International Conference: the Concept of Attention - IEF
Filosofia na Agenda
international conference
the concept of attention
Theme and Objectives
Attention constitutes one of the most fundamental yet under-theorized dimensions of human experience. Despite its centrality to perception, cognition, action, and intersubjectivity, the philosophical investigation of attention as a concept in its own right remains surprisingly underdeveloped. This international conference represents the first major initiative of a four-year research program (2025-2029) dedicated to establishing the philosophy of attention as a major field of contemporary philosophical inquiry.
The philosophical engagement with attention has deep historical roots. Already in ancient Greek thought, we find attention implicitly at stake in the Socratic contrast between an 'examined' and an 'unexamined' life and in the dialectical reform of ordinary reason pursued throughout Plato's dialogues. Medieval philosophy anticipates later developments through its emphasis on representation and intentionality (intentio), particularly in the works of Augustin, Aquinas and Duns Scotus. Yet it is only with Descartes's Meditations that attention receives explicit philosophical treatment, emerging as the crucial mediating link between radical doubt and epistemic certainty. This Cartesian innovation opens a rich trajectory of reflection, pursued by thinkers as diverse as Malebranche, Berkeley, Locke, and Wolff.
The scope of philosophical inquiry into attention expands dramatically from the late 18th century onwards. No longer confined to epistemological questions, attention becomes central to investigating the fundamental structures of subjectivity itself. French spiritualism, phenomenology, and philosophies of existence explore how attention relates to apperception, sensation, emotion, and volition—a trajectory that runs from Maine de Biran and Bergson through the phenomenological movement, encompassing figures from Paul Ricoeur to Michel Henry. Meanwhile, William James's psychological and philosophical investigations, along with later thinkers like Merleau-Ponty, Simone Weil, and Iris Murdoch, demonstrate attention's significance across multiple philosophical domains.
Indeed, contemporary philosophy recognizes attention as fundamental to a remarkable range of inquiries. In ethics, attention emerges as an essential vehicle for exercising personal and collective virtues. Aesthetics invokes attention in debates about the nature of beauty and our engagement with works of art—their creation, appreciation, and critique. Social and political philosophy identifies attention as a central component of the modern media landscape, where it functions as a valuable and increasingly contested economic resource. Environmental philosophy calls upon attention to help conceptualize our evolving and often precarious relationship with the natural world. Across these diverse contexts, attention appears as a fundamental human capacity whose nature and quality largely determine the kinds of bonds we can establish with each other and our surrounding world.
This conference seeks to bring these rich historical engagements into systematic dialogue with contemporary philosophy. We welcome contributions from all philosophical traditions and approaches, including but not limited to: the reflexive tradition, hermeneutics, phenomenology, empiricist and analytic philosophy, philosophy of mind, cognitive science, pragmatism, and non-Western philosophical traditions. We aim to explore how different philosophical frameworks have conceptualized attention's structure, dynamics, and normative dimensions, and how these varied perspectives can illuminate both historical debates and current research.
Full details: international conference: the concept of attention
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