The Slovak Philosophical Association at the Slovak Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and partners (Department of Philosophy of the Faculty of Arts, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Department of Philosophy and History of Philosophy of the Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava, Institute of Philosophy and Ethics of the Faculty of Arts, University of Prešov, Department of Philosophy and Applied Philosophy of the Faculty of Arts, UCM in Trnava, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Banská Bystrica) organize the VII Slovak Philosophical Congress under the title Philosophy in the technological world and repetitive social patterns. The event will take place at the Tatra Hotel Congress Centre in Bratislava from 22 to 24 October 2025.
Thematic focus
Despite the constant transformations of the world and exponential technological development, the traces of human nature are steadily manifesting. History repeats itself. Can we learn enough from it? This also applies to the education of future generations, not only in the use of modern technological tools, but also in the awareness of the basic principles that govern our lives. In this context, there is a social and civilizational need to return to the philosophical questions of goodness, truth, responsibility, hope, and a dignified life, both in epistemological and ontological aspects, as well as in ethical, social, legal and environmental challenges of the present. The congress wants to provide a wider interdisciplinary space for discussion about the current development and fate of humanity.
The President of the Congress is doc. Andrea Javorská (Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, President of the SFZ at the Slovak Academy of Sciences). The Scientific Committee is led by leading personalities of Slovak philosophy, including Emil Višňovský, Zlatica Plašenková, Andrej Kalaš, Michal Chabada, František Novosad, Marián Zouhar, František Mihina, Vasil Gluchman and others.
Main program points (selection)
Wednesday 22/10/2025
- Opening – speeches by doc. Andrea Javorská (SFZ at the Slovak Academy of Sciences) and doc. Richard Stahel (Director of the Institute of Physics SAS).
- Plenary lectures I–II:
- Vasil Gluchman: Humanistic Initiatives in Slovak Ethics of the 20th Century.
- Andrea Javorská: The Role and Position of Scientific Societies in Slovak Philosophy and Science.
- Angela Kallhoff: Future Ethics: Limitations and Prospects.
- Maurice Hamington: The Care Social Compact.
- Sections (selection):
- History of the Institute of Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Generational Impulses in the Ideological Kinetics of Slovak Thought.
- Environmental philosophy, critical environmentalism, caring for the world.
- Biopolitics and the development of emerging technologies.
- Ceremonial reception.
Thursday 23/10/2025
- Plenary Lectures III:
- Guanjun Wu: Revisiting this Question in an AI-Rising World: What Is Technology? (online s diskusiou).
- Richard Stahel: Environmental Democracy as a Political-Philosophical Concept for the Anthropocene Climate Regime.
- Daniela Vacek: AI and its roles.
- Sections (selection of papers and lines):
- Biopolicy and technology: the impact of biotechnology on biopolitical strategies; Ancient Rome as a precursor to modern dictatorships; the epistemological and ethical challenges of AI; the “media matrix” and the impact of the media; virtual reality and life simulation.
- Naturalness and/or construction: Teilhard de Chardin and ethical implications; meaningfulness and morality in Susan Wolf; gender and social construction; the (in)compatibility of Marxist feminism and intersectionality; human dignity; Searle’s critique of social constructivism; defensive interpretation of conspiracy thinking.
- Panel discussion (18:00 – 20:00):Scientific societies as important generational groupings shaping scientific integrity. Participants: Emil Višňovský, Richard Stahel, Soňa Ftáčniková, Miroslav T. Morovics, Ondrej Marchevský.
Friday 24/10/2025
- Plenary Lecture IV:
- Juraj Hvorecký (CETE, Filosofický ústav AV ČR) – Artificial Intelligence and Unconsciousness.
- Workshop “Artificial Intelligence: Achievements and Responsibility”: a block on AI relations, artificial “knowledge” and intellectual property rights, including the topics of accountability gaps and AI-based evaluation. Contributions by Daniela Vacek & Zuzana Zelinová, Katarína Marcinčinová, Štefan Orešek, Zoltán Gyurász, Dimitrios Galanis and Irina Stariková.
- Final thematic blocks (selection):
- Environmental Philosophy and Critical Environmentalism (Rorty in the Technological World; Environmental Citizenship; Ecofeminist Film Narrative; Anthropocentrism in Education).
- AI and society (environmental implications of the Drake equation; Kierkegaard, Weil and the existential challenge of AI; public reason in the age of AI; parasocial relationships with AI).
Key thematic axes (selection)
- Ethics of the Future and Care (Kallhoff; Hamington).
- Technology and AI – what is technology in the era of AI (Guanjun Wu); AI roles (Vacek); AI and the Unconscious (Hvorecký); liability, intellectual property, human-AI relationships (workshop).
- Environmental philosophy and democracy (Stahel; environmental citizenship; ecofeminist narrative).
- Biopolitics and human nature (biotechnology; the tension of mechanisms and nature; media and society; VR and life simulation).
- Naturalness vs. Construction (Teilhard de Chardin; Wolfová; genus and construction; conspiracy thinking).
Practical information
Place: Congress Centre of the Tatra Hotel, Bratislava. Date: October 22–24, 2025. Web: www.sfz.sk
