Call for Papers
Conference
The Existential Interpretation of Human Beings in Philosophy and Psychology:
Validity and Topicality
On the Occasion of the 200th Anniversary of Kierkegaard’s Birth
European Humanities University, Vilnius
Center for Philosophical Anthropology
October 3–6, 2013
Sponsored by The Nordic Network of Kierkegaard Research (NordForsk)
In Cooperation with The Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre (Copenhagen)
The interpretation of Søren Kierkegaard’s contribution to the European intellectual
tradition is no longer framed in terms of his identification as “the forerunner of
existentialism”; moreover, one of the key concepts of his thinking—that of
existence—has gained acceptance far beyond the historical frames of the abovementioned philosophical school. Today, scholars of different sorts, insofar as they are
concerned with reflections about human reality, are faced with the necessity of taking
into account the existential dimension of human experience as such. Remarkably, with
regard to this particular dimension, there seems to be some relatively stable consensus
regarding the meaning of the definition of “existential.” This consensus implies that
scholars share some idea of human existence, which has remained persistent after the
long-term, profound criticism of concepts such as “the subject” and “humanism.” At
the same time, many of the crucial social and intellectual processes characteristic of
our epoch seem to have a tremendous potential to cause changes in our lives,
threatening to provoke an unpredictable suppression or distortion of the existential
dimension of human beings. When seen from the other side, this volatile situation
means that it is the existential dimension that authentically resists various destructive
tendencies of our epoch concerning both the individual and social relationships.
The goal of the conference is a reconsideration of the validity of the existential
interpretation of human beings, from the point of view of its relevance to different
topical problems and challenges of the contemporary world, involving all significant
spheres of our lives—health, education, labor/work, social bonds, faith, sexuality,
self-realization, and more. Thus, the tradition of existential thinking—both in
philosophy and psychology—should be explored anew in light of the questions of
whether and why the existential vision is important today.
We welcome contributions from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives dealing
with the topic of the existential dimension of human experience. The contributions of
practicing psychologists are welcome, as well. Questions to be discussed will include
(but are not limited to):
 The concept of existence and the criticism of the idea of the Subject in
contemporary philosophy
 The genesis of existential tradition (from Kierkegaard to Levinas): unity and
ruptures
 Existential phenomenology as method: introspection, interpretation, dialectics
 Advantages and limits of the existential approach:
- Existential hermeneutics and social theory
- Existential hermeneutics and psychoanalysis
 The idea of authenticity in philosophy, psychology, and social theory
 Fundamental moods of the human being, and neuroses conditioned by the
epoch
 The existential interpretation of bodily experience and challenges of recent
medical technologies
 The living body and the virtual body: the contribution of existential
phenomenology to the exploration of the role of embodiment for human
meaning-making
 Existence and coexistence: the questions of communication and ethical
relation to the Other in existential thinking
 Kierkegaard’s anthropology and the validity of his ideas for psychotherapy
To submit a proposal for a paper, please send an abstract of 250–300 words to
Tatiana Shchyttsova (tatiana.shchyttsova@ehu.lt) and Jon Stewart (js@sk.ku.dk).
Deadline for Submissions: 30 December 2012.