THE  ANNUAL SEMINAR    

Thematic Description 

Human history unfolds itself in time and space marked by unique characteristics. For instance, in the West, the modern age is characterized by industrialization, political revolution, religions reformations, etc., while other parts of the world encountered their own socio-political and cultural experiences which were circumscribed by their own social conditions. However, in these contemporary times, the entire humankind is nevertheless navigating the technological waves, of which the digital and Artificial Intelligence in particular are becoming a major source of concern and reflection.

The unfolding of social and historical reality bespeaks of something fundamental for our self-understanding as human beings. As an unfolding of specific circumstances and situations in specific time and space, history does repeat itself but not just what went before, rather continues its movement through various events, big and small, as emerging manifestations of the dynamic character of the vision articulated in stories, images, songs, epics, etc., as well as in laws, political movements, social innovations and transformations. Events and changes in the real world are always dramatic, unimaginable, and unprecedented, while philosophers, scholars, and thinkers of the time always try to catch up with belated theoretical reflections, analyses, and investigations. Yet deeper philosophical inquiry and attention to the broader horizons of understanding the process of social and historical reality are urgently needed at all times.

As a long-standing tradition, RVP extends its invitation to philosophers, scholars, and thinkers in different areas of human knowledge to participate in the ongoing efforts of dialogues and conversations in order to develop intellectual vantage points capable of being shared with wider audiences. We take for granted the ability of the human mind to not only become aware of one’s own horizon of understanding, but also of systematically transcending it to integrate the horizons of other people and cultures and, thus, to develop a reflexive awareness or historical consciousness. The dynamics of social and historical reality indicates that the human being is never bound by just one specific horizon of understanding but rather constantly moves in and out in order to achieve deeper and broader horizons. In this process, new dimensions and potentialities open to new existential experiences and the corresponding search for meaning. The fusion of horizons through dialogues and shared thinking processes enables us to better understand circumstances that are new and challenging, but also filled with opportunities for renewed acts of imagination and a pragmatic re-orientation at both the personal and the societal level.

The 2023 RVP seminar intends to study some of the major issues associated with the above-mentioned concerns. It will refer to Charles Taylor’s interpretation of the social imaginary, which means (1) “the way of ordinary people imagine their social surroundings,” (2) “shared by a large groups of people” if not the entire society, (3) “common understanding that makes possible common practices,” and (4) oriented by moral and metaphysical orders. (Modern Social Imaginaries, 23-25) Accordingly, the 2023 seminar attempts to deal with a set of questions, such as how social imaginaries are players in the process of social transformation and why they are particularly significant in developing cultural horizons. Furthermore, we purpose to understand the interaction between social imaginaries and human actions, the relationship between social imaginaries and human consciousness, etc. Along with Charles Taylor, we shall take into consideration the contributions of other major contemporary thinkers such as G. Bachelard, A. Badiou, C. Castoriadis, R. Kearney, Jean-Paul Sartre, etc.

The focus of the 2023 seminar is to uncover the depth of the problem associated with the development of an understanding of how social imaginaries are significant in constructing powerful social forces for either transformation or paralysis in the formation of historical consciousness for new paradigms in reality. The goal is to search for the symbolic dimension of our social being and the concomitant hermeneutical interpretation of narratives and findings necessary for the emerging of a new culture. Indeed social and historical events have profound effects in the interplay of cultures and civilizations in the global world. A good and workable social order can ensure authentic freedom and envisage a better, more sustainable future for the entire human family.