The 13th international conference of the Central European Pragmatist Forum (CEPF), titled “Pragmatist Environments,” will take place. The event is organized by the Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Slovak Philosophical Association. The meeting is held in honor of Professor Emil Višňovský, CEPF co-founder.
Key event information
The conference will be hosted at the Faculty of Arts, Comenius University Bratislava (Gondova 70/2, Room 239, 2nd floor). The opening is scheduled for Monday, 8 June 2026 at 13:00.
Thematic focus
The program is built around the theme of “pragmatist environments” and develops it through sessions devoted to contemporary forms of pragmatism, ethical and democratic questions, aesthetics, education, philosophy of science and inquiry, as well as topics linking culture, nature, and responsibility.
The event will also feature The Michael Eldridge Keynote Lecture, delivered by Trevor Pearce (University of North Carolina at Charlotte), titled “Biology Hesitant: W. E. B. Du Bois, Evolutionary Sociology, and Pragmatism”.
The Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences will be represented at the conference by Ľubomír Dunaj, who will present a paper titled “Pragmatic Critical Theory and Chinese Philosophy: Cosmopolitanism and/vs/or Tianxia”.
Program strands
The conference is structured across five days and thematic sessions. The opening part of the program will include a special section dedicated to Emil Višňovský and his philosophy, including contributions on pragmatist humanism and its significance for thinking about environmental problems.
Further sessions address democratic challenges (e.g., the limits of inclusion in democracy and normative orientation in democratic and “(un)democratic” practice), as well as topics in ethics—including approaches that explore environment as a relational and technologically mediated space, and the conditions of moral deliberation.
A substantial part of the program is devoted to pragmatism and inquiry, including interpretations of Dewey’s concept of “situation” in the logic of inquiry and discussions of methodological and value-laden frameworks of explanation in the social and environmental sciences (including perspectives of traditional ecological knowledge and “sense of place”).
The program also includes strands on education and pragmatism, reflecting current debates on the nature of science, university education, and trust in expertise in democratic societies.
Organizational background
The conference is convened by the Central European Pragmatist Forum in cooperation with the Institute of Philosophy, Slovak Academy of Sciences, and the Slovak Philosophical Association. The Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy provides overall, long-term support to the conference organizer.
Final factual information
Organizer: Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava (in cooperation with the Slovak Philosophical Association at the Slovak Academy of Sciences)
Date and time: 8–12 June 2026 (opening on 8 June at 13:00)
Venue: Comenius University Bratislava, Faculty of Arts, Gondova 70/2, Room 239 (2nd floor)
The conference program is available here: https://cepf.sk/program/
