The 5th Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Philosophy (EACP)
Time: June 26-28, 2025.
Venue: Veröld – House of Vigdís, University of Iceland, Reykjavík.
Theme: “Selfhood and Exteriority”
How should selfhood be described and what is the nature of its relationship with exteriority (other people and beings, the environment as such)? Can the “I” be considered a distinct individual or should it rather be understood as a system of multiple agents? What is the nature of our relationship as “selves” with our society? How responsible are we for our actions vis-à-vis our exterior being(s)? What, if anything, does it mean to be free?
What is, has been, and could be Chinese philosophy’s take on these and other questions relating to selfhood? How have they been tackled throughout the history of Chinese philosophy? What different approaches are found in the various Chinese philosophical schools? What can be learned from Chinese philosophy for improving our adopted ways to approach our world? How can Chinese philosophy engage in meaningful dialogues on such and related issues with other philosophical traditions of the world?
Organized by:
The European Association for Chinese Philosophy.
In collaboration with:
Vigdís International Centre for Multilingualism and Intercultural Understanding, Centre for Research in the Humanities, The Northern Lights Confucius Institute, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages, and Institute of Philosophy, all at the University of Iceland.
Contact and information:
Keynote speakers:
Roger T. Ames 安樂哲, Peking University, P.R. China
“Reconceiving Agency: A Zoetological Reading of the Daodejing“
I endorse Marcel Granet and Joseph Needham’s insistence that, in order to allow the Chinese canons to speak on their own terms, we must locate them within their own interpretive context, an interpretive context that indeed has “its own causality and its own logic.” Applying their same method of comparative cultural hermeneutics, I have in my recent work tried to formulate a “first philosophy” distinction between Greek ontological thinking and what I call early Chinese “zoetological” thinking, a distinction that has far-reaching implications for the understanding of both traditions. What I propose to do in this presentation then, is to first sketch out a contrast between ontological and zoetological thinking. I will then take the Daodejing as one concrete example, and provide an exegesis of Chapters 51, 25, and 42 as a way of clarifying some of the zoetological assumptions that must be invoked in order to allow the text its own interpretive context. How are we to understand and summarize the generative notion of sheng 生 as an activity ascribed to dao 道 — that is, daoshengzhi 道生之, conventionally translated as “gives birth to, engenders, begets, produces” — in a cosmogony in which dao and the myriad things (wanwu 萬物) do not have the linear creator and creature causal relationship that we find as a commonplace in metaphysical cosmogonies?
Mercedes Valmisa, Gettysburg College, USA
Title and abstract TBA.
Young Scholars Award:
Results of the EACP 2025 Young Scholars Award are out. The winners – and the titles of their essays/presentations – are the following:
Shan-Ni Sunny Tsai 蔡善妮, Academia Sinica: „The (Non)Active Accompany of Forces: A Deleuzian Reading of the Affected Agential Self in ‘Boundless Wandering’ in Zhuangzi.“
Thaddée Chantry-Gellens, The Chinese University of Hong Kong: “Encountering the Zhuangzi: Adaptability and emptiness in the story of Huzi, Jixian, and Liezi.”
Yu Ting-Hsuan 游定璇, Tunghai University: “The Problem of Evil for Daoists.”
Conference fees:
For members of EACP: 100 EUR (scholars) and 40 EUR (students).
For non-members of EACP: 140 EUR (scholars) and 60 EUR (students).
Conference banquet in campus area, evening of 27 June (optional): 80 EUR (more info to follow).
Deadlines and payment:
Early bird registration until 31 March 2025.
Late registration (additional 50 EUR) until 30 April 2025.
These dates are final and for reasons of logistics and organization, no exceptions can be made.
Instructions for payment (please read and follow in minute detail!):
By law, we are not permitted to receive payment by cash.
For the sake of simplifying the work of our financial officer, we kindly ask you to pay all the fees, including the optional conference banquet, at the same time.
Please also make sure that we receive the entire amount. Any transaction fees must be covered by you as payer.
There are two ways to pay the conference fees:
1. Bank transfer:
Bank account information:
Name of receiver: EACP
Address of receiver: Vrtaca 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Name of bank: Delavska hranilnica d. d.
Bank address: Miklosiceva 5, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
SWIFT: HDELSI22
IBAN: SI56 6100 0002 3183 832
2. PayPal:
Due to the high transaction fees by PayPal, any payment by PayPal requires an additional charge of 10 EUR.
Go to our Paypal.Me page: https://www.paypal.me/eacpmembership
After payment, send an email to the association: eacp.members@gmail.com and conference organization: EACP2025@proton.me, providing information about what (member fee, non-member fee, banquet…) and who (participant, accompanying person at banquet…) the payment is for.
If you are currently not a member of EACP and paying the non-member conference fee, it can, if you so wish, include membership for 2025. Please let us know whether you wish to become one. We will require your contact information, including surname, first name, and institutional affiliation. More on EACP membership
After concluding this fun process, you will, in due time, receive a confirmation mail and receipt for your payment.
Practical Travel Information:
Getting there:
As applies to islands in general, Iceland is only reachable by air or sea. Those with lots of time on their hands can catch a ferry running once a week from Hirtshals in the very north of Denmark to Seyðisfjörður in the eastern part of Iceland. To get to Reykjavík from Seyðisfjörður, however, requires traveling a distance of almost 700 km.
For most people, a more realistic option is to travel by flight. The Keflavik (Reykjavík) International Airport is located 45 km away from Reykjavík city centre. Iceland has currently two national airlines, Icelandair and Play Air, while many international airlines fly directly between Iceland and the UK, Ireland, the European mainland, and North America. There are currently no direct flights from Asia; the best connections are usually via Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Paris and London.
To get from the international airport to Reykjavík city centre, the straightforward and most affordable way is by airport bus. Two bus companies run trips between Reykjavík and the airport: Flybus and Airport Direct. Buying a return trip is slightly more economical (one way around 27 EUR, return around 50 EUR). Both companies offer additional services to take you all the way to your booked hotel (must be requested when purchasing ticket). A taxi from the airport will cost an arm and a leg (one way around 130 EUR), but a possible option if shared by many.
Accommodation:
The conference takes place during peak tourist season in Iceland, which means that competition for budget accommodation is keen. We therefore recommend booking as early as possible. Persuading hotel managements to provide special deals is somewhat of an uphill battle, as they tend to have a sufficient inflow of guests during the summer anyway. Nevertheless, we have secured the following discounts for our conference participants:
Center Hotels, 25% discount with booking code ”EACP 2025” (note that the code contains a space). The discount applies to the following dates: 24.06.-30.06.2025.
The Center Hotels chain has altogether nine hotels in Reykjavik. The one closest to the conference venue is Center Hotel Plaza, but the others, Miðgarður, Þingholt, Grandi, Skjaldbreið, Arnarhvoll, Laugavegur, Klöpp, and Þingholt apartments are also for the most part centrally located.
Iceland Hotels, 15% discount with booking code “EACP2025” (no space in code) for Hotel Reykjavik Centrum and Fosshotel Baron. You have to book via this link to get the discount: https://islandshotel-isk.direct-reservation.net/is/accommodation
Please note that the discount is only for these two hotels and applies to the dates 24.06.-30.06.2025.
Hotel Cabin offers a limited number of affordable (around 140 EUR pppn) family rooms that can accommodate up to 4 persons. While not next to the conference site (about 50 minutes on foot), catching a bus is convenient. For booking such a room, please contact the hotel directly by email: booking@hotelcabin.is and specify the reference no. 63912745
Hótel Garður on university campus, thus next to the conference venue, has agreed to reserve a limited number of affordable rooms, some with private bathrooms and more economical ones with shared facilities. Please email the manager in info@studenthostel.is to obtain a link for booking.
Loft Hostel, located in the centre, offers affordable private rooms, 4 bed shared rooms, and 6-8 bed shared dorms.
For alternative options, such as smaller guesthouses and whole apartments, we recommend browsing booking machines.
Participants interested in sharing rooms (please contact directly):
Kelvin King Fung Chan: k.chan.24@abdn.ac.uk
About Reykjavík and the University of Iceland:
Reykjavík is a small city with a population of about 140,000 (the capital region comprises around 250,000, two-thirds of the total population of Iceland) and the northernmost capital of the world. While its suburban area is spread out rather widely, the central area (where the University of Iceland is located) is compact and walkable (when weather allows). Most museums, art galleries, hotels, restaurants and bars are centrally located.
Quirky and laid-back, Reykjavík is one of the safest cities in the world with a very low crime rate. Yet, it is anything but dull, especially during the long summer nights when the city brims with life inside and outside the many cafés and bars on or around its main shopping street Laugavegur and Lækjartorg Square. But this is not something you need to know, as you will be busy attending the conference, right?
The University of Iceland is a public university established in 1911 and the only comprehensive university in Iceland with currently over 14000 students, which also makes it by far the largest institute of higher education in the country. Its campus is located close to the city centre (15-20 minutes on foot). The conference venue is a building called Veröld – House of Vigdís (address: Brynjólfsgata 1), which houses the Faculty of Languages and Cultures and is named after Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, president of Iceland 1980-1996, the first female president in the world, and currently UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for languages. An exhibition celebrating president Vigdís’s remarkable life and work, titled Lend me wings, is housed in the former Telegraph Station next to Veröld.
Weather and climate, what to expect, what to pack, how to prepare:
To put it simple: anything is possible. The weather can change quickly and considerably from day to day, even from hour to hour. That said, likely weather conditions in Reykjavik in June are temperatures of 10-15 degrees Celsius with some breeze and high possibilities of rain. However, it can be cooler than that and possibly (though unlikely) even slightly warmer. Consulting weather forecasts (the Norwegian online weather service Yr tends to be the least unreliable, but please double-check with others as well) before preparing one’s luggage and being ready to pack clothing resistant to rain and wind is advisable. The good news is that there is usually excellent heating – and no wind – inside the geothermally heated Icelandic buildings.
The conference takes place in the summer solstice period during which it is bright 24 hours of the day. While most if not all accommodation facilities have window blinders to keep out the light during the glittering nights, bringing or purchasing eye blinders as well is not a bad idea.
