Chamada: "Brave New World" (Manchester)

Chamada para artigos da décima sétima conferência anual de pós-graduação do Manchester Center of Political Theory (MANCEPT). As "estrelas" dessa edição são os professores Samuel Scheffler (NYU) e Michael Otsuka (UCL). 

O prazo para a submissão de artigos é 22 de Março 2013. 

BRAVE NEW WORLD 

Deadline for submission of abstract: 22nd March 2013

Brave New World 2013, the Seventeenth Annual Postgraduate Conference organised under the auspices of the Manchester Centre for Political Theory (MANCEPT), will take place on Thursday 27th and Friday 28th June 2013 at the University of Manchester. We are pleased to announce that our guest speakers this year are:

Samuel Scheffler (NYU)

Michael Otsuka (UCL)

The Brave New World conference series is now established as a leading international forum dedicated exclusively to the discussion of postgraduate research in political theory. Participants will have the chance to meet and talk about their work with eminent academics, including members of faculty from the University of Manchester and guest speakers, who will deliver keynote addresses at the event.

Guest speakers in previous years have included: Richard Arneson, Brian Barry, Simon Caney, G.A. Cohen, Roger Crisp, Cecile Fabre, Jerry Gaus, Peter Jones, Chandran Kukathas, Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen, Susan Mendus, David Miller, Onora O’Neill, Michael Otsuka, Bhikhu Parekh, Carole Pateman, Anne Phillips, Thomas Pogge, Joseph Raz, Andrea Sangiovanni, Quentin Skinner, Hillel Steiner, Adam Swift, Philippe Van Parijs, Leif Wenar, Andrew Williams and Jonathan Wolff.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: The deadline is 22nd March 2013. If you would like to present a paper, then please submit a title and abstract of approximately 300 words. Papers focusing on any area of political theory or political philosophy are welcome. Abstracts should be prepared for blind review in MS Word format. Graduate submissions should be sent by e-mail to Brave.New.World@manchester.ac.uk.  

Please also include in your email your name and institutional affiliation. Notices of acceptance will be sent by 26th April 2013. A number of bursaries are available for presenters and will be allocated in accordance with need. If you wish to be considered for a bursary, please say so when submitting your abstract. Please note that apart from these bursaries the conference is self-financed and participants are responsible for seeking their own funding. For further details please contact us at Brave.New.World@manchester.ac.uk. Or visit our blog at http://manceptphd.blogspot.co.uk/

Temos o direito de portar armas?

Por conta dos eventos trágicos ocorridos em um colégio de Newport, o blog do NYTimes The Stone propôs uma rodada de discussão entre políticos e acadêmicos a respeito do "direito" que um cidadão norte-americano teria de portar armas. O controle estatal de armas de fogo é uma violação dos direitos individuais ou uma medida necessária para o bem-estar coletivo? Os primeiros artigos encontram-se listados abaixo:

- Firmin Debrabander: " The Freedom of an Armed Society"

- Cristy Wampole: "Guns and the Decline of the Young Man"

- Michael Boylan: "The Weapons Continuum"

- Jeff McMahan: "Why Gun ‘Control’ Is Not Enough"

The Weapons Continuum

by Michael Boylan

How do people justify their ownership of guns?

In the outcry that follows nearly every case of mass gun violence in the United States, there is nearly always a fixation on “the right to bear arms” clause in the Bill of Rights.  There is however, a specific human rights claim that justifies gun ownership that should instead be the focus of this debate: self-defense. 

“Protection from unwarranted bodily harm” is a basic right that we all can claim.  It makes sense that people should be able to possess a weapon appropriate to that end.  But what sort of weapon? There are two important concepts that can help us make this determination: (a) weapon damage coefficient — basically, the extent of damage that the use of a particular weapon is designed to cause; and (b) minimum force necessary to produce a result — that result being protection against bodily harm.

Trauma surgeons I’ve spoken with on this matter report to me that among those admitted to intensive care, for the most part, are not those who have suffered from weapons with a low damage coefficient: fists and small percussive objects (like sticks, books, china plates and thin drinking glasses).  These patients have a very high recovery rate.  Those who are treated for knife wounds are next — they have a lower recovery rate. Then come those admitted for injuries caused by larger percussive objects are next (like thick bottles, bats and chairs). Then there are the firearms injuries.

Chamada para artigos: Conferência de Pos-Graduação de Oxford

Conferência de pós-graduação de teoria política: "The Politics of Equality". Propostas de até 500 palavras devem ser enviadas até 23 de janeiro.

2013 Oxford Graduate Conference in Political Theory, ‘The Politics of Equality’

Paper proposals are invited for the second Oxford Graduate Conference in Political Theory, to be held at the University of Oxford Department of Politics and International Relations on 25^th-26^th April 2013. The theme will be ‘The Politics of Equality’, which may be interpreted broadly from a range of approaches within political theory.

This conference aims to interrogate the concept, practices, and implications of egalitarian politics. Concerns with equality are increasingly prevalent in contemporary political discourse. Yet, the distinctively political questions of enacting egalitarian aims often receive little attention from political theorists. We invite submissions on any topic pertaining to the meaning, historical development, application, or critique of egalitarian politics.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• The meaning of equality and reasons for pursuing it
• Promises and limits of the state in pursuing equality
• The relationship between markets and egalitarian aims
• The implications of egalitarianism for the operation of the state and the economy
• Egalitarianism and social movements
• Engendering equality: gender, race, and sexuality
• Tensions between equality and other principles, particularly liberty and desert

Accepted papers will be organized into themed panels, followed by discussion with Oxford graduate students, faculty members, and other conference attendees. Speakers will be provided with accommodation, subject to distance and availability.

Proposals of no more than 500 words are requested by 20^th January 2013, with accepted papers to follow in full by 31^st March 2013. Please submit abstracts formatted for blind review, along with your name and a brief academic CV, to oxford.poltheory.conference@gmail.com. Details for registration to follow shortly.

Philip Pettit: "On the People's Term"

Livro novo do filósofo irlandês Phillip Pettit (Princeton) intitulado "On the People's Term" pela Cambridge Press. Pettit apresenta um modelo republicano de legitimidade do poder, no qual todos possuiriam a mesma parcela de controle sobre os detentores do poder.

- Pettit: "On the People's Term"

- Introduction [excert]

- Duas conferências de Pettit sobre Justiça e Democracia

Chamada de artigos: IV Encontro sobre Ética e Filosofia Política da Universidade do Minho (PT)

IV Meetings on Ethics and Political Philosophy, University of Minho (Braga), May 20-21 2013

After three successful meetings on previous years, we now welcome paper proposals for the fourth Meetings on Ethics and Political Philosophy, which will be held at University of Minho, Braga (Portugal), on May 20-21 2013.

We invite contributions in both moral philosophy and normative political theory. The Meetings provide an excellent opportunity to present both advanced and exploratory work in front of an open and welcoming audience. The call is open to graduate students, junior researchers and senior scholars.

This year, Professor Peter Vallentyne (Klyne Chair, University of Missouri, Columbia), will be our keynote speaker. He will offer a lecture on ethics and a lecture on political philosophy.

If you are interested in presenting a paper on a topic of your choice, please send your contact and affiliation, an abstract (300 to 500 words) and 5 key words, by January 30th to Cátia Faria (catiaxfaria@gmail.com) and Maria Jo?o Cabrita (majcabrita@gmail.com). Abstracts will be submitted to peer review.

Deadline for submissions: 30th January 2013

Deadline for notification of acceptance: 20th February 2013.

Information about registration, accommodation and travelling will soon be available online at the site of the conference: http://meetingsethicspoliticalphil.weebly.com/

This event is organized by the Political Theory Group of CEHUM, University of Minho (Braga).

Leszek Kolakowski: "Is God Happy?"

O The New York Review of Books dessa semana publicou um ensaio do filósofo polonês Leszek Kolakowski intitulado "Is God Happy? [Deus é Feliz?]". Nele, Leszek questiona o ideal ético de felicidade segundo o qual, assume-se, alguém poderia ser plenamente feliz. "A felicidade pode ser imaginada, mas não vivenciada". 

- Kolakowski: "Is God Happy?"


Is God Happy?
by Leszek Kolakowski

The first biography of Siddhartha, the future Buddha, reveals that for a long time he was entirely unaware of the wretchedness of the human condition. A royal son, he spent his youth in pleasure and luxury, surrounded by music and worldly delights. He was already married by the time the gods decided to enlighten him. One day he saw a decrepit old man; then the suffering of a very sick man; then a corpse. It was only then that the existence of old age, suffering, and death—all the painful aspects of life to which he had been oblivious—was brought home to him. Upon seeing them he decided to withdraw from the world to become a monk and seek the path to Nirvana.

We may suppose, then, that he was happy as long as the grim realities of life were unknown to him; and that at the end of his life, after a long and arduous journey, he attained the genuine happiness that lies beyond the earthly condition.

Can Nirvana be described as a state of happiness? Those who, like the present author, cannot read the early Buddhist scriptures in the original, cannot be certain; the word “happiness” does not occur in the translations. It is also hard to be sure whether the meaning of words like “consciousness” or “self” corresponds to their meaning in modern languages. We are told that Nirvana entails the abandonment of the self. This might be taken to suggest that there can be, as the Polish philosopher Henryk Elzenberg claims, happiness without a subject—just happiness, unrelated to anyone’s being happy. Which seems absurd. But our language is never adequate to describe absolute realities.

Some theologians have argued that we can speak of God only by negation: by saying what He is not. Similarly, perhaps we cannot know what Nirvana is and can only say what it is not. Yet it is hard to be satisfied with mere negation; we would like to say something more. And assuming that we are allowed to say something about what it is to be in the state of Nirvana, the hardest question is this: Is a person in this state aware of the world around him? If not—if he is completely detached from life on earth—what kind of reality is he a part of? And if he is aware of the world of our experience, he must also be aware of evil, and of suffering. But is it possible to be aware of evil and suffering and still be perfectly happy?

The Routledge Companion to Social and Political Philosophy

Editado pelos filósofos Gerald Gaus e Fred D'Agostino, a Routledge lançou  em dezembro seu Companion dedicado aos temas de Filosofia Social e Filosofia Política. O volume é dividido em oito partes (com 71 verbetes ao todo!). Entre os contribuidores estão Thomas Christiano ("Igualdade"), Chandran Kukathas ("Multiculturalism"), Robert Talisse ("Democracy") e Gillian Brock ("Needs and Distributive Justice"). 

The Routledge Companion to Social and Political Philosophy

























Part 1: The History of Social and Political Theory

Part 2: Political Theories and Ideologies

Part 3: Normative Foundations

Part 4: Distributive Justice

Part 5: The National State and Beyond

 Part 6: Political Concepts

Part 7: Approaches and Methods in Social and Political Philosophy

Part 8: Issues in Social and Political Philosophy

Sofia Stemplowska disponibilizou o verbete sobre "Igualitarismo de Fortuna" (outros virão...):

- "Luck Egalitarianism" (Sofia Stemplowska)

Novos Estudos: Dossiê Teoria Crítica

Foi liberado o conteúdo da edição 93 da Revista Novos Estudos (CEBRAP). Neste volume, o filósofo da Unicamp Marcos Nobre organiza um dossiê sobre os novos rumos da Teoria Crítica da sociedade.

- "Teoria Crítica: uma nova geração" (Marcos Nobre)

- Robln Cellkates: "O não reconhecimento sistemático e a prática crítica: Bourdieu, Boltanski e o papel da Teoria Crítica"

- Ollvler Voltrol: "Teoria Crítica e pesquisa social: da dialética à reconstrução"

- Ina Kerner: "Tudo é interseccional? A relação entre sexismo e racismo"

Bolsas de Pós-Doutorado em Stanford

O centro de Ética social da Universidade de Stanford abriu processo para seleção de dois bolsistas de pós-doutorado. O prazo final para as inscrições é dia 13 de Janeiro de 2013.

Submissão de pedidos de inscrição

The Center for Ethics in Society Post Doctoral Fellowships

For 2013-2014, we seek up to four new post doctoral fellows.  We are also expecting to be able to offer an additional three post doctoral fellowships. These three positions will play a role in courses tied to the new undergraduate ethics requirement at Stanford.

We welcome candidates with substantial normative research interests from diverse backgrounds including philosophy, the social sciences, and professional schools. We are especially interested in candidates with research interests in inequality, human rights, immigration, and environmental justice, but we welcome all applicants with strong normative interests that have some practical implications. Fellows will be involved in teaching, interact with undergraduates in the Ethics in Society Honors Program and help in developing an inter-disciplinary ethics community across the campus.

The appointment term is September 1, 2013 – August 31, 2014; however, the initial term may be renewed for an additional year. Applicants must have completed all requirements for their PhD by June 30, 2013. Candidates must also be no more than 3 years from the awarding of their degree (i.e., September 2010).

Stanford University is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty.  It welcomes  applications from women and members of minority groups, as well as others who would bring additional dimensions to the university’s research and teaching missions. Salary is competitive. For information on how to access the online system to submit your application, visit our website http://ethicsinsociety.stanford.edu/grants-fellowships/postdoctoral-fellowships/. Contact person: Joan Berry at joanberry [at] stanford.edu

Spencer Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowships in Equality of Opportunity and Education at Stanford University

For 2013-2014, we seek up to two post doctoral scholars for a project focused on issues of equality of opportunity and the public provision of education. These fellowships have been created with funding by the Spencer Foundation. The fellows will join the community of post doctoral fellows at the Center but will be selected on the basis of their fit with this multi-year project on Equality of Opportunity and the Public Provision of Education. We seek scholars with a PhD (from disciplines such as philosophy, education or one of the social sciences) or a JD with research interests related to (any of) the following questions:

1. What ideal of equality should govern the public provision of education?
2. What are the implications of this ideal for concrete decisions about school financing, admissions practices, and the national, state, and local distribution of educational responsibility?
3. What are the practical obstacles to achieving this ideal in education?

Fellows will receive training and mentorship; work closely with distinguished faculty related to the project; participate in multi-disciplinary seminars and conferences and meet with leading scholars and policy makers in the field. Fellows may be assigned some teaching responsibilities (at most one course per year), and will be asked to participate in faculty-graduate student workshops, interact with undergraduates in the School of Education and Ethics in Society program and help in developing an inter-disciplinary ethics community across the campus.

The appointment term is September 1, 2013 – August 31, 2014. Applicants must have completed all requirements for their PhD by June 30, 2013. Candidates must also be no more than 3 years from the awarding of their degree (i.e., September 2010).

Stanford University is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty.  It welcomes applications from women and members of minority groups, as well as others who would bring additional dimensions to the university’s research and teaching missions. Salary is competitive. For information on how to access the online system to submit your application, visit our website http://ethicsinsociety.stanford.edu/grants-fellowships/postdoctoral-fellowships/. Contact person: Joan Berry at joanberry [at] stanford.edu

Conferência de Teoria Política em Princeton

Princeton Grad Conference in Political Theory 2013

Monday, 3 December 2012 in Grad Conferences, Notices by Simon Cabulea May | No comments

CFP Deadline: January 11, 2013

The Graduate Conference in Political Theory at Princeton University will be held from April 5-6, 2013.

The Committee for the Graduate Conference in Political Theory at Princeton University welcomes papers addressing any topic in political theory, political philosophy, or the history of political thought.

Papers should be submitted via the conference website by January 11, 2013. Approximately six papers will be selected.

The conference offers graduate students from across institutions a unique opportunity to present and critique new work. Each session, led by a discussant from Princeton, focuses exclusively on one paper and features an extensive question and answer period with Princeton faculty and graduate students. Papers are pre-circulated among conference participants.

This year, the Committee proudly announces that Professor Jill Frank, University of South Carolina, will deliver the keynote address.

Submission Information:

• Due date: January 11, 2013
• How to submit: Submissions must be uploaded in PDF format to the conference website: http://politicaltheory.princeton.edu
• Length: Papers should be approximately 7500 words. Papers exceeding 9000 words will not be considered.
• Format: Papers should be formatted for blind review by removing any identifying information from the document.

Papers will be refereed on a blind basis by political theory graduate students in the Department of Politics at Princeton. Acceptance notices will be sent in February. The authors of accepted papers will be expected to attend the duration of the two-day conference and participate in each session.

Assistance for invited participants’ transportation, lodging and meal expenses is available from the Committee, which acknowledges the generous support of University Center for Human Values, the Department of Politics, and the Graduate School at Princeton University. Questions and comments can be directed to: polthry@princeton.edu. For more information, please visit the conference website at http://politicaltheory.princeton.edu