Uludağ University
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Department of Philosophy
11-13 October 2012
Bursa Türkiye
http://philosophy.uludag.edu.tr/ufk2/english/english.html
philosophy@uludag.edu.tr
The Department of Philosophy at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Uludağ University was established in the academic year 1990-1991 and offers undergraduate and graduate programs (both MA and PhD.) The department which has gained an honorable status among the philosophy departments in Turkey with the contribution of its young and dynamic staff continues to publish the periodical Kaygı, the biannual journal of The Philosophy Department, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Uludağ University. The Department of Philosophy supported by many professors and lecturers to be institutionalized, reached its current position by gaining various experiences within the period of the recent twenty years. The department will organize the Second International Philosophy Congress, on 11-12-13 October 2011, which was organized in 2010 for the first time on the occasion of the department having completed ıts ‘twenty-years’ establishment.
The congress will focus on how the city provides a platform concerning all from architecture to economy, from art to religion, from ethics to politics, from science to philosophy, with reference to the role it plays in the maturation and enrichment of cultural life. In this regard, the interrelation of the city, politics, religious life, art, philosophy will be emphasized in details in the congress and the effects of the city within the limits of thinking will be discussed with a broader articulation. What is put on the basis is to organize an interdisciplinary congress on a philosophical ground. Therefore, there will be opinion interchanges and expressing ideas within the frame of the evaluations of different disciplines regarding the City and city life and the congress will flourish with the contributions of different perspectives. In this way, “the City and philosophy” relation will be dealt on a quite broad basis and the importance of philosophical aspect in its relation with the city will be attempted to be presented.
About the Congress
“The City and Philosophy”
Philosophical thinking, which arises from the heart of the city, expresses a different aspect regarding life, goings-on, existent and the world. The city provides basis for not only philosophy but for everything that is humane. There exists a quite broad literature on the notion of City and what city itself is. However, there is a need to think again about the relation of the City and philosophy.
But why did such a need become a current issue? Why is such a congress needed to be organized, while the relation between philosophy and city has been dealt with numerous times before? It is already known that philosophical thinking belongs to city life. For the philosophical thinking to maturate, culture has to reach its maturity level at most. The most important bearer of culture is language. Language reaches a certain level of maturity by being kneaded with art –especially poetry-, religion and politics; the highest level that this maturity reveals itself is philosophical thinking. Philosophy is the most mature level that language, speech and writing can reach. Language is the sole component that bears philosophy, philosophical thinking. The language of philosophy actualizes this maturation with culture and also with the city, which is the main place that culture shapes. The city is the place where philosophical thinking finds a living and expression space for itself. Philosophy reveals itself in the city both by flourishing in its relation with art, religion and politics and by being a thinking activity on all these areas. Philosophy is the promising child of the city. The city, which is the best place that culture expresses itself, provided a basis for philosophy to be born and shaped as well. Therefore, we are organizing such a congress to think about the City and to present the relation between the City and philosophy correlatively.
When it comes to the City and philosophy relation, these questions have to reckoned with: In the cities in today’s world, is it possible for thinking and compendious thinking to be manifested? Can city life continue to provide basis for philosophical thinking? What contributions can philosophical aspect make to the arrangement of cities’ architecture or city planning? What kind of a city planning can be mentioned in the face of environmental problems? What place do cities have in the relation of localness and nationality? Can there be an exemplary city planning? What position should cities have in government-citizen relation? What are the new perspectives regarding the city? How can political life in the city be dealt with? Can we talk about city politics? How will the relation between the City and art be? Can we talk about an aesthetical organization of the city? What can be said about the relation between the inhabitants of the city? What should we make of the history of the city? What can be said about the connection between religious life and city life? What is the importance of the city when it comes to law?
In order to try to reckon with all these questions and to present new and different aspects about the relation of the City and philosophy, we saw fit to organize a congress entitled as “The City and Philosophy”.
Titles/Subjects and of Congress
(Subject Headings)
City and Politics
City and Ethics
City and Art
Architecture and Philosophy
Design of City and Philosophy
City and Law
City and Liberty
City and Social Change
City and Democracy
City and Utopia
City and Citizenships
City and Individualism
City and Human Rights
City and Crisis
City and Existentialism
City and Identity
The Problems of Environment and Philosophy
Nature and Philosophy
