Symposium about Natural Law, Civilisation and Cosmopolitanism

You are invited to the symposium "Europe and Humanity: Natural Law, Civilisation and Cosmopolitanism" which takes place on June 8, 2013 at 9.00 in Jakobi 2-336, Tartu.

The symposium will explore selected accounts of European moral universalism and cosmopolitanism from early modern to contemporary period. Cosmopolitanism draws on the more fundamental conceptions of universal moral norms, while proposing a distinct moral demand of cultivating the community of humanity. The content and status of this demand in respect to our other loyalties and obligations is a classic philosophical issue. Yet theories of cosmopolitanism are also deeply entangled with those of sociability, natural law, international justice, commerce, peace, civilisation, and moral progress. Since early modern period, cosmopolitanism's underlying moral psychology, scope, historical preconditions, political implications and consequences have been vehemently debated.

In particular, arguments about Europe's history and predicament have played a key role in these debates. Is Europe a laboratory of future global pacific order, or has it undermined this very prospect through its imperialism? Is it possible to theorise about international justice without assuming some conception of civilisation, and making a distinction between 'civilised nations' and the rest? In what sense is it possible to talk about political or moral progress in European and human history? The symposium aims to explore these historical debates both synchronically and diachronically, so as to provide new insights into the recurring theoretical issues underlying the concept of cosmopolitanism. It will also critically compare the theoretical challenges identified in early modern period with those confronted in the twentieth century, while also seeking to situate the twentieth-century accounts in their specific intellectual and political contexts.

You are welcome to participate!

Registration for participation: ingi.mihkelsoo@ut.ee.

Further information: dr Eva Piirimäe, senior researcher in political philosophy, tel: 737 5336, e-mail: eva.piirimae@ut.ee.