hocking in memory of his father William Ernest Hocking and his godfather Richard Clarke Cabot. The facilitators, organizers, and hosts are Professors Randall Auxier and Douglas Anderson of the Philosophy Department at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
