[PHILOS-L] Call for Abstracts: Habit in Action workshop, Antwerp (31 August-1 September)
michiel esseling
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We are pleased to invite abstract submissions for a two-day workshop on Habit in Action, to be held in Antwerp on 31 August and 1 September 2026. The deadline for submission is 24 April.
The workshop examines the relationship between habit and human agency, with an emphasis on approaches that challenge causal theories of action. By bringing together Anscombean, phenomenological, pragmatist, and situated perspectives, we explore how habits—understood broadly to include forms of skill and know-how—shape action, responsiveness to reasons, and practical self-understanding. The aim is to foster constructive exchange between different philosophical and interdisciplinary perspectives that converge on a shared idea: that habitual actions are central, rather than peripheral, to understanding human agency.
Possible topics include (but are not limited to):
• What is the role of habits in explaining actions?
• Are we self-aware when acting out of habit?
• Is habitual action always intentional?
• Are our habitual actions under our control?
• How are habits related to deliberation, reflection, and reasoning?
• Is habitual action responsive to practical reasons?
• What changes in our conception of agency when habitual actions are taken as paradigmatic rather than exceptional?
• How are habits related to practical know-how, and in what sense can habitual action express skilful understanding?
Confirmed speakers:
• Stina Bäckström (Södertörn University)
• William Hornett (Cambridge University)
• Annemarie Kalis (Utrecht University)
• Joshua Shepherd (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
We invite abstracts for presentations of 25 minutes followed by 20 minutes of Q&A. We welcome submissions from researchers working in philosophy of action, phenomenology, cognitive science, American pragmatism, and related fields.
Submission guidelines:
• Abstracts of 300–500 words (anonymized for blind review)
• Submit by e-mail to: workshopha...@gmail.com
Key dates:
• Submission deadline: 24 April 2026
• Notification of acceptance: 15 May 2026
Participants will be charged a €20 registration fee to cover catering. We have applied for funding to cover travel expenses for speakers who may rely on it in order to attend. The outcome of this application is still pending, and we therefore cannot guarantee that funding will be available. Applicants are kindly asked to indicate in their submission whether they would need such support.
For further questions (not for submissions), please contact Michiel Esseling at Michiel....@uantwerpen.be.
With best regards,
Judith Martens and Michiel Esseling
On behalf of the organising committee
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