Cfp: "Thought in Science and Fiction," International Society for the Study of European Ideas, Çankaya University, August 2–6, 2010.

12th International Conference of ISSEI. Scientific knowledge is so vitally important for the welfare of mankind that it no longer needs any justification. Nevertheless, the negative consequences of science and technology require continual vigilance. This vigilance need not necessarily lead to the radical reductionism that posits science as just another ‘fiction’. As suggested by the theme of the 11th ISSEI conference in Helsinki, 2008, Language and the Scientific Imagination, we must foster the dialogue between science and literature in order to show their crucial interdependence. The pivotal role of language in ‘the two cultures’ is based on our conception of thought and is commonly believed to originate in sense perception. What we call fiction is thus the free rearrangement of our perceptual thought in language. Historically, the great works of western literature preceded philosophical speculation on knowledge and science. Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides came before Plato and Aristotle, just as Dante, Cervantes, and Shakespeare came before Galileo, Descartes and Newton, and Flaubert, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky before Einstein. The organizers of the 12th conference of ISSEI, to be held at Çankaya University, Ankara, Turkey invite scholars from various disciplines such as History, Politics, Literature, Art, Philosophy, Science, and Religion, to re-examine, redefine and reassess the scope of interdisciplinary dialogue in the past and present. The conference is divided into five sections: 1. History, Geography, Science 2. Politics, Economics, Law 3. Education, Sociology, Women’s Studies 4. Literature, Art, Music, Theatre, Culture 5. Religion, Philosophy, Anthropology, Psychology, Language Colleagues interested in organizing a workshop on a topic from their discipline related to the general conference topic are invited to submit a one-page proposal to: Ezra Talmor at the address below. The deadline for submitting a proposal is July 31, 2009. Conference Co-Chairs: Cem Karadeli Cankaya University Political Science and International Relations Ogretmenler Caddesi 14 B Blok oda 13/1, 100. Yil, 06530 Ankara. Turkey karadeli@cankaya.edu.tr Ezra Talmor Kibbutz Nachshonim D.N. Merkaz, 73190 Israel Tel: +972-3-938-6445; Fax: +972-3-938-6588 Email: ISSEI@nachshonim.org.il For further information on ISSEI, visit the website of its journal here: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/issei.asp.