|
|
AN INVITATION
THE ANNUAL SEMINAR
Power, Truth, and Trust:
In Search of More Human Governance
August 20-September 21,
2018
Washington, D.C.
Thematic Description
Philosophy is both a way of life and a human-divine
Voice capable of engaging our common cultural endowment
and so provide guidance to the social realities of each
age and time. The RVP 2018 Annual International Seminar
is designed to foster a renewed effort towards a serious
exploration of both theoretical and practical insights
regarding issues of truth, power and, finally and
importantly, trust in societies around the world. The
ultimate goal, however, is to re-think some of the key
issues that surround governance and as such call for a
renewed understanding of the human being as both in-the-world and with-others.
In
his New Science of Politics, Eric Voegelin
provides a compact and precise expression of the
beginning point for the central considerations of human
organization and social realities. Voegelin’s insight
might help us understand the many layers of the ongoing
social processes in the contemporary world. We shall
give particular attention to the critical analysis of
Michel Foucault, especially his attempt to penetrate
the microphysics of power. Foucault tries to
uncover the force of truth and the need for parrhesia as
part of any socio-political process based on a renewed
form of human self-understanding. He thinks this can
lead up to what might be understood as a new politics of
human liberation. Other authors will also be used in
order to better explore the ontological implications of
the problems we shall be confronting during the Seminar.
The goal is to help understand the cogency of issues
attached to the problems we face in the orders of
governance and
representation as well as in the different realms of
inter-human communication. The main resources will be
taken from the various philosophical traditions, but
always in order to better confront the many issues of
power and governance characteristic of our technological
age.
The RVP international annual seminar has been, for more
than thirty years, a constant invitation to a renewed
engagement with practices and concepts that are timely,
especially in periods of crisis and/or social
transformation. At this particular moment in history we
are urged to re-think
and re-evaluate issues such as the following:
1. What is the nature of power and how does it
relate to truth?
2. What are the implications of critical notions
of power and truth for human self-understanding?
3. How does a critical analysis of both power,
truth and trust reflect itself when it comes to issues
of governance in a highly complex and technologically
sophisticated world such as ours today?
4. What is the meaning of democracy in the digital
age and how might it evolve in the near future?
5. What kind of relation should there be democracy
and education in our present global age?
6. Are there different models of democracy?
7. What role does politics play in the
humanization of the world?
8. What are the guiding principles to build a more
human society in both individual and institutional
levels?
9. What kind of stories and metaphors should we
listen to in order to understand the contribution of
different cultures and civilizations?
10. What kind of contribution can philosophy make
toward a more human governance?
11. How to
understand freedom and responsibility?
12. How to live
personal and shared identities in connection with
pluralism and the interaction of cultural communities
and the governance required for large scale entities
such as nations and understand international
institutions in a context that clearly go beyond
traditional forms of sovereignty?
13. How can trust be
regained in the human ability to respect the humanity of
others without suppressing the distinctive realities of
peoples, cultures, and religions?
Indeed, crises are challenges as well as opportunities,
hence, the special focus of the RVP 2018 annual seminar.
1. Objectives
Besides a philosophical deepening of issues related to
truth, power and trust related to contemporary
governance, the 2018 RVP Seminar is being planned with
the following goals:
- to meet, exchange, discuss and consult with
scholars and policy-makers in regard to international
experiences in order to promote democracy and other
forms of authentic human governance;
- to understand the nature of socio-political
organizations, including political parties;
- to explore new conceptions of democracy, for
instance, democracy “American style” as described by
Alexis de Tocqueville almost two hundred years ago;
- to clarify the current conditions of democracy
around the world and possibly to examine particular
cases of democratization in recent history.
2. Expected practical results
The seminar will help participants expand the
knowledge and references on topics such as:
1. the right of citizens to participate in the
management of the State and society;
2. mechanisms capable of ensuring people's right
to be part of managing a State or any other major social
organization on the complex issues;
3. organizational principles and institutional
models of operation; and
4. human rights and other issues associated with
the Rule of Law.
3. Method
The 2018 RVP annual seminar will focus on issues
related to the above-mentioned questions. It will be
projected with the following characteristics:
1. The number of participants will be limited to
about 15 scholars from around the world gathered for an
intensive experience of study and interchange around a
single table;
2. The approach will be interdisciplinary in
order to draw upon the contemporary capabilities of the
various realms of the humanities and penetrate into the
roots and meaning of cultures and values today;
3. The proceedings will be intercultural so
that all may come to benefit from the experiences and
commitments of the various cultural communities from
around the world;
4. The seminar will have a duration of 5
weeks, the minimum time for the issues to mature and
the participants reach an ideal degree of mutual
understanding so that new insights might emerge in a
context of academic friendship;
5. The process will be intensive and
focused on the detailed analysis and discussion of a set
of related readings;
6. The personal contribution of the participants
will require a complete dedication to the process and
presupposes that upon arrival each member of the seminar
will have a well thought-of and structured paper on any
of the issues associated with the topic of the seminar;
7. The process will culminate with the publication of
a volume consisting of substantive papers written by the
individual seminar participants, intensively discussed
in the seminar and then redrafted and capable of
seriously reflecting the work of the seminar both in
terms of the readings proposed as well as of the
discussion produced around them.
4. Application
for Participation
Applications for
participation in the RVP 2018 annual seminar should be
sent by email by April 1, 2018 to cua-rvp@cua.edu.
Participants cover their own travel costs; the RVP
provides simple room and board during the seminar. The
seminar will be conducted in English and held at the RVP
Seminar Room: Gibbons Hall B-12, 620 Michigan Avenue,
North East, Washington, D.C., 20064. Email:
cua-rvp@cua.edu; Telephone: 202/319-6089. Candidates
will be notified of acceptance by the end of April,
2018. As soon as participants confirm their presence in
Washington, a preliminary set of readings will be made
available.
In order to be
considered, please enclose:
(1) CV describing the
applicant's education, professional positions and
activities;
(2) List of the
applicant's publications;
(3) Letter stating the
applicant's interest and motivation to participate in
this annual seminar; and
(4) Abstract (ca. 500
words) and basic bibliography of the paper the applicant
intends to present during the seminar.
|
(all
the materials on this website are copyrighted © by
the council for research in values and philosophy)
|
