Conatus - Journal of Philosophy: Announcements

Call for Papers: Conatus - Journal of Philosophy vol. 11, no. 1 (2026) Special Issue: The Disenchantment of the World Secularization and the Modern Predicament. Guest Editor: Nicolas Prevelakis

Conatus - Journal of Philosophy — 2024-10-08

Conatus - Journal of Philosophy is pleased to announce a Special Issue in 2026 dedicated to the theme of “The Disenchantment of the World: Secularization and the Modern Predicament.” This issue aims to explore the philosophical, historical, and sociocultural dimensions of secularization, examining its impact on various aspects of contemporary life, including politics, ethics, education, and religion. We welcome original articles that provide fresh insights into the concept of secularization, its evolution, and its effects on modern societies. We invite submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

The philosophical foundations, underpinnings and critiques of secularization: (e.g. Max Weber, Baruch Spinoza, Thomas Hobbes),
The different meanings of the term “secularization”,
The religious roots of secularization,
The relationship between secularization and modernity,
The relationship between secularization and political theology,
The theologico-political predicament: Intersections between religious authority and political sovereignty,
Secularization and the transformation of religious beliefs, practices and institutions, case studies from history (e.g., Gallicanism, Kemalism),
De-secularization movements and the resurgence of religion in political contexts (e.g., Islamic Revolution, Fundamentalism),
The impact of secularization on ethics and moral philosophy in a post-religious context,
Comparative secularization: Western and non-Western perspectives,
The effects of secularization on public policy, education, and law,
Secularization and the resurgence of religion: Post-secular debates and de-secularization,
Secularization and modern nationalism,
Political secularism and the separation of church and state,
Functional equivalents of religion in a secular age,
The role of science and technology in the secularization process

The phenomenon of secularization continues to be a significant and debated issue in contemporary philosophy and social theory. We encourage contributions that offer new theoretical perspectives, critical analyses, or interdisciplinary approaches that enhance our understanding of secularization and its implications for various domains of human life. We look forward to receiving your submissions. Manuscripts are due by January 30, 2026. The Special Issue will be published (both print and online) in June 30, 2026.

For guidelines on how to prepare and submit your manuscript, please visit Conatus Home Page. You may also contact the Guest Editor, Dr. Nicolas Prevelakis (prevelak@fas.harvard.edu) with the subject heading “Secularization submission. Manuscripts should be submitted directly through the online OJS platform at the submission page mentioning in the comments-to-the-editor field that your submission is for the special issue on secularization.

Publishing with Conatus - Journal of Philosophy is free of charge. Conatus - Journal of Philosophy is currently indexed by all major indexing, abstracting and content coverage services and databases. All articles published with Conatus - Journal of Philosophy are licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC International license and assigned a unique Crossref DOI.

Call for Papers: Conatus - Journal of Philosophy 10, no. 2 (2025) Special Issue Gender and Anthropology in the Ancient and Medieval Philosophical and Theological Traditions. Guest Editors: Georgios Steiris, Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides, Dimitrios A. Vasilakis

Conatus - Journal of Philosophy — 2024-10-08

Conatus - Journal of Philosophy will publish a Special Issue in 2025 devoted to the topic of “Gender and Anthropology in the Ancient and Medieval Philosophical and Theological Traditions (5th cent. BCE-15th cent. CE)”. In the last six decades, gender studies have gained importance across various academic disciplines. This has resulted to the production of a prolific body of research on the experiences of women, historically relegated to the periphery of the study of pagan antiquity and Christianity. Recently, a fervent international discussion has ensued regarding gender as debated in the interface of these traditions. Within this framework, some scholars have begun to focus on various Christian and pagan thinkers, so that essentialist positions on sex and gender (both translating the Greek term «φύλον»), currently prevailing in public discourse, may be re-examined. This discussion has proved relevant to the debate about posthumanism (transcendence or extinction of humanity) and transhumanism (humanity’s transference to a superior level of being).

Topics may include (but are not limited to) the following:
• soul, body and their relation to personal identity,
• the fine conceptual distinctions underlying the notion of «φύλον» qua sex (corporeally/biologically determined perspective) and qua gender (socially determined perspective),
• the extent to which the cultural and philosophical premises of key late antique philosophers and Christian Fathers (e.g. Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Galen, Plotinus, Porphyry, Proclus, Nemesius of Emesa, Gregory of Nyssa, Maximus the Confessor) have influenced the way they understood the term «φύλον»,
• the relevance of late antique discussions for today’s public discourse,
• posthumanism versus transhumanism.
Thinkers to be examined can include the philosophical ancestors of Late Antiquity, such as Plato and Aristotle, as well as the posterity (e.g. John Scottus Eriugena, Avicenna, Thomas Aquinas, Pletho, and Renaissance Platonists).

We are looking forward to your submissions. Submissions are due by August 30, 2025.

Conatus - Journal of Philosophy 10, no.2, Special Issue: “Gender and Anthropology in the Ancient and Medieval Philosophical and Theological Traditions (5th cent. BCE-15th cent. CE)” will be published (both print and online) in December 31, 2025.

For guidelines on how to prepare and submit your manuscript please visit Conatus Home Page, and also contact the Guest Editors, Georgios Steiris (gsteiris@philosophy.uoa.gr), Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides (eva.anagnostou-laoutides@mq.edu.au), or Dimitrios A. Vasilakis (dimitrios.vasilakis@uoi.gr) with the subject heading “Gender and Anthropology submission.” You should submit your manuscript directly through the online OJS platform at the submission page mentioning in the comments-to-the-editor field the special issue your manuscript is being submitted to.

Call for Papers: Conatus 8, no. 2 (2023) Special Issue: Ethics of War. Guest Editor: Jovan Babić.

Conatus - Journal of Philosophy — 2023-04-15

Conatus - Journal of Philosophy will publish a Special Issue in 2023 devoted to the“Ethics of War,” with a special focus on ius ad bellum, but will also welcome contributions from other areas of the Ethics of War, and Military Ethics in general. We expect original articles on the history and current articulation of theories aiming to offer justification of war (presumably in the context of its prima facie unjustifiability). Those theories are not restricted to the theory of “just war,” they also include pacifism, realism, neglected theorizing of “regular war,” and possibly other aspects of the logic of human cardinal conflicts and use of exceptional means in their resolution. We encourage contemporary topics, and those specific aspects of modern warfare which seems to be worthy to be explored, especially those not sufficiently explored yet. The following are only examples of other topics that belong here, beside ius ad bellum:

ius in bello,
ius post bellum,
ius ante bellum,
the concept of victory,
defeat and capitulation,
intimacy of war and moral injury in war,
new technologies and changes in conducting wars produced by them,
terrorism and counterterrorism,
state violence,
guerilla warfare,
military interventions,
“soft power,”
hybrid warfare,
propaganda warfare in many its old and new forms,
and even more specific themes like “Thucydides’ trap,” “Justice among unequals – the Melian case,” and similar.

The phenomenon and practice of war is vast and, despite all, rather unexplored, so the authors are encouraged to offer new insights and hypotheses of explication needed to understand and possibly justify this eternally important matter.

We are looking forward to your submissions. Submissions are due by July 30, 2023.

Conatus - Journal of Philosophy 8, no. 2, Special Issue: “Ethics of War” will be published (both print and on-line) in December 2023; all articles published with Conatus - Journal of Philosophy are licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC International license and assigned a unique Crossref DOI.

For guidelines on how to prepare and submit your manuscript please visit www.conatus.philosophy.uoa.gr, and also contact the Guest Editor, Professor Jovan Babić (jovanpbabic@gmail.com) with the subject heading “Ethics of War submission.” You should submit your manuscript directly through the online OJS platform at https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/Conatus/index, mentioning in the comments-to-the-editor field the special issue your manuscript is being submitted to.