Social Justice: Phenomenological and Analytical Perspectives

Organized by the Interdisciplinary Research Lab for Bioethics (IRLaB), Department of Applied Philosophy and Ethics, Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences

Further information

Conference | Bioethics and Social Justice: Phenomenological and Analytical Perspectives

Call for Papers now open (Deadline: March 1, 2024)

Social justice has recently become a major concern for bioethicists, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and other global health challenges that exacerbate social injustices, such as fair availability of vaccinations, social media health shaming, and discrimination in the access to AI diagnostic technologies. Theorists have offered diverse responses to these problems, applying both analytical and phenomenological approaches. Nonetheless, dialogue between these approaches has been lacking.

As a response to this absence of dialogue, the main aim of this conference is to bring together both bioethical traditions, to enrich one another’s understanding of what social justice requires in public health contexts. Whereas phenomenology emphasises how social inequality affects patient experience, analytical philosophy often focuses on moral and political duties and values. However, as this conference seeks to show, these methodologies are not mutually exclusive. Indeed there are synergies to be found between them.

We invite papers from a wide range of topics within bioethics and relevant technology ethics. Abstracts discussing the following issues and questions are especially welcome:

• Non-normative bodies’ experiences of health (disabilities, gender affirmation medicine, ageism…)
• Social justice and technology: bias, fairness, discrimination.
• Technology and medical ethics.
• Pandemic policy
• Distribution and access rights to healthcare.
• Online moral and political discourse and shaming. 

We welcome abstracts addressing any other topic within social justice and bioethics broadly construed.

Abstracts should be between 300-500 words in length (excluding references). Please send your submissions toTato e-mailová adresa je chráněna před spamboty. Pro její zobrazení musíte mít povolen Javascript. by  1 March 2024.

Selected papers will be announced by 1 April 2024.

We encourage submissions from scholars belonging to underrepresented groups, including but not limited to: people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, people who identify as LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities. 

Confirmed keynote speakers:

• Prof. Havi Carel (University of Bristol).
• Dr. Annette Zimmermann (University of Wisconsin-Madison).
• Prof. Tom Douglas (University of Oxford)

Additional information:

The workshop is sponsored by the Lumina Quaeruntur grant of the Czech Academy of SciencesLQ300092001.

Further details regarding venue, accommodation alternatives, and conference fees will follow for the selected and confirmed participants.

IRLab website