Call for Abstracts

The Croatian Philosophical Society and the Department of Philosophy of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Split cordially invite you to the 

XX. conference Mediterranean Roots of Philosophy 

The conference is organized by the Croatian Philosophical Society and the Department of Philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Split. It will take place from April 16 to 18, 2026.

The Mediterranean is the cradle of Western European philosophy and science, which, together with the also Mediterranean heritage of the Hebrew–Christian religious tradition, laid the foundations of Western European culture and civilization. Western philosophy and science began their historical development at the beginning of the 6th century BC on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, in the Asia Minor Greek colonies of Miletus and Ephesus, and the nearby islands. They then spread to Elea and Sicily, reaching their peak in Athens, one of the centers of the ancient Mediterranean world. The further development of ancient philosophy, from Hellenism to the medieval period, through new centers of philosophical thought such as Alexandria, Antioch, Pergamon, and Rome, is also fatefully bound to the Mediterranean. The creation, conflicts, and mutual interpenetration of Mediterranean cultures - the specific Mediterranean multiculturalism - gave a decisive mark to the further development of Western philosophy. Greek and Roman antiquity, the Hellenistic-Roman heritage, Byzantium, and Oriental Arab traditions, marked by the emergence of the new Islamic religion, merged into Islamic-Arab medieval philosophy, culture, and civilization. The Byzantines transmitted Greek philosophy to the Arabs, who, through the Crusades and via their leading philosophers - Avicenna, Averroes, and Ibn Khaldun - returned to Europe the then-forgotten heritage of Aristotelian philosophy.

These are some of the initial premises and guidelines that, over the past two decades, have been addressed in various presentations and discussions at the Mediterranean Roots of Philosophy, with particular emphasis on the relationship of ancient philosophy to sophistry, medicine, and theology, as well as on the anniversaries of Protagoras, Aristotle, and Thomas Aquinas.

The next aspect that falls within the thematic framework of the symposium concerns the foundations of Croatian philosophy, which - both in its beginnings and at its most brilliant peaks - is rooted in the Mediterranean component of its multi-regional cultural identity. From Herman of Dalmatia to Matthias Flacius Illyricus and Frane Petrić, and especially Marko Marulić and Ruđer Bošković, whose anniversaries we have marked in particular.

The third cluster within the symposium’s thematic scope relates to philosophical and interdisciplinary reflection on the specific features of the Mediterranean multicultural space, which has given rise to contemporary intercivilizational tensions that threaten a global clash of civilizations, but also open possibilities for dialogue and reconciliation. In this connection, questions were raised to which this symposium, throughout its twenty years of continuous organization, has sought to offer answers:

• Do the Mediterranean roots of philosophy influence the emergence and development of contemporary Mediterranean philosophy?

• Philosophical reflection on Mediterranean multiculturalism

• Contributions of Mediterranean philosophy to the establishment of a global ethos as a precondition for intercivilizational dialogue

• Philosophy of the Mediterranean as a paradigm of globalization

In this context of modern and contemporary Mediterranean philosophy, we have devoted special attention to the Mediterranean thought of Albert Camus and to the philosophy of praxis in the Mediterranean: on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Korčula Summer School.

The jubilee twentieth anniversary of the Mediterranean Roots of Philosophy provides an opportunity to continually and anew analytically reflect on the aforementioned themes of the Symposium, as well as to synthesize and round off our perspectives and open new vistas of an analytical-synthetic approach. In this spirit, we invite you to contribute creatively to the next phase of reflection on the Mediterranean roots of philosophy through your presentation and discussion.

We kindly ask you to submit proposals for presentations at the 20th Mediterranean Roots of Philosophy by February 15, 2026, via e-mail at mkf.ffst@gmail.com or through the online Submission link.

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