Call for Papers

VIth Mediterranean Congress of Aesthetics
University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne Institut ACTE – UMR CNRS - Æsthetica
Florence – Villa Finaly, June, 24 - 28, 2014

Facts and Values in Aesthetics: Contemporary Stakes and Approaches

The Sixth Mediterranean Congress of Aesthetics, will take place at Villa Finaly in Florence, Italy, from the 24th to the 28th of June, 2014, and will be concerned with the contemporary debate over the opposition of facts and values in aesthetics.
In a text entitled The Collapse of the Fact/Value Dichotomy and Other Essays (2004), Hilary Putnam argues convincingly against a classic opposition which does not serve philosophical reflection positively; in fact, this apparently unquestioned and unquestionable dichotomy, which is the nature of all dogma, leaves many unsolved, untreated, unseen and unexamined problems.
Putnam’s analysis mostly focuses on the theory and practice of knowledge, but one can legitimately extend it to other fields, starting with that of aesthetics, which sooner or later is confronted with the question of whether one defends or rejects the dichotomy. Keeping or rejecting it implies reasons to do so, but often these reasons remain implicit, most especially in aesthetics.
This can easily be noticed, and asking the question of whether keeping or rejecting the dichotomy between facts and values is at the heart of the most pressing issues with resonances across the Mediterranean basin. For this reason the Congress cannot ignore the debate.

Proposals may address the following topics, but are not limited to them:

– the pros / cons : what facts? what values? and for what purpose?
– aesthetic judgment (can we do without it?) and criticism
– ethical and practical moral questions
– socio-political questions
– the link between the economic and the cultural (including: cultural policies, their choices and their consequences)
– contexts and current changes
– facts and values in artistic practices
– issues of censorship and the law
– art and biotechnologies, what limits, what is allowed or not - and why?
– differences in the arts and practices (film, dance, performance, theatre, etc.)
– issues of identity, gender

The official languages of the Congress are English, French and Italian. Preference will be given to proposals for papers on the relationship between aesthetics, philosophy of art and ethical, moral, and socio-political contemporary issues.
Proposals should include a title, an abstract of approximately 250 words (1,500 characters including spaces), and a short biography and bibliography of the author. They should be sent by email to Jacinto Lageira (jlageirawanadoo.fr) and Evangelos Athanassopoulos (evangelos.athanassopoulossfr.fr) before 12th January 2014. The proposals will then be sent anonymously to a selection committee.

Organising Committee:
Institut ACTE (Art Creation Theory Aesthetics) – UMR 8218, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and CNRS, Research Group Æsthetica - Art and Philosophy
Evangelos Athanassopoulos (University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Barbara Formis (University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Jacinto Lageira (University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

With the participation of:
Société Française d’Esthétique
Società Italiana di Estetica (SIE)
Ecole doctorale Arts plastiques, Esthétique et Sciences de l’art, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
Aisthesis. Pratiche, linguaggi e saperi dell'estetico
Proteus, Cahiers des théories de l’art

Scientific Committee:
Matilde Carrasco Barranco (University of Murcia), Dominique Chateau (University Paris 1), Richard Conte (University Paris 1), Filippo Fimiani (University of Salerno), Christophe Genin (University Paris 1), Giovanni Matteucci (University of Bologna), Raffaele Milani (University of Bologna), Mario Perniola (University Roma 3 Tor Vergata), Salvador Rubio Marco (University of Murcia), Maryvonne Saison (University Paris X), Carole Talon-Hugon (French Society of Aesthetics / University of Nice), Dionysios Zivas (Greek Society of Aesthetics).

- Villa Finaly
http://www.villafinaly.sorbonne.fr

- Institut ACTE – UMR 8218 – Æsthetica, Art and Philosophy http://www.institut-acte.cnrs.fr

- Société Française d’Esthétique
http://www.s-f-e.org

- Società Italiana di Estetica (SIE)
http://www.siestetica.it/

- Aisthesis. Pratiche, linguaggi e saperi dell'estetico http://www.fupress.net/index.php/aisthesis

- Proteus, Cahiers des théories de l’art
http://www.revue-proteus.com/