Dear Colleagues,

With the opening of the new academic year, as professors of philosophy we return to the fray, hopefully with renewed energy. Now more than ever our work becomes exceptionally urgent as the world is mired in more complexities and as levels of danger and anxiety rise.

The theme of the XXIst World Congress of Philosophy, “Philosophy Facing Human Problems” calls on Philosophical Societies to engage the issues of the day and to work together to generate needed insights. This letter extends an invitation by The Conference of Philosophical Societies (CoPS) to come and discuss how this can be done.

A great strength of the American philosophical scene is that it has developed not only the umbrella APA, but multiple specialized societies which enable colleagues in many special fields and interests to meet and work together. The Conference of Philosophical Societies (CoPS) was founded in order to facilitate just such cooperation between the many philosophical societies.

In view of the new concerns emerging in relation to culture and civilizations and their cooperation and/or conflict, it would seem opportune, indeed urgent, for representatives of the interested societies to meet in order to discuss (a) what issues might helpfully be investigated and (b) how the specialized societies might work together to generate needed insight and understanding.

At the CoPS meeting last December, The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (RVP), which publishes the Philosophical Calendar, was asked to help develop these possibilities. Its Secretary, Prof. Emeritus George F. McLean, one of the founding members of CoPS who has been working on such issues in the many cultures of the world  (see www.crvp.org), will join me in coordinating this discussion.

The CoPS session at the Central APA meeting will focus on this issue. (CoPS session for Central APA in Chicago will be on April 28, 2005 at 9:00am-11:00am. You will be notified of the location.) As usual for CoPS it will be an open meeting, but do let us know who will speak for your society. In order to make the best use of that limited time please gather ideas from your colleagues on related themes and ways of working together and send them to either abbarnojo@dyc.edu or mclean@cua.edu. These will be summarized and circulated in advance so that we can spend as much of the meeting as possible in discussing how to put your ideas into action.

 Thank you in advance for your participation.

 Sincerely yours,

 G. John M. Abbarno, President, Conference of Philosophical Societies

George F. McLean, Sec.-Treas., Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (www.crvp.org)