Conference: Legitimation of Violence, September 14-15

Legitimation of Violence 

International conference organized by the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, University of Pardubice

Date: 14 – 15 September 2023

Venue: The historical building of University of Pardubice, nám. Čs. legií 565, 530 03 Pardubice, Czech Republic, Room 03004

Keynote speaker:                Jonathan Havercroft (University of Southampton)

Attendance is free of charge. Registration is not necessary, but if you know in advance that you are coming, please let us know (matej.cibik@upce.cz)

For further information please email Matej Cíbik (matej.cibik@upce.cz)

Conference description

The conference will discuss historical and current traditions and strategies of legitimizing violence on both physical and symbolical level. It will focus on topics such as legitimation of organized violence in different types of state regimes, violence as a part of political insurgence and civil disobedience, and connections between the violence in rhetoric and performance. Although the main perspectives of the conference will be these of philosophy and religious studies, and therefore most of the papers will deal with the questions of conceptualizing violence in thought, language, and social systems, the conference will pay due focus to the analysis of sources and the papers will be mostly discussing specific historical and current events, not only theoretical concepts surrounding the key term violence. We hope to connect various approaches to the categories and phenomena of violence in a fruitful discussion. 

Schedule

Thursday, September 14

Opening Word (09:30)

Session 1: Violence and State/Political Ideologies (10:00–12:00)

I) Patrick Looybuck: Violence in the Context of Civil Disobedience: A Rawlsian Approach

II) Tadeáš Vala: The Concept of Jihad by the Sword and the Legitimization of Violence in 21st Century Islamist Terrorist Organizations

III) Zbyněk Vydra: For Russia’s Sake, Everything is Permitted

Lunch break (12:00–13:30)

Keynote: Jonathan Havencroft (13:45– 15:15)

Coffee Break

Session 2: Rhetoric and Violence (15:30– 17:30)

I) Martina Giovine: Hate Speech as the Instrument of Violence

II) František Novotný: Body-related Metaphors and Legitimation of Violence in the Establishment of the Medieval Papal Inquisition

Dinner, Social event (18:00–)

Friday, September 15

Session 3: Philosophical Categories and Concepts of Violence (09:30–11:30)

I) Vasti Roodt: Rethinking the Violence in Epistemic Violence

II) Matej Cíbik: Political Legitimacy, Insurgence and International Interventions

III) Pedro Tabenski: Therapeutic Rebellion

Lunch Break (11:30–13:00)

Session 4: Individuals and State/Regime Organized Violence (13:15–15:15)

I) Filip Grygar: The Collaboration of German Nuclear Scientists

II) Jan Rokyta: Euthanasia Between Natural Theology and Scientific Legitimation

III) Radek Haňka: The Case of Heidegger and the Demonization of Philosophical Texts

Coffee Break

Session 5: Self-Defense and Violence (15:30–17:00)

I) Lisa Hecht: Sovereign Right to Self-Defense

II) Abigail C. Moore: Who has the Right to Self-Defense

Closing Word (17:00)