[Repost] Call for Papers for the 6th National Academic Conference on Phenomenology and Philosophy of Science and Technology

   The 6th National Academic Conference on Phenomenology and Philosophy of Technology will be held in mid-November 2012 at South China University of Technology in Guangzhou, and papers are now being solicited from the national philosophy of technology community.

   The “National Academic Conference on Phenomenology and Philosophy of Technology” is an annual academic conference initiated by fellow scholars in China’s philosophy of technology community who have a special fondness for phenomenology. It aims to promote the “philosophical” character within the discipline of philosophy of technology, to connect philosophy of science and philosophy of technology, to foster a “pure” academic atmosphere, and to prepare for the arrival of the era of “post-natural dialectics.” Since 2007, this conference has been held five times, successively at Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Zhejiang University, Guangxi University, Tsinghua University, and Shandong University. Each time attendance was limited to no more than 30 people, and every delegate was required to submit a paper, give a report, and accept the sharp and meticulous criticism of the other delegates. Beginning with the 6th conference, it has been decided to change the previous practice of soliciting papers through internal recommendation and to issue an open call for papers to colleagues throughout China’s philosophy of technology community, in the hope of expanding its influence and attracting more young scholars to join the cause of phenomenological philosophy of technology in China.

   China’s “philosophy of science and philosophy of technology” is currently entering a period of pluralistic development. On the one hand, the traditional philosophy of science and philosophy of technology dominated by Anglo-American analytic philosophy faces its own inherent logical dilemmas; on the other hand, it is hard pressed to respond to the growing number of new problems. As the dominant philosophical tradition on the European continent, phenomenology has extremely strong explanatory power and penetrating insight, yet it has long failed to enter the field of vision of China’s philosophy of technology community. In order truly to reflect upon the spirit of the age in the technological era, in order deeply to understand the philosophical essence of science and technology, and in order to build a Chinese discourse for philosophy of technology, we need to solemnly present “phenomenological philosophy of technology” before China’s philosophy of technology community as a research program. Over the past decade and more, a group of scholars in the philosophy of technology community—especially a group of young doctoral students—have devoted themselves to studying philosophy of science and philosophy of technology from a phenomenological perspective, and have achieved a certain number of research results. This series of annual conferences is meant to take stock of these results, define the problem domain, and plan for the future. Conference blog address: http://blog.sina.com.cn/phenopst

   Any paper that identifies with, or is sympathetic to, the application of phenomenological methods to the study of problems in philosophy of science and philosophy of technology is welcome. Please send submissions by email to Professor Wu Guosheng at wugshpku@gmail.com before September 1, 2012; after review by the conference council, acceptance will be decided on October 10. All kindred spirits are warmly invited to join in this great academic undertaking.

Translated from the Chinese original with AI assistance. The original text is authoritative.