28 - 30 August 2023, Symposium of the Swiss Philosophical Society 2023: Concepts & Their Uses, Bern, Switzerland

Philosophical knowledge is often described as being conceptual. Therefore, concepts have been an important topic in phosophy since Plato’s theory of forms. Very recently, the study of concepts has taken new and exciting routes. Experimental philosophers investigate the understanding of concepts with tools that are unprecedented in philosophy. Drawing on research from the empirical sciences, in particular from psychology, philosophers have taken new approaches to what concepts are and do. Finally, an increased awareness of problematic concepts – e.g., concepts that contribute to discrimination – has helped to establish the new field of conceptual ethics. Against this backdrop, the symposium of the Swiss Philosophical Society aims at bringing together and discussing new work on concepts. In this way, we also hope to reflect upon the self-understanding of philosophy and upon the contribution that work on concepts can make in broader society.