29-31 May 2025

Saint John’s University Manhattan Campus

101 Astor Place, New York, NY

Keynote Speakers:

Minna-Kerttu M. Kekki (University of Helsinki)

“Edith Stein’s Theory of the State: Early Political Phenomenology in Discussion with Other Political Theories”

Patrick Lang (Nantes University)

“Scheler’s Concept of Solidarity from a Secular Perspective”

Theme

The early phenomenological movement was marked not only by the attempt to clarify the meaning of phenomenology, but also by the exploration of the various avenues for phenomenological investigation. Central to this early development were questions related to the diverse aspects of the social and political. These early investigations sought to provide ways in which phenomenology could contribute to questions related to the distinctive nature of social and communal experiences, social ontology, foundations of law and social norms, political leadership and authority, violence and war, solidarity, and principles of justice. NASEP and MSSNA welcome papers examining the contribution the early phenomenological movement had for such concerns and papers illustrating how these contributions have informed more recent approaches to philosophical investigations into the social and political. We are particularly interested in papers that draw attention to thinkers and problems that have been historically neglected and/or underrepresented.

Conference Program

For the conference schedule click here.

Conference Map

The conference will held at Manhattan campus of Saint John’s University. For directions to the conference building, click here.

Accommodations

NASEP is not recommending anywhere to stay in particular. We have found that when we are in New York City, participants prefer to choose their own accommodations, to accord with varying preferences and departmental support.

2-4 June 2023
University of San Diego, San Diego, California Humanities Center

Keynote Speakers:

Michael Kelly (University of San Diego)
“Bergson’s intuitive Philosophy of Life?”

Clinton Tolley (University of California San Diego)
“Scheler, Stein, and the ‘Spiritual’ Dialectic of Phenomenology of the 1910’s”

Robin M. Muller (California State University Northridge)
“Merleau-Ponty on Movement and Relativity, or, the ‘Irrepressible Consciousness’ of Einstein’s Little Finger”

Theme

The concepts of intuition, creation, duration, and relativity pervade the work of early phenomenologists in their rejection of both rationalism and empiricism. This conference gives special attention to Bergson’s influence on phenomenology, particularly in relation to these themes, along with contemporary work related to these topics. Variations in phenomenological reduction and intuition, thematization of metaphor and analogy, metaphysics of creation and time, spirituality and religion, idealism and realism and the existence of the world—all of these phenomenological concepts made their appearances in conversations between and around Husserl and Bergson and other early phenomenologists a century ago, and return today.

We also represent the North American Roman Ingarden Society at this conference, with a session featuring talks by Mark Roberts (Franciscan University of Stubenville) and Jeff Mitscherling (University of Guelph) on, respectively, Ingarden’s ideas about hypothetical judgment and on the essence of the soul. The conference also highlights other figures from early phenomenology including Theodor Lipps, Adolf Reinach, Edith Stein, Theodor Conrad, Hedwig Conrad-Martius, Max Scheler, Nicolai Hartmann, Roman Ingarden, Emmanuel Levinas, Vladimir Jankélévitch, and Pierre Hadot.

Conference Program

For the conference schedule click here.

Conference Map

The conference will held in the USD Humanities Center. For a campus map click here.

Accommodations

NASEP has secured a group rate of $239 at the Best Western Plus Hacienda Hotel Old Town at 4041 Harney St. Should you wish to take advantage of the group rate, please make reservations by calling the hotel directly at (619) 298-4707, and make sure to mention that you are booking with the North American Society for Early Phenomenology, or use the booking link here: click here. The group rate will expire on May 11, 2023.

28-30 April 2022
Dominican University College
Ottawa, Ontario

Keynote Speakers

Christina M. Gschwandtner (Fordham University)

Antonio Calcagno (King’s University College, Western University)

Call for Abstracts

“Already now we can name a basic tenet, recognized in like manner (though not adopted as untested presupposition) by all phenomenologically oriented philosophers: the existence of entities that are not given empirically [nichtempirischer Gegebenheiten] and that make so-called a priori research possible.” —Jean Hering, tr. Arthur Szylewicz

Phenomenology developed with an attendant metaphysics that is highly informed by concepts shared with religion. Dichotomies such as empirical and a priori, finite and infinite, temporal and atemporal, essence and idea, mundane and divine, material and immaterial, subsistence and existence, non-being and being (along with others), are constitutive of early phenomenology’s methods and tenets. While Husserl envisioned phenomenology as “metaphysically neutral” and attempted to keep his personal religious views separate from his scientific work, figures such as Stein and Scheler did not hide the fact that their metaphysical and religious views informed their investigations. Brentano and members of his school were deeply influenced by Aristotelian metaphysics, and this legacy can be seen in the works of Reinach and Ingarden. The presence of Platonism in early phenomenology and the implications of phenomenological idealism remain topics of debate. This conference will explore the metaphysical currents within early phenomenology, as well as the role that religious convictions played in their development.

As always, we encourage submissions dealing with the thought of the full spectrum of early phenomenologists (including Edmund Husserl, Franz Brentano, Carl Stumpf, Theodor Lipps, Alexander Pfänder, Max Scheler, Moritz Geiger, Hedwig Conrad-Martius, Eugen Fink, Roman Ingarden, Edith Stein, Dietrich Von Hildebrand, Adolf Reinach, Maximilian Beck, Jean Hering, Henri Bergson, Emmanuel Levinas, et al.) as well as figures who were in conversation with the early phenomenological movement.

We especially encourage submissions from individuals who identify as members of groups currently underrepresented in philosophy and academia more generally.

Abstracts should be 400-600 words and include a short bibliography. Abstracts must be prepared for blind review and sent to Charlene Elsby (celsby@ingarden.org).

Extended deadline for submissions is February 20^th, 2022.

Decisions will be sent out no later than March 1^st, 2022.

St. John’s University has already closed its campuses for March and may decide to close for April as well. There are no known cases of COVID-19 at this time on any of the St. John’s University campuses or locations. However, given the declaration of a state of emergency in New York state and the lockdown of New Rochelle, New York City may well begin to shut down more fully in the weeks ahead. As many of you know, President Trump has effectively banned travel from Europe to the US. While this is only in place for 30 days, we cannot be confident that the ban will be lifted before our conference. This means that many of our attendees may not be able to travel to New York in April.