European Society for Moral and Political Philosophy

European Society for Moral and Political Philosophy
Name	European Society for Moral and Political Philosophy
Formation	1991
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	Europe
Region served	Europe
Fields	Moral philosophy, Political philosophy

Contents

European Society for Moral and Political Philosophy. The European Society for Moral and Political Philosophy is a learned society that fosters research, teaching, and dialogue in moral philosophy, political philosophy, and related fields across Europe. It convenes scholars affiliated with institutions such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Humboldt University of Berlin, Sorbonne University, and Universität Leipzig, and engages with thinkers connected to traditions represented by figures like Immanuel Kant, John Rawls, Aristotle, Hannah Arendt, and Jeremy Bentham. The Society organizes conferences, supports publications, and administers prizes recognizing work in ethics and political theory.

History

Founded in the early 1990s amid post-Cold War academic reorganizations, the Society emerged as part of a broader European effort that included organizations such as the European University Institute, Russell Sage Foundation, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and national academies like the British Academy and the Académie des sciences morales et politiques. Initial founders and early officers drew on networks associated with scholars who studied at Princeton University, King's College London, Universität Wien, and Université de Genève. Early conferences were hosted in cities that became hubs for continental philosophy and analytic political theory, including Rome, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, and Barcelona, and the Society's formation mirrored developments surrounding institutions like the European Consortium for Political Research and the Institute for Advanced Study. Over successive decades it expanded membership beyond Western Europe to include scholars linked to University of Warsaw, Charles University, Eötvös Loránd University, and Sofia University.

The Society's stated mission emphasizes the promotion of rigorous scholarship in moral and political philosophy, the facilitation of cross-national dialogue among scholars from institutions such as Trinity College Dublin, Uppsala University, University of Copenhagen, Leiden University, and University of Amsterdam, and the dissemination of research through partnerships with presses like Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and Routledge. Objectives include supporting early-career researchers affiliated with centers such as the Centre for Ethics in Public Life, encouraging comparative work that engages texts by John Stuart Mill, G. W. F. Hegel, Michel Foucault, and Simone de Beauvoir, and promoting ethical reflection on public issues discussed in forums like the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. The Society also aims to bridge analytic and continental traditions represented in departments at University of St Andrews, Central European University, Sciences Po, and KU Leuven.

Governance is typically vested in an elected executive committee and a rotating presidency drawn from academics at universities such as University College London, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Università di Bologna, Université libre de Bruxelles, and University of Zurich. Advisory boards have included senior scholars associated with institutes like the Cantemir Institute, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, and the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study. The Society operates through standing committees covering programming, nominations, diversity and inclusion, and ethics, coordinating with conference hosts at venues including Prague Congress Centre, Palais des Congrès de Paris, and Palau de la Música Catalana. Financial oversight has involved grant partnerships with funders such as the European Research Council and cultural foundations like the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Membership comprises professors, postdoctoral researchers, and doctoral candidates attached to departments at University of Edinburgh, Bocconi University, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, University of Helsinki, and University of Oslo. Regular membership benefits include reduced conference fees, eligibility for panels at flagship meetings, and access to mentoring schemes linked to centers like the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and Henri Poincaré Institute. The Society's biennial and annual conferences have been held in association with host institutions such as Trinity College Dublin, Heidelberg University, Università degli Studi di Milano, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, and University of Barcelona, featuring keynote addresses by scholars with affiliations to Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University, and leading European universities. Satellite workshops often collaborate with research groups from European University Institute, Centre for Contemporary Political Studies, and national learned societies including the Royal Irish Academy.

The Society sponsors edited volumes and special journal issues published by publishers like Springer, Palgrave Macmillan, and Bloomsbury Academic, and works in partnership with journals such as Ethics (journal), The Journal of Political Philosophy, Philosophy & Public Affairs, European Journal of Political Theory, and Res Publica. It administers awards recognizing monographs, early-career dissertations, and article prizes; past laureates have been affiliated with Princeton University, University of Toronto, Universität Zürich, Sciences Po, and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Grants and travel bursaries have supported research exchanges with institutions like Harris Manchester College, Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, and the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation.

The Society has influenced curricula and research agendas at universities such as University of Manchester, University of Warwick, McGill University, Monash University, and Seoul National University through collaborative projects, symposia, and policy briefings that engage bodies like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Its conferences have incubated debates on topics linked to works by Amartya Sen, Susan Moller Okin, Jürgen Habermas, and Charles Taylor, shaping discourse in journals and monographs and informing public ethics initiatives in municipal and national contexts such as City of Copenhagen ethics commissions and national advisory councils in Sweden and Germany. The Society continues to connect scholars across institutions, fostering international networks that span historic centers of learning including Oxford, Cambridge, Bologna University, and Prague University.

Category:Learned societies