In recent years, psychologists, neuroscientists, economists, and other scientists have turned their attention to traditional philosophical themes of happiness, virtue, and the meaning of life. Perhaps not coincidentally, philosophers’ interest in these themes appears to have been rekindled.
This two-day workshop aims to close the gap between empirical and philosophical approaches to questions of happiness, virtue, and the meaning of life, in the interest of encouraging the development of an empirically informed philosophy and a science with philosophical awareness.
Goals include to explore the degree to which the conclusions of philosophical reflection and systematic empirical study of issues of happines, virtue, and the meaning of life are converging (or not); what in general contemporary scientists can learn from philosophy, its history and methodology, and what contemporary philosophers stand to gain from engaging with the empirical literature; what in particular recent work has revealed about the nature of happiness (e.g., if it includes an account of the meaning of life) and virtue (e.g., whether it can be understood as a self-transcendent practical orientation); what the power and limitations of empirical methods are in addressing philosophical questions; and whether there remains a space for armchair philosophizing in addressing the topics.
The workshop is sponsored by the Department of Philosophy at Stockholm University in collaboration with the project "Virtue, Happiness, and the Meaning of Life" which is made possible by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
Workshop poster (112 Kb)
Programme
DAY 1: Friday, 5 May
08.30Registration, coffee & sandwich
09.00Session 1 (Chair: Krister Bykvist)
Antti Kauppinen (University of Tampere) "Happiness, Virtue, and Emotion"
Jennifer Lockhart (Auburn University) "Happiness, Virtue, Self-Sacrifice and Asceticism" pdf
10.30Coffee
11.00Session 2 (Chair: Anna Alexandrova)
Jason Raibley (California State University) "Virtue and the Metaphysics of Well-being"
Joshua Lewis Thomas (University of Sheffield) "Meaning as sense-making" pdf
12.30Lunch
13.30Session 3 (Chair: Gustaf Arrhenius)
Kaisa Kärki (University of Jyväskylä) "Beyond involvement with the self"
Erik Angner (Stockholm University) "Why the science of well-being needs the philosophy of well-being — and vice versa"
15.00Coffee
15.30Keynote (Chair: Mats Ingelström)
Candace Vogler (University of Chicago)
17.00End
19.45Workshop dinner (invitation only)
DAY 2: Saturday, 6 May
08.30Registration, coffee & sandwich
09.00Session 4 (Chair: Frans Svensson)
Raffaele Rodogno (Aarhus University) "On the Practical Study of Well-Being" pdf
Anna Alexandrova (Cambridge University) "Science and Individual Well-Being"
10.30Coffee
11.00Session 5 (Chair: Åsa Burman)
Willem van der Deijl (Erasmus University ) "Is pleasure all that is good about experience?" pdf
Dale Dorsey (University of Kansas) "Projects and Past Selves" pdf
12.30Lunch
13.30Session 6 (Chair: tbd)
Kirsten Egerstrom (Southern Methodist University) "The Meaning of the Afterlife" pdf
Sam Wren-Lewis (Leeds University) "Two Kinds of Happiness and Meaning:The Integrative Role of Virtue"
15.00Coffee
15.30Keynote (Chair: Erik Angner)
Jennifer Frey (University of South Carolina)
17.00End
Venue
The workshop is held in the William-Olsson lecture hall, inside Geovetenskapens hus (Svante Arrhenius väg 14). This is within the main campus of Stockholm University.
Find it on Google Maps.
Geovetenskapens hus is located only 120 meter from the exit of the Universitet tube station and is fully accessible. To get to the Universitetet tube station, take the red tube line from the Central station towards "Mörby Centrum" (8 minute ride). For tickets and travel information, see: SL.se/en.
Registration
Attendence is free, but we ask all attendees to please sign up by using the form below.
Organizers and Contact
Erik Angner
Dept. of Philosophy
Stockholm University
114 25 Stockholm, Sweden
E-mail: erik.angner@philosophy.su.se