Join the Society for Philosophy in the Contemporary World in a venture that seeks to bring more fun, warm fellowship, and greater originality to philosophy. Membership in SPCW is open to all persons with a deep and abiding interest in the future of philosophy in the contemporary world.

History of SPCW

SPCW was founded in August 1993 by philosophers who had gathered at the very edge of Rocky Mountain National Park for a conference on "The Community, the Family, and Culture." Exhilarated by the unique combination of stimulating philosophy, good fun and fellowship permeating the conference, they resolved to expand these opportunities by creating SPCW as a nonprofit, democratically organized Society.

Our founding members include scholars - women and men - from analytical, Continental, American, multicultural, and post-modern traditions. Forty-nine presentations were made at the 1994 Annual conference on "Philosophy and Cultural Diversity in Estes Park, Colorado.

As a society, we are committed to the application of philosophy to understanding and solving contemporary social problems broadly conceived. At the same time, we are equally committed to a continuing dialogue about the best ways philosophy might be applied in the contemporary world. Hence, SPCW promotes work in applied philosophy, philosophy and public policy, philosophy of the professions, race, and gender studies, environmental philosophy, educational philosophy, and a range of multicultural issues.

We are also committed to improving the way philosophy is conducted. For this reason, we emphasize the following:

(1) We invite original, creative, and unconventional thinking. We encourage submissions for our conference and to our journal, Philosophy in the Contemporary World, that cross disciplinary boundaries or represent new departures.

(2) We emphasize fellowship. Included in conference arrangements are opportunities for recreation together (as well as time for solitude), such as organized hikes, cultural or historical trips, and evening events. We will select, whenever possible, conference sites that enable participants to take meals together in a dining commons where they can be joined by friends and family members.

(3) Our annual conferences are "family friendly." We seek to avoid the separation of philosophers' profession personae from their family and affective connections. Thus our conference provide opportunities to combine serious professional activities with family vacations and friendship in a spectacular and relaxing environment.

(4) We emphatically believe in equality and mutual respect. We are established by constitution as a democratic nonprofit Society. We do not offer honoraria for speakers, nor do we organize plenary sessions or concurrent sessions. All conference presenters are offered equal attention.

(5) We have a special interest in assisting the professional development of members. Hence, in addition to established philosophers, we welcome the fellowship of graduate students, nontraditional philosophers, and person with other non-philosophical specializations. We aim to provide the atmosphere for a genuinely positive and supportive exchange of views. The editorial board of the journal is committed to the timely and careful review of submissions and to assisting authors to revise promising manuscripts.

Join the founding members of SPCW in a challenging venture that should have a major impact not only on the way we think about and do philosophy but also (hopefully) on the manner in which contemporary problems could be solved.

Membership and Journal Subscription Information

To join the Society, including a subscription to Philosophy in the Contemporary World, contact:

Society for Philosophy in the Contemporary World Philosophy Documentation Center P. O. Box 7147 Charlottesville, VA 22906-7147 Tel. 800-444-2419 (toll free within the US and Canada) Tel. 434-220-3300 Fax: 434-220-3301 E-mail order@pdcnet.org Web: www.pdcnet.org