Why Bother? Nihilism and Uncertainty or Care and Hope
Student Conference in Ethics and Political Philosophy
March 7, 2025, 10h00 – 17h00
University of Pardubice, Building VO, Room: 01009 (Titan)
Programme:
9h45 Registration
10h00 Welcome Address from the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies (UPCE)
10h10 Keynote Lecture: Niklas Forsberg
10h50 — 12h00 Panel 1: Responding to Reality
- María Miralles Viu Revolting Against Apathy: Absurdism’s Role in Reviving Democracy
- Emil Wolff How Stoicism is the Right Approach to Tackling the Climate Crisis
- Paulina Kraft Does Hope Motivate Action?
12h00 Lunch
13h00 — 14h10 Panel 2: Crisis and Resilience
- Hana Slobodníková How to Survive a Crisis: The Power of Conscious Illusion
- Tomáš Čorej In Good Spirits Under Fire? On the Pursuit of Happiness Amid War
- Liubomyr Vovnianko Nihilism as a Necessary Stage in Overcoming the Crisis
14h10 Coffee
14h20 — 15h30 Panel 3: Out with the Old?
- Matěj Hůrza “Oh, ye olden times, where are you now?” Idealisation, Impatience, and Denial as a Reaction to an Unpredictable World – and a Key to New Beginnings
- Adam Petryk Social Media: A Kantian Perspective
- Karol Barć The Role of Virtue Ethics in Imagining an Alternative to Capitalism
15h30 Coffee
15h40 — 16h50 Panel 4 Remaking Ourselves
- Zlata Pelykh “The Death of the Author” and the Autonomy of the Text: Is Creativity Possible without a Human Being?”
- Rasul Kasimov Essayistic Mode of Life
- Emmi Wilkinson Gender Crisis and the Trans Agenda: How Feminist Philosophy Helps Combat Culture Wars
16h50 Conference Closing, Final Reflections
Those who are interested are welcome to join for an informal social after the conference closing at Divadlo 29 (Svaté Anežky České č.p. 29 530 02, Pardubice)
Organizing Committee: Niklas Forsberg, Antony Fredriksson, Lesley Jamieson
Queries can be directed to: LesleyPaige.Jamieson@upce.cz