[PHILOS-L] CFP: in between species - Multispecies Relations in Philosophical and Religious Hermeneutics
Steinfeld, Michel Bastian Pascal
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Dear all,
It is a pleasure to share a Call for Papers for a conference taking place in September. From 24 to 26 September 2026, the conference in between species: Multispecies Relations in Philosophical and Religious Hermeneutics will be held in Hamburg as the fourth network conference of the German Pragmatist Network.
We are delighted to have confirmed a number of distinguished keynote speakers: Mara-Daria Cojocaru, Eva Meijer, Corinne Pelluchon & Gary Slaters.
We warmly welcome a wide range of contributions engaging with the diversity of interspecies constellations, not least with regard to the ecological crises of the present, past, and future. Contributions from early-career researchers are particularly encouraged. Proposals should be submitted by 15 April. Further details can be found in the full CfP below. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
With kind regards,
Michel Steinfeld
full CfP:
in between species
Multispecies Relations in Philosophical and Religious Hermeneutics
also the Fourth conference of the German Pragmatist Network
from 24.09.2026 to 26.09.2026 in Hamburg
with keynote lectures by
Mara-Daria Cojocaru, Eva Meijer, Corine Pelluchon & Gary Slater
Against the backdrop of a growing, crisis-driven awareness of the ecological dimensions of human existence, the conference aims to open up new perspectives on the relationships between different forms of life. It is thus devoted to an “ecological” topic in the broadest sense, namely the oikos in and through which life becomes possible.
It is not a new insight that classical dichotomies such as those between “nature and culture” or “body and mind” lead to numerous problems at the epistemic level; what is of particular contemporary significance, however, is that they also have considerable consequences for environmental action. On the one hand, these dichotomies – especially when articulated as dualisms – are repeatedly subjected to critical scrutiny. On the other hand, it can be observed that variants of these dichotomies (nature–technology, ecological–social, wilderness–civilisation, human–animal, and so forth) prove remarkably resilient in public discourse. They thus appear to perpetuate themselves in ever new forms without thereby gaining legitimacy.
Alongside the conceptually foundational work on these classical problem constellations, it is worthwhile to examine the intermediate space of concrete relationships. Rather than focusing on abstractions such as “the animal” or “nature”, attention is directed towards what takes place between species: the diversity of concrete forms of relation that structure interactions with other living beings – whether with regard to particular animal individuals, species or groups, or to specific ecosystems, plants, or other “species”.
The conference will address this broad thematic field primarily from pragmatist and phenomenological perspectives. The underlying conviction is that, despite their differences, both traditions provide important conceptual tools for offering new impulses to a longstanding debate – for example in their respective critiques of Cartesianism. Together, they offer a productive point of departure for developing an entangled understanding of human life in relation to other species. Such an understanding constitutes an important precondition for a contemporary ethics that does not remain bound to a top-down model of ethical rationality, but instead is committed to the context-sensitive work of a bottom-up approach. The conference seeks to contribute to clarifying this prerequisite.
Scholars are warmly invited to contribute to the conference with a paper (20–30 minutes). Please submit an abstract (approx. 3,000 characters) together with a short biographical note, in either German or English, by 15 April 2026 to christop...@uni-hamburg.de and michel.s...@uni-hamburg.de.
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Michel Steinfeld
Research Fellow
University of Hamburg Hamburg
Institut für Systematische Theologie & Religionsphilosophie
Gorch-Fock-Wall 7, #6
20354 Hamburg
Tel. +49 151 700 715 77
https://www.theologie.uni-hamburg.de/einrichtungen/kontakt/michel-steinfeld.html
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Wildes Wir Waddeweitz – Animal Sanctuary and place for encounters
www.wildes-wir.de
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