Re-evaluating Social Essences - 2020 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Metaphysics Collaborative

Organizing comittee e-mail: kathrin.koslicki@ualberta.ca

Organizers: Department of Philosophy, University of Victoria

It was once common to investigate the various items of the social world (institutions, nations, races, genders, artifacts, and so on) by investigating their essences or natures. But many theories of essence relied on assumptions that were scientifically unsupported, philosophically unsubstantiated, or socially unjust. Recent developments in philosophy, however, are rehabilitating essence. The guiding theme of this workshop is to re-evaluate the prospects for social essences in particular. The workshop will be hosted by the University of Victoria from August 28-30, 2020, and will coincide with the fourth annual meeting of the Canadian Metaphysics Collaborative.

Conference Web-Site: https://www.metaphysics.ca/events