Forum Descartes 2026 – Call for abstract
The Forum Descartes is an annual international workshop that brings together established scholars, young researchers and advanced graduate students working in the field of Early Modern Philosophy. PhD students and postdoctoral researchers are the main actors of the Forum Descartes: they present their research or comment on the research of other participants; they can meet and exchange ideas with established scholars.
After Paris (2024) and Utrecht (2025), the next edition of the Forum Descartes will take place in Turin, from January 21-23, 2026. The Scientific Committee welcomes contributions on any topic related to early modern philosophy in the broadest sense. We particularly encourage proposals that consider early modern philosophy in relation to other disciplines (e.g., history of science, theology, and intellectual history) and that expand the canon of Western early modern philosophy. We strive for a balanced proportion among the genders.
Guidelines for Submission
We invite PhD students and post-doc researchers (no more than three years after the defense of their dissertation) to submit:
1) If you would like to present your research:
- a max. 300-word abstract
- + contact information
- + an advisor’s contact information
- + a cv
gathered in A SINGLE PDF-FILE named: “surname.short-title.pdf.”
Please indicate whether you are willing to be a commentator (if you are not selected as a speaker).
2) If you would like to comment on someone else’s paper (either because you have already given a presentation at a previous edition of the Forum Descartes, or for any other reason):
- + contact information
- + an advisor’s contact information
- + a cv
gathered in A SINGLE PDF-FILE named: “surname.short-title.pdf.”
Please DO NOT submit blind submissions or submit multiple files.
Submissions should be sent by email to Antonella Del Prete at antonella...@unito.it.
Submission deadline
The deadline for abstract submission is September 15, 2025. Applicants will be informed of the decision regarding their submissions by October 3, 2025.
Please note that the Forum Descartes cannot cover travel or accommodation costs for speakers and commentators. Some grants for travel and accommodation expenses may be awarded to students from institutions that are unable to cover these costs. We anticipate that we will be able to provide complimentary lunches and a conference dinner free of charge. The local organizing committee will make some suggestions for accommodation.
The Forum Descartes will begin on January 21, 2026, at 9.30 am, and finish on January 23, 2026, at 6.30 pm.
The Forum Descartes 2026 is organized in collaboration between the Department of Philosophy and Education Sciences of the University of Turin and the Philosophy Department of the University of Milan.
Local organizing committee:
Antonella Del Prete (Università di Torino)
Stefano Di Bella (Università di Milano)
Alberto Frigo (Università di Milano)
Enrico Pasini (Università di Torino)
Paola Rumore (Università di Torino)
Scientific Committee
Jean-Pascal Anfray (ENS de Paris)
Delphine Antoine-Mahut (ENS de Lyon)
Steven Vanden Broecke (Ghent University)
Antonella Del Prete (Università di Torino)
Daniel Garber (Princeton University)
Dana Jalobeanu (University of Bucharest)
Denis Kambouchner (Université de Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Mogens Laerke (CNRS-University of Oxford)
Christoph Lüthy (Radboud University - Nijmegen)
Yitzhak Melamed (John Hopkins University)
Steven Nadler (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Carla Rita Palmerino (Radboud University - Nijmegen)
Sophie Roux (ENS de Paris)
Tad Schmaltz (University of Michigan)
Jacob Schmutz (UCLouvain)
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