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CPP 2025: Reframing Wisdom / Decolonizing Peace

Concerned Philosophers for Peace (CPP) 38th Annual Conference:

Reframing Wisdom / Decolonizing Peace

Oct. 17-18, 2025

Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666

CPP 2025 in the News

Matt Deaton. “Ethics Bowl at Concerned Philosophers for Peace Conference.” EthicsBowl.Org, Oct. 21, 2025.

Keynote Speaker: Jim Harrington, author of The Texas Civil Rights Project: How We Built a Social Justice Movement forthcoming from the University of Texas Press

Call for Papers – Last Call Deadline August 15, 2025

Love of wisdom compels a restless search for understanding more fully the history, scope, and creativity of peace philosophy. Ongoing legacies of resistance to the “evils of racism, poverty, and militarism” (MLK Jr) are today challenged by emerging crises of mass migration, climate change, bullying, digital repression, and stunning reversals of democratic rights and liberties. Whether we look to legacy struggles or to recent resistance, this conference encourages philosophers to reframe the wisdom of peace-seeking in critical relation to theories and practices of decolonization. As we turn our attention to “the deepest causes of conflict” (Butros-Ghali) between states, within states, between ourselves, or within ourselves¾this conference encourages:

  • Closer attention to the experience, resistance, and analysis of marginalized subjects and subjectivities
  • Critical engagement with archives and figures of decolonizing theory and practice as resources for peace philosophy
  • Interrogation of the vitality of peace philosophy to meet the aspirations and demands of decolonization
  • Reframing legacy theories and practices of peaceful resistance to assess their critical relationship to decolonization
  • Philosophical engagement with multiple modalities of decolonial resistance that include education, storytelling, art, dance, spirituality, and other cultural practices

Please submit abstracts of no more than 500 words for papers related to this theme or to the overall mission of Concerned Philosophers for Peace. CPP welcomes submissions from undergraduates, graduate students, professional academics, independent scholars, and anyone willing to present persuasive sound argumentative positions in line with our theme and ethos. We also welcome submissions from a range of fields including philosophy, law, public policy, business, history, religious studies, political science, social science, or related fields. Submissions from teachers, researchers, or practitioners are also welcome, particularly insofar as those presentations could complement the theme of the conference.

**There will be a cash prize for the best graduate student paper and the best undergraduate student paper** (Please indicate if you are a student when you submit your abstract)

Submission Guidelines:

Submit: an abstract (with bibliography) of no more than 500 words, prepared for blind review

Send to the CPP local host: Greg Moses, gmosesx -at- gmail.com

Write: “CPP 2025 submission” in subject line

Last Call Deadline: August 15, 2025

Format: submit only files in .doc, .docx, or .pdf.

Include: name, institutional affiliation, e-mail address, and paper title in the body of your e-mail (if you are a student and would like to be considered for a student award, indicate that in your email).

Concerned Philosophers for Peace is the largest, most active organization of professional philosophers in North America involved in the analysis of the causes of violence and prospects for peace.

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CFP: CPP 2024 Conference

Emerging Technologies, Disarmament, and Peace

Concerned Philosophers for Peace

37th Annual Conference

(October 18-19, 2024, Hilton UAB, Birmingham, AL)

Keynote: George R. Lucas, Jr

Concerned Philosophers for Peace (CPP) seeks to find ways to promote peaceful, nonviolent transitions in all arenas of common life, and this year’s conference will focus primarily on emerging military technologies and their effect on the prospects for peace. In the era of the Cold War, nuclear weapons were seen as providing a deterrence to war between superpowers, while pacifists pushed for total nuclear disarmament. The advent of high-tech precision weapons, armed autonomous drones and robots, and cyber-weapons have raised concerns about the risks to civilians and the incentives to wage and continue wars. We are looking for papers that examine moral questions about weapons development and the threat to peace from the proliferation of new technologies around the world.  In addition to the main theme, we welcome papers on any topic related to peace and nonviolence. Submit abstracts of no more than 500 words for papers related to this theme or to the overall mission of Concerned Philosophers for Peace. Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

  • Pacifist Approaches to Emerging Technologies
  • Ethical Challenges of Weapons Development
  • Stopping Proliferation of WMDs
  • Nuclear Terrorism and Blackmail
  • Nuclear Deterrence and Disarmament
  • Pacifist Approaches to Disarmament
  • Keeping Space Demilitarized
  • Technological Advantage and Asymmetric Warfare
  • Ethics of Drone Use in War
  • Potential of Artificial Intelligence for War and Peace
  • Keeping the Peace in Cyberspace
  • Social Media, Propaganda, and Journalism
  • The Culture of Technology and Peace
  • Is Technology Inherently Violent?
  • Using Technology to Create Safe and Peaceful Spaces
  • Technologies for Peacebuilding and Peacekeeping
  • The Future of Pacifism: Science Fiction or Fact?

Submission Guidelines: Deadline: July 5, 2024

Email your CV and an abstract of no more than 500 words, prepared for blind review to David K. Chan at dkchan@uab.edu. Write “CPP 2024 submission” in the subject line. Please include your name, institutional affiliation, e-mail address, and paper title in the body of your email. If you are a Graduate or Undergraduate student, please indicate so in your email. **There will be a cash prize for the best Graduate student paper and the best Undergraduate student paper.** 

Bill Gay Award for an Early Career Scholar

The Bill Gay Award is for an early career scholar (defined as a scholar who is within 6 years of receiving their terminal degree) who has demonstrated their commitment to engaging with peace, peace studies, and peace and justice scholarship and/or activism. To be eligible for the award, a scholar must submit a full paper (5-7K words) at least two months in advance of the annual Concerned Philosophers for Peace conference. All submissions will be blind reviewed by the CPP awards committee. The award will be announced at the annual CPP conference by the awards committee chair, and comes with a $2000 prize, formal certificate of recognition, and paper publication (subject to editorial approval) in the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal The Acorn: Philosophical Studies in Pacifism and Nonviolence.

Many thanks to Dr. Bill Gay, long-time CPP member, contributor, and activist scholar for peace and justice. His generous financial support is the backbone of this prestigious award, and CPP hopes that awardees will follow in Dr. Gay’s illustrious footsteps as lifelong champions for a more just and more peaceful world.

CPP Call for Papers 2024Download

PhilEvents

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CPP @ APA Pacific 2024

2024 APA Pacific Division Meeting

March 20-23, 2024, Portland Oregon

 Call for Abstracts

Concerned Philosophers for Peace Group Sessions

Co-sponsored by The Gandhi, King, Chavez, Addams Society

Concerned Philosophers for Peace is requesting abstracts for papers to be presented at our group sessions of the 2024 annual meeting of the Pacific Division of the APA.  Submit an abstract should of around 250 words, prepared for blind review, and sent to Andrew Fiala (afiala@csufresno.edu) with “APA 2024 Submission” in the subject line of the email.  

Deadline is September 1, 2023.  

About Concerned Philosophers for Peace: CPP is the largest, most active organization of professional philosophers in North America involved in the analysis of the causes of violence and prospects for peace.

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Program Schedule: CPP 2021 Virtual Conference on ‘Fragile Lands, Power Politics’

Concerned Philosophers for Peace

Here is the program schedule:

CPP 2021 Conference Schedule with Zoom linksDownload

VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

October 29-30, 2021

Fragile Lands, Power Politics: Effects of Violence and Injustice on People, Politics, and the Environment

Keynote Adress from John Nolt, University of Tennessee

We’re inviting papers that address the violence and injustice that make  our world fragile and leave people, the environment, and non-humans vulnerable. We especially welcome this papers that help us to understand and create pathways to peace and justice. Papers in any philosophical tradition are encouraged.

Topics might include, but are not limited to:

Political challenges for peace: authoritarianism, lawlessness, democracies under threat, territorial borders, failing international treaties, etc.

Environmental challenges: climate change, environmental justice, environmental racism, role of the government, violence of pseudoscience, habitat erosion, “invasive” species, resource extraction, speciesism, land management and use, ocean management and use, etc.

Social challenges: homelessness, poverty, domestic violence, insecurity, systemic injustice, animal justice, gentrification and creation of “artificial” green spaces, hostile architecture, commodification of outdoor recreation, children in nature, etc.

Personal challenges: activism, inaction, fear, coercion, manipulation, privatization of environmental concern/action, raising children, etc.

Exemplars of nonviolence: exemplars of moral courage, good stewardship, successful nonviolent movements, peace-making, etc.

We welcome submissions from undergraduates, graduate students, and professional philosophers, as well as from a range of fields including philosophy, law, public policy, business, history, religious studies, political science, social science, or related fields. Submissions from teachers, researchers, or practitioners are also welcome, particularly insofar as those presentations could complement the theme of the conference. We also especially welcome proposals from women and minorities, and we are committed to making this year’s conference inclusive and welcoming to all.

**There will be a $200 prize for the best graduate student paper, plus a monetary prize for best undergraduate student paper **

(Please indicate if you are a graduate or undergraduate student when you submit your abstract)

Submission Guidelines

Submit: an abstract (with bibliography) of no more than 500 words, prepared for blind review

Send to: Rachel Dichter (rdichter@nd.edu) and Court Lewis (cdlewis1@pstcc.edu)

Write: “CPP 2021 submission” in subject line

Deadline: August 1, 2021

Format: submit only files in .doc, .docx, or .pdf.

Include: name, institutional affiliation, e-mail address, and paper title in the body of your e-mail (if you are a graduate or undergraduate student and would like to be considered for a graduate student award, indicate that in your email).

Acceptance notices will be sent by September 1, 2021

About Concerned Philosophers for Peace

Concerned Philosophers for Peace is the largest, most active organization of professional philosophers in North America involved in the analysis of the causes of violence and prospects for peace. More information at Concerned Philosophers for Peace website, our Facebook page, and our YouTube channel.

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CPP Graduate Student Paper Award Winners – 2020

I am pleased and proud to announce the Graduate Student Paper Award Winners for the 2020 Annual CPP Conference, “Peace and Hope in Dark Times” (rescheduled from October 2020 to January 2021 because of COVID-19).

The winners are:


Outstanding Paper Award: Rashad Rehman, “Pieper’s Defense of Aquinas on Peace”


Outstanding Paper Award: Dakota Layton, “Fake News in the Information Age: The Challenges it Poses for Peace”


Honorable Mention: Victor Abundez Guerra, “Collective Responsibility With Blame”


Please join me in congratulating the winners—Congratulations!—and thanking all of those who submitted papers for consideration. CPP strives to encourage and support the next generation of scholars, and we hope that these graduate student paper awards go some way toward furthering that goal.


In addition, thanks to our CPP prize subcommittee: Andrew Fiala, Paula Smithka, and Danielle Poe. Without their work and deliberations, we wouldn’t be able to make these awards!

Jennifer Kling

CPP Executive Director

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CPP 2021 Virtual Conference

Concerned Philosophers for Peace

VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
January 29-30, 2021

Theme: Peace and Hope in Dark Times

See Updated Schedule and Information at

Fresno State Ethics Center

Co-Sponsors

California State University, Fresno

Pellissippi State Community College

Texas State University

[This is CPP’s 2020 annual conference, rescheduled from October 2020 because of Covid-19]

Theme: Peace and Hope in Dark Times

What are the challenges for peace?  What can we hope for?

Topics might include, but are not limited to:

Political challenges for peace: authoritarianism, lawlessness, broken democracies, etc.

Environmental challenges: climate change, environmental justice, etc.

Social challenges: homelessness, poverty, domestic violence, insecurity

Personal challenges: hopelessness, resignation, bystander effect, etc.

Exemplars of nonviolence 

Exemplars of moral courage

Successful nonviolent movements

The role of hope in the philosophy of peace

The need for solidarity, love, and other virtues

We welcome submissions from undergraduates, graduate students, and professional philosophers, as well as from a range of fields including philosophy, law, public policy, business, history, religious studies, political science, social science, or related fields. Submissions from teachers, researchers, or practitioners are also welcome, particularly insofar as those presentations could complement the theme of the conference. We also especially welcome proposals from women and minorities, and are committed to making this year’s conference inclusive and welcoming to all.

**There will be a $100 prize for the best graduate student paper**

(Please indicate if you are a graduate student when you submit your abstract)

Submission Guidelines 

  • Submit: an abstract (with bibliography) of no more than 500 words, prepared for blind review
  • Send to: Andrew Fiala at afiala@csufresno.edu
  • Write: “CPP 2020 submission” in subject line
  • Deadline: December 1, 2020
  • Format: submit only files in .doc, .docx, or .pdf. 
  • Include: name, institutional affiliation, e-mail address, and paper title in the body of your e-mail (if you are a graduate student and would like to be considered for a graduate student award, indicate that in your email).
  • Acceptance notices will be sent in mid December

About Concerned Philosophers for Peace

Concerned Philosophers for Peace is the largest, most active organization of professional philosophers in North America involved in the analysis of the causes of violence and prospects for peace.

More information at Concerned Philosophers for Peace website: https://peacephilosophyorg.wordpress.com/

This conference is being co-hosted by:

  • Philosophy Department, California State University, Fresno
  • Philosophy Department, Pellissippi State Community College
  • Philosophy Department, Texas State University

Contact person is Professor Andrew Fiala: afiala@csufresno.edu

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CPP @ APA Eastern Atlanta 2012

SATURDAY AFTERNOON, DECEMBER 29th
GIX – 1.  Concerned Philosophers for Peace

1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Topic: Assessing the Philosopher King: Reflections on themes from the

book The Liberatory Thought of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Chair: Gail Presbey (University of Detroit – Mercy)

Speakers: Robert E. Birt (Bowie State University)

“The Liberatory Thought of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Editing the Critical Essays”

Kathryn Gines (Pennsylvania State University)

“Challenges to the Relevance of King’s Philosophy”

Greg Moses (Austin Community College)

“Approaching King through the Value Theory of Alain Locke'”

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CPP @ APA Central New Orleans 2013

Group session 27
Sponsored by Concerned Philosophers for Peace
tentative time  Saturday, February 23, 12:15 PM- 2:15 PM

Topic: Love, Justice for Nonhumans, and Risking Oneself
Greg Moses (Independent Scholar), chair, “”
Predrag Cicovacki (College of the Holy Cross), speaker, “Strength to Love and be Nonviolent: Analyzing King’s Sermons”
Carlo Filice (State University of New York-Geneseo), speaker, “Some Institutional Conditions for a Just Society with Nonhumans: The Mixed System and Democracy”
Danielle Poe (University of Dayton), speaker, “Responding to Need: Martin Luther King Jr. and Leymah Gbowee”