Phenomenology has always engaged with the pressing issues of its time. Whether epistemological or ethical, social or existential, it has been applied to critically analyze and respond to the challenges posed by scientific advancements, societal transformations, and crises of meaning. Indeed, since its inception, phenomenology has extended beyond philosophical inquiry to influence a wide range of disciplines, including psychiatry, psychology, anthropology and sociology. Historically, phenomenology has also been used to address social and political issues, engaging with topics such as race, gender, and social justice. Figures such as Fanon, Beauvoir, and Arendt employed phenomenological concepts to explore the lived experiences of colonization, gendered oppression, and totalitarianism. In this sense, there has always been a relationship of “mutual enlightenment” not only between philosophical phenomenology and empirical research but also with the pressing issues of the zeitgeist. Both empirical findings and overlooked aspects of our lifeworld have continually inspired phenomenological research on classical topics, continually renewing Husserl’s guiding motto, “Zu den Sachen selbst!” For this reason, the theme “Applied Phenomenology: Contemporary Lifeworld in Crisis” calls for an examination of how crises—epistemic, existential, cultural, political and social—disrupt and redefine the fundamental structures of the lifeworld.

Originating with Husserl, the concept of the lifeworld denotes the pre-reflective, taken-for-granted world of lived experience that underpins cognition, knowledge, and social practices. It is within this deeply layered and historically contingent backdrop that individuals co-construct meaning, establish norms, and shape their identities. Crises expose the instability of this shared world, prompting a re-evaluation of the implicit structures that underpin our experience. By focusing on the lifeworld as both a site of stability and a space vulnerable to rupture, this theme foregrounds the philosophical potential of phenomenology to address the profound transformations brought about by crises. Whether addressing issues such as ecological collapse, violence, social inequality, political polarization, or economic instability, crises in the lifeworld expose the relational and embodied aspects of existence that sustain our sense of reality and self. 

The conference therefore invites an exploration of how phenomenology can not only illuminate these ruptures but also propose pathways toward renewal, transformation, or emancipation. Applied Phenomenology as interdisciplinary research program offers a way for engaging with these challenges. By integrating phenomenological methods with empirical research and other disciplinary approaches, we can develop a deeper understanding of these crises and explore practical solutions. This conference aims to reconcile the theoretical foundations of phenomenology with its practical applications and critical potential, focusing on how applied phenomenology can function as an interdisciplinary research program to address the pressing issues of our time.

Special Panel: Phenomenology and Armed Conflict, Coercion and Violence

A special panel to be held as part of the conference is sponsored by the European Research Council project: Gender, Conflict and Coercive Control: A Feminist Phenomenological Expansion of Conflict-related Harm. 

The aim of this panel is to explore and encourage critical, feminist and applied phenomenology of violence and harm that arise in contexts of armed conflict, transition and peacebuilding. The project and this related panel will consider the potential that the theoretical foundations of phenomenology, as well as emerging interdisciplinary approaches to applied phenomenology have in expanding understanding of how armed conflicts and associated violence is lived and experienced. In particular, scholarly and applied works that advance feminist, queer, decolonial and critical phenomenological approaches to gendered violence, coercive control, peace and justice related to armed conflict are of interest. 

• The conference will be held in person at University College Dublin over three full days: 27–29 August 2025.

• This year, we will provide a space for some 65 speakers across multiple parallel tracks, with papers grouped into thematic panels, some of which have been pre-constituted by groups of speakers. There will also be the special panel 'Phenomenology and Armed Conflict, Coercion and Violence' sponsored by the European Research Council project: Gender, Conflict and Coercive Control: A Feminist Phenomenological Expansion of Conflict-related Harm.  

• Papers will be 20 minutes long, with time for questions and answers after each.

• Keynote presentations by leaders in the field will take place across the three days of the event and will span all tracks, allowing all participants to attend.

• We will have a book discussion session spanning all tracks. We had hoped to convene a poster session, however we did not receive enough applications to make such an session viable.

• We hope there to be an option for all presenters to have their presentation recorded for the BSP Podcast. More information will be shared regarding this at the event.

• UCD will provide water-refill stations in the building if people have re-useable bottles to bring, there will also be cups/cartons of water during the breaks and for the presenters, but we are trying to keep the single use plastic to a minimum if possible. 

• There will be snacks provided during breaks and a lunch each day - this is included in the cost of the conference fee. See Nut Allergy Statement.

• There will be a special reception free for all on the first evening of the event – see more information on the 'Evenings' page.

• An optional conference meal will take place on the second evening of the event – see more information on the 'Evenings' page.