I recently received this call for abstracts for a panel at the International Society for Neoplatonic Studies, which is open to South Asian philosophy as well. Please see the information below. Abstracts are due Dec. 14, 2026.
Contemplation: Concept and Practice between Platonic and South Asian Philosophy
Where: Amsterdam, NL (Universiteit van Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit)
When: 7-11 July 2027
Who: International Society for Neoplatonic Studies (Conference Announcement)
Gus Kraus (Universiteit Leiden)
<m.a.kraus@phil.leidenuniv.nl>
Grégoire Langouët (UC Louvain / Protestantse Theologische Universiteit, Utrecht)
<gregoire.langouet@uclouvain.be >
Description:
What do ancient Platonists mean by ‘contemplation’? Greek philosophers living from the 4th century BCE onwards described their search for truth as theōría– a term whose established sense was that of a practice, either private or civic, of traveling to another city to behold a religious festival, to consult an oracle or to seek knowledge. This rich connection between religious practice and philosophical contemplation mediated by the term theōríapersisted into late Antiquity: Plotinus frequently draws on the metaphor of entering a temple and/or seeing a cultic image to describe contemplative ascent.
Given that its significance in the Platonic tradition lies in both its practical and conceptual dimensions, how can we study contemplation without dividing them? How can crosscultural comparison help in studying philosophical contemplation in the Platonic tradition? How might it also expand what we understand as ‘contemplative’, both conceptually and practically?
Further, how can such studies across cultures be fruitful for scholarly research across disciplines? Recent scholarship has emphasized commonalities to Platonic and Indian Buddhist thought while also presenting challenges to crosscultural study. What differences emerge in studying either practical approaches to or conceptions of contemplation between Ancient Greek and South Asian philosophers? How might research into Platonic contemplation also provide for the study of contemplation in South Asian philosophical traditions?
We invite abstracts for papers from scholars investigating the theory and practice of contemplation in Platonic (and related currents of) thought and South Asian (Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan, etc.) thought. Abstracts may be no more than one page in length and must be submitted via email to Gus and Grégoire by 14 December 2026. Presentations will be 20 minutes in length, followed by 10 minutes for Q&A.