International Conference 2021

October 14-17, 2021, Karl-Franzens-University Meerscheinschlössl, Mozartgasse 3, 8010 Graz/ Austria.

The fundamental questions of democracies occupy a central place in our everyday lives. New expectations of democracy, as well as digitalization and the impact of global problems of ecology, pose new challenges to educational systems that are becoming more evident and urgent. The conference therefore poses the question of coupling the conceptual levels of democracy, digitalization and ecology. It can be seen, especially among children and young people, that individual autonomy, climate justice, equal opportunities, social justice, solidarity and cohesion form essential categories for them to understand their own actions in terms of their possibilities and limitations. Especially in modern, democratic societies it becomes apparent that expectations in the age of digitalization and ecology generate or build up new social realities that expect and recognize tremendously higher demands on current efforts for new expanded concepts. In some cases, there is a reversal of traditional concepts of responsibility, as young people take responsibility for the future (see Greta Thunberg), while institutions, politics, and even educational systems react very slowly. These processes of a novel coupling between globalization, localization, and individualism lead to new possibilities of bringing mental, social, economic, digital, and ecological processes into new contexts. All this means that the search for deeper connections between decisions and various forms of feedback (feedback loops) to real circumstances becomes more important. This should also provide the opportunity to outline or make more explicit a new - possibly digitally supported - humanism. Ideas and concepts are therefore needed that contribute to making human life and survival, as well as that of the environment, dignified. In the tension between the greatest possible freedom of the individual and the necessary responsibility for the whole.

This year's congress is once again planned as an inter/transcultural forum to enable philosophical discussions on current phenomena and to connect with other scientific disciplines. An important goal of this event is to initiate an exchange of different approaches and thereby make further knowledge bases explicit for both educational concepts and educational policy initiatives.

The topics of the congress will focus on the following areas:

• Democracy in the Digital Age
• Human-Nature Relationship
• Justice in the Era of Digitization and Ecology
• Culture of Responsibility - Responsibility for Future Generations
• Relationships between Reality and Virtuality
• Human Rights and Pluralistic Democracy
• Community of Inquiry (Research Community)
• Freedom and Self-Determination
• Language and Power
• Philosophy and Digitalization and Ecology
• Connections between Communication and Ways of Life
• Philosophical Perspectives and Educational Processes
• Global Awareness