Internationale Konferenz “The Self in the Social World”
Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, 24.-26. September 2026.
Confirmed speakers:
Thiemo Breyer, Hanne de Jaegher, Sanneke de Haan, Thomas Fuchs, Shaun Gallagher, Peter Henningsen, Sabine Koch, Stefano Micali, Matthew Ratcliffe, Sonja Rinofner-Kreidl, Louis Sass, Giovanni Stanghellini, Michela Summa, Christian Tewes, Dan Zahavi
This conference explores how the self is shaped, experienced, and transformed within the social worlds we inhabit. Human selfhood does not arise in isolation; it unfolds within networks of interpersonal relations, cultural and institutional settings, technological infrastructures, and shifting ecological and political conditions. As these worlds evolve, so too do the experiential dynamics through which individuals make sense of themselves, others, and their place in a shared reality.
A more specific yet central form of social sense-making consists in individuals’ striving to find a place in the social world that bestows a sense of belonging, meaning, and fulfilment. However, finding such a place is not something we can simply take for granted. Social environments must have certain features for individuals to be able to make them their home, just as bodily, affective, and cognitive aspects of individuals precondition whether they may benefit from the interactions within the communities they navigate. The fit between various features of environments and individuals is notoriously precarious.
A central aim of the conference is to investigate the lived experience of the self in its dynamic embeddedness in the social world. We invite contributions that examine how subjectivity is informed through concrete interactions, practices, and environments, as well as how changing societal and technological developments influence affective, cognitive, embodied, and existential dimensions of experience. A particular focus lies on how the study of psychopathology can help elucidate the central importance of interpersonal encounters and structural determinants of the lifeworld for the self.
For further information and registration, please see the conference homepage.
Scientific Organization:
Thomas Fuchs and Team (Section for Phenomenological Psychopathology and Psychotherapy)