Normative Intersections

22–23 September 2026
IFILNOVA, Lisbon

Organisation: Devon Cass, Adriana Placani, Francesco Testini (IFILNOVA)

In recent years, the debate on normativity has benefited from work at the intersection of different philosophical disciplines. Most notably, epistemologists have drawn on moral and legal theory to shed light on the grounds of epistemic normativity, the nature of epistemic blame, epistemic accountability, and to better understand the distinctiveness of epistemic justification and excuse. Within aesthetics, several philosophers have recently tapped into similar sources to assess ideas such as aesthetic obligation, aesthetic blameworthiness, and aesthetic motivation. In this workshop, we foster this productive cross-pollination to address foundational issues about specific normative domains and clarify the relationship(s) between them.

Programme

DAY 1 | 22 September

9:30 Welcome

9:45–10:45 Michael Hannon (University of Nottingham), “Can Epistemic Norms Be Socially Constructed?”

10:45–11:45 Antti Kauppinen (University of Helsinki), “An Attempt at a Critique of all Epistemic Instrumentalism”

Coffee break

12:00–13:00 Ethan Kovnat (Brown University), “Irrational Virtues”

Lunch

14:30–15:30 Alex King (Simon Fraser University), “Aesthetic Normativity”

15:30–16:30 Francesco Testini (NOVA University Lisbon) & Giulio Fornaroli (Jagiellonian University Krakow) “Authoritative Normative Standards & How to Identify Them. The Case of Aesthetic Norms”

Coffee break

16:45–17:45 Jeremy Page (University of Oxford), “Intelligible Beauty and Aesthetic Normativity”

17:45–19:30 Aperitivo

19:30 Dinner

DAY 2 | 23 September

9:45–10:45 Cameron Boult (Brandon University), “Epistemic Assholes”

10:45–11:45 Lisa Bastian (VU Amsterdam), “Epistemic Boycotting”

Coffee break

12:00–13:00 David Horst (University of Lisbon), “What is Epistemic Excellence?”

13:00–13:15 Concluding observations/remarks

13:15 Lunch