The term “ethics” can refer to morality or to an unconditional hospitality of the Other. This later view, proposed by Emmanuel Levinas, positions the ethical act as a response to the destitute call of the Other.

This year’s Ereignis conference aims to explore the relationship between ethics and aesthetics in both of these conceptions of the ethical. Key questions are:

• What is the role of art in environmental ethics and in a confrontation with unethical aspects of hyper-capitalism?
• Can art and should art propose ethical models of behaviour for the well-being of society?
• What does ethics as hospitality mean, and can art function as a site for such hospitality?

The 5th interdisciplinary Ereignis conference will take place on August 9 (and 10, contingent on sufficient attendance), 2025 at Hotel Nadmorski in Gdynia, Poland, with a hybrid option for those unable to attend in person. Registration will be required.

Image: Miletus Torso, c. 480–470 BCE. Louvre Museum. © Daniel Lebée and Carine Déambrosis. Used by permission.

Keynote speakers

• Prof. Em. Jørgen Veisland, University of Gdańsk
• More keynotes TBA

Details

Sessions: Papers are timed to 20 minutes and followed by a Q&A with the audience. Each session is moderated.

Deadline for submission: Submit abstracts by June 1, 2025 through our online submission engine. We will return to you with a notification on acceptance.

Registration is required.

Conference fee

• General attendance: €180 (standard fee).
• Reduced fee: €120 (students and the unwaged).

Scholastic committee

• Dr. Torgeir Fjeld, Ereignis Center for Philosophy and the Arts (chair)
• Senior Lecturer Jytte Holmqvist, Lund University
• Dr. Gorica Orsholits, European Graduate School
• Prof. Dror Pimentel, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design Jerusalem
• Prof. Em. Jørgen Veisland, University of Gdańsk

Organisers: This event is hosted by Ereignis Center for Philosophy and the Arts and Inscriptions — a journal for contemporary thinking on art, philosophy and psycho-analysis.

More information about travelling to Gdynia, Poland, visa requirements, accommodation, and some information for those travelling with families.

Read the full Call for Abstracts.