The Metaphysical Society of America

                                                                   Seventy-Sixth Annual Meeting

 — On a theme selected in recognition of the resurgent interest in systematic metaphysics as first philosophy –

                                                         Metaphysics and the Authority of Intelligence

                                                                              New Haven, Connecticut

                                                                                     March 19-21, 2026

                  COSPONSORED BY THE YALE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

Keynote Speaker: Paul Franks (Yale)

Guest Speakers: Sebastian Rödl (Leipzig) and Stephen Houlgate (Warwick)

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                                                                  CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

Papers selected for presentation will address, in particular, one or more of the following questions:

– What are the philosophical and practical implications of the thinking that systematically

discloses or establishes or applies ontology and epistemology as inseparable moments

within a culturally constitutive realm of knowledge?

– In what ways does an axiomatic or semantic or constructivist or pragmatic approach to

metaphysical thinking as a means of assessing the authority of intelligence (not merely

discursive rationalism) in a culturally formative domain of knowledge contrast with an

account – ancient, medieval, modern, contemporary – that is “onto-epistemological”?

– What major ancient, medieval, modern, or contemporary philosophical works either tacitly

presuppose or explicitly articulate the “first principle” of onto-epistemology, namely that

knowing is of being (in both senses of the genitive)? What is the most properly “scientific”

approach to thinking with first principles?

– How has a particular systematic philosophy (ancient, medieval, modern, contemporary)

characterized “intelligence” – not the IQ variety but that which originates with Platonic

and/or Aristotelian nous – and most consequentially related it to speculative and practical

reason, or simply to calculative thinking at large?

– How is the authority of intelligence – not simply rationality or “understanding” in the

Kantian sense of Verstand – in one or more realm of culturally formative knowledge (such

as physical science, information science, art, religion, history, or moral philosophy)

predicated, “somehow,” as Aristotle put it, upon the identity of the knower (as such), the

act of knowing, and the known?

Abstracts (without the author’s name) of approximately 500 words are to be emailed as a pdf

attachment to a cover letter which contains 1) the author’s full name, 2) institutional affiliation, if

any, and 3) title of the abstract. The email subject line should read: 2026 MSA submission [last

name of author]. The deadline is September 1, 2025. All submissions will be vetted by the

conference program committee. Address: communication@metaphysicalsociety.org.

To ensure inclusion in the program, and in order to be made available to all who register for the

conference, the complete text (including authors’ names) of the papers selected for presentation

are to be submitted as a pdf attachment to a cover letter no later than February 1, 2026.

Completed papers are to have a reading time of no more than 30 minutes, which correlates,

approximately, with a 3750-word limit (c. 15 pages). This is necessary in order to meet

scheduling demands and to allow sufficient time for open discussion. Further information on the

conference is available at the website of The Metaphysical Society of America.

Aristotle Prize: Awarded for an outstanding paper by an author who does not, or not yet, hold a

PhD. To be considered for the Aristotle Prize submissions must include both an abstract and the

completed paper (not to exceed 3750 words, excluding notes and other supporting material).

Eligible submissions must be accompanied by a covering letter indicating that the attached pdf

files (abstract and paper) are to be considered for the Aristotle Prize of the Metaphysical Society

of America. The Prize – which as strictly merit based is not necessarily awarded each year –

carries a cash award of $500, inclusion in the program, and assistance with costs associated with

attending the meeting. Send submissions to: communication@metaphysicalsociety.org.

Deadline: September 30, 2025.

Plato Prize: For an outstanding paper by an author with a PhD awarded no more than six years

prior to the submission deadline: September 30, 2025. Authors should email pdf files of the

complete paper along with the abstract and clearly indicate in the covering note that the

submission is to be considered for the Plato Prize. Entries are subject to a 3,750-word limit

(excluding notes and other supporting material). The Plato Prize – which as strictly merit based

is not necessarily awarded each year – carries a cash award of $500, inclusion in the program,

and assistance with costs associated with attending the meeting. Send submissions to:

communication@metaphysicalsociety.org.

Travel Grants: Thanks to the generous support of past presidents of the MSA, along with grants

from the Hocking-Cabot Fund for Systematic Philosophy and the estate of John Lachs, the

Metaphysical Society is pleased to be able to offer reimbursements for travel expenses up to

$400 to graduate students and post-doctoral researchers whose papers are selected for the

conference program. (All relevant expense-receipts must accompany every request to the

Metaphysical Society of America for reimbursements.)