2026 Annual Conference
Responding to the Contemporary World:
Wrong Answers Only
July 22-26 at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS)
Colorado Springs, CO
CONFERENCE THEME
At the 2026 Society for Philosophy in the Contemporary World Conference, we will reflect on what it means to respond to the contemporary world with “wrong answers only.”
The phrase “wrong answers only” emerges from internet culture as a playful gesture of irony—an invitation to respond to familiar questions in unexpected, subversive, or humorous ways. Yet beyond its meme-life, the phrase raises a deeper philosophical provocation: What does it mean to respond “wrongly” in an age already structured by mistrust, crisis, and rupture? Can “wrong” responses illuminate what is overlooked, destabilize what is assumed, or open new paths of thought and practice? In a time of fractured institutions, competing claims of truth, and the sedimentation of modernity’s remnants, we ask whether wrong answers might paradoxically serve as generative calls toward beauty, reconciliation, or new guardrails for ethical-social-political life. To answer wrongly might be to resist the false clarity of ready-made analyses, diagnoses, and solutions, to dwell in the ruptures that shape our age, and to risk alternative visions—wise and otherwise.
The call for abstracts closed on March 9, 2026.
EVENT DETAILS
Conference sessions will run from approximately 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM, with panels consisting of 3–4 presenters.
Accommodations: A special conference rate is available at the Hyatt Place Colorado Springs, which is a block and a half from the conference venue.
Meals: The hotel serves breakfast. Other than that, meals will be on your own, but there are a lot of great places in downtown. At the conference, we will provide coffee/tea and some small snacks.
Excursions: We will have a casual meet-n-greet near the hotel on Wednesday night. Thursday afternoon/evening, we will go to Garden of the Gods. It’s an easy walk through beautiful rock formations. Friday, after the business meeting, we will head to a local hot springs. There is an entrance fee, more details will be shared later. And on Sunday, we will explore the Cave of Winds Mountain Park. There is a $20 entrance fee.
Conference Registration
Abstract submissions should be approx. 500 words and are due by March 9, 2026. Abstracts for traditional papers and presentations should provide a substantial overview of the details of the final presentation. Abstracts for diverse format presentations and creative proposals should also include a brief description of the proposed format. Abstracts should include a bibliography which will not count toward the 500 word limit. Papers should be prepared for 20-30 minute presentations, followed by Q&A.
All submissions are circulated for anonymous peer review. Please remove all identifying information from the submission.