Duration
09 Sep 2013 - 14 Sep 2013
From the very beggining of the European thought, Eros has been its everlasting subject, inspiring a wide range of thinkers, as well as artists. Deriving significantly from the Greek heritage, mainly Plato’s works, through the Christian teachings, up to the modern times with its peak in psychoanalysis, Eros stands in the focus of philosophical investigations on the very nature of it, and the possibility of its artistic representation. This year’s theme “Europe’s Eros – Art and Politics” aims at highlighting main artistic and epistemological aspects of dealing with Eros in contemporary European politics. Some of the topics to be discussed include following problems: to what extent can we speak of Eros as constituent part of European identity and Western civilisation in general; in what manner did the concept of Eros influence European thought; what is the role of Eros in aesthetic education; is it possible to use the concept of Eros in the reflection upon contemporary political and social crisis, particularly crisis of the University? These, and possible other theoretical problems, are to be questioned from philosophical, anthropological and aesthetic perspective.