John Martin Fischer
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy
University of California, Riverside
Sherri Irvin
Presidential Research Professor of Philosophy and Women’s and Gender Studies
University of Oklahoma
The philosophical exploration of life’s meaning—understood broadly as inquiry into the ultimate value, purpose, and intelligibility of human existence—has been a central concern throughout the history of thought. From classical reflections on the nature of eudaimonia, to medieval and early modern debates about the summum bonum, to contemporary discussions of absurdity, vocation, and existential orientation, the question of what makes life meaningful continues to draw deep and diverse philosophical engagement.
In recent years, this longstanding theme has witnessed a marked resurgence within professional philosophy, generating a rich body of new scholarship across traditions, methodologies, and subfields. The International Conference on Philosophy and Meaning in Life has emerged as the leading global forum for advancing this discourse—bringing together researchers to present original work, foster dialogue, and engage with the latest developments in the field.
Local Organizers
Yujin Nagasawa and Jacob Waugh (University of Oklahoma)
Steering Committee
Kiki Berk (Southern New Hampshire University)
Nobuo Kurata (Hokkaido University)
Iddo Landau (University of Haifa)
David Matheson (Carleton University)
Thaddeus Metz (University of Pretoria)
Masahiro Morioka (Waseda University)
Tatsuya Murayama (Tohoku University)
Rivka Weinberg (Scripps College)
We invite abstract submissions from scholars at all career stages. Contributions may address any dimension of life’s meaning, broadly construed. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):
We welcome diverse approaches—analytic, continental, historical, comparative, and interdisciplinary—that speak to the enduring and evolving nature of these existential questions. Please submit a single Word document containing (i) your name, (ii) institutional affiliation, (iii) the title of your paper, and (iv) a 300–500 word abstract to our graduate assistant, Samuel V. Jonathan (samuel.vincenzo.jonathan-1@ou.edu), by October 26, 2025. Each speaker will have 40–45 minutes total, including time for discussion. You will be notified of the outcome by November 26, 2025.
All rooms in Thurman J. White Forum Building |
Room A
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Room A4 |
Room A6 |
1:00- 1:20pm |
Registration / Coffee |
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1:20-1:30pm |
Welcome – Rusty Jones (OU Philosophy Department Chair) |
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1:30-2:45pm |
John Martin Fischer (UC Riverside), “In Favor of (Minimal) Narrativity”
Chair: Yujin Nagasawa |
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2:45-2:55pm |
Break |
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2:55-3:35pm |
Katherine Johnson (Bellarmine University), “Hope, Socratic Ignorance, and the Good Life”
Chair: William Burnham-Fleck |
Brian Ballard (Loyola Marymount University), “How to be Happy While Destroying the World: A Neglected Problem of Meaning”
Chair: Yujin Nagasawa |
Tyler Sproule (University of Illinois Chicago), “The Meaningfulness of Grief: A Phenomenological Approach
Chair: Masahiro Morioka |
3:35-3:50pm |
Coffee Break |
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3:50-4:30pm |
Melle van Duijn (University of Oklahoma), “Socratic Pessimism and a Meaningful Life”
Chair: William Burnham-Fleck |
Violet Victoria (University of Oklahoma), “Self-Sacrifice and Institutional Virtue Ethics: A Challenge for the Capabilities Approach”
Chair: Yujin Nagasawa |
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4:30-4:40pm |
Break |
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4:40-5:20pm |
Yidi Wu (Boston University), “Virtue and the Meaning of Life: A Comparative Study of Aristotle and Mencius on Happiness or Human Flourishing”
Chair: William Burnham-Fleck |
Jonathan Parsons (North Central College, Elmhurst University, Loyola University Chicago, Ashland University, Murray State University, Northern Illinois University), “’I Don’t Have Time for Meaning! I Have to Work!’”
Chair: Yujin Nagasawa |
Lydia Jin (Dartmouth College), “The Engine of Meaning: Love in Solitude, Partnership, and Grief”
Chair: Masahiro Morioka |
5:30pm |
Buffet dinner at the conference venue – all registered participants welcome
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All rooms in Thurman J. White Forum Building |
Room A |
Room A4 |
Room A6 |
8:30-9:00am |
Coffee |
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9:00-9:40am |
Leigh Vicens (Augustana University), “Finding Meaning in the Greater Good”
Chair: Maleah Marcus |
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Iddo Landau (University of Haifa), Meaning in Life and Mysticism
Chair: Samuel Jonathan |
9:40-9:50am |
Break |
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9:50-10:30am |
Jonathan Strand (Concordia University of Edmonton), “In Defense of Moderate Supernaturalism”
Chair: Maleah Marcus |
Matthew Schunke (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville), “Meaning and the Wine World: A Phenomenological Account”
Chair: David Matheson |
Andrea Villalba Cuesta (University of Texas at Austin), “Why the Rose Matters”
Chair: Samuel Jonathan |
10:30-10:40am |
Break |
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10:40-11:20am |
Mark Silcox (University of Central Oklahoma), “Value Capture and Value Evasion”
Chair: Maleah Marcus |
Dave Bukenhofer (Rose State College), “Meaning from Experience: Accepting Limitation and Foreclosing Possibilities”
Chair: David Matheson |
Augustus Pomerleau (Georgia State University), “Does Benatar’s Quality of Life Argument Entail Pro-Mortalism?”
Chair: Samuel Jonathan |
11:20-11:30pm |
Break |
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11:30-12:10pm |
Kiki Berk (Southern New Hampshire University), “Why Camus Isn’t a Nihilist”
Chair: David Matheson |
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Becca Cannon (San Francisco State University), “A Virtue Ethical approach to the Deferential Wife: An exploration of the possibility for women to flourish through the formation of virtue”
Chair: Samuel Jonathan |
12:10-1:40pm |
Lunch: We will guide you to the Residential Colleges Dining Hall, a modest walk from the conference site, where an affordable lunch option is available. You can also find restaurants on Campus Corner (see map). |
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1:40-2:20pm |
Jesse S. Summers (Duke University), “Putting Purpose in its Place (Ethics for Assholes)”
Chair: Violet Victoria |
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Dario Vaccaro (University of Tennessee), “Does It Not Matter Because One Day It Will End?”
Chair: Hunter Bissette |
2:20-2:30pm |
Break |
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2:30-3:10pm |
Edward Hinchman (Florida State University), “Meaning as Intelligible Investment”
Chair: Violet Victoria |
Samuel Jonathan (University of Oklahoma), “Meaning Subjectivism and Everyday Aesthetic Experiences”
Chair: Yujin Nagasawa |
Malcolm Morano (Harvard University), “Understanding, Doing, and Being: Towards a Meaning-Based Metaethics”
Chair: Hunter Bissette |
3:10-3:25pm |
Coffee Break |
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3:25-4:05pm
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Shawn Graves (University of Findlay), “Love and Meaning in Life”
Chair: Violet Victoria |
Kianna Mahony (Harvard Divinity School), “What Can A Person With Schizophrenia Teach Us About The Meaning Of Life? Exploring Meaning-Making Themes Amongst Psychiatric Patients in Clinical Settings”
Chair: Yujin Nagasawa |
Jason Murphy (Elms College), “Pushing Metaphysics Behind The Search for Meaning: with the simulation argument as an example”
Chair: Hunter Bissette |
4:05-4:15pm |
Break |
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4:15-4:55pm |
William Burnham-Fleck (University of Oklahoma), “Divine Requitement: An Anselmian Account of How Life Derives Meaning from Loving God”
Chair: Violet Victoria |
Itay Melamed (Cornell University), “The Fear of Death is neither Rational nor Irrational – it is Arational!”
Chair: Yujin Nagasawa |
Gary Scott Osmundsen (Grand Canyon University), “The Paradox of the End and the Metaphysics of Perichoretic Agency”
Chair: Hunter Bissette
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All rooms in Thurman J. White Forum Building |
Room A |
Room A4 |
Room A6 |
8:30-9:00am |
Coffee |
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9:00-9:40am |
Hunter Bissette (University of Oklahoma), “More Value, Less Significance? A Reply to Guy Kahane’s Value Impact View”
Chair: Iddo Landau |
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Jonah Goldwater (William & Mary University), “Must a meaningful life have a meaning?”
Chair: Kiki Berk |
9:40-9:50am |
Break |
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9:50-10:30am |
Nobuo Kurata (Soka University), “Understanding, Normativity, and Metaphysics: The Epistemological, Normative, and Metaphysical Dimensions of the Philosophy of Life’s Meaning”
Chair: Iddo Landau |
Christopher Holland (Saint Louis University), “Self-Fulfillment Eudaimonism and the Image of God”
Chair: Jack Symes |
David Matheson (Carleton University), “The Multiple Realizability of Life’s Meaning”
Chair: Kiki Berk |
10:30-10:40am |
Break |
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10:40-11:20am |
Masahiro Morioka (Waseda University), “The Meaning of a Finite Life and the Evaporation of My Existence”
Chair: Iddo Landau |
Mirela Oliva (University of St. Thomas, Houston), “On Divine Purpose: An Experiential Approach”
Chair: Jack Symes |
Justice Cabantangan (Florida State University), “Is Life (at Best) a Game We Are Playing?”
Chair: Kiki Berk |
11:20-11:30pm |
Break |
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11:30-12:10pm |
Anqi Fan (University of Oklahoma), “Defending Susan Wolf’s Theory of Meaning in Life Against the Luck Objection”
Chair: Iddo Landau |
Elliott R. Jones (Boston College), “Sabbath and Leisure as Remedy for Modernity: A Comparative Study Between Abraham Joshua Heschel and Josef Pieper”
Chair: Jack Symes |
Michael Mohajer (York University), “Undervaluing AI Systems to Preserve Human Life Value?”
Chair: Kiki Berk |
12:10-1:40pm |
Lunch: We will guide you to the Residential Colleges Dining Hall, a modest walk from the conference site, where an affordable lunch option is available. You can also find restaurants on Campus Corner (see map). |
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1:40-2:20pm |
Drew Chastain (Loyola University, New Orleans), “Absurd Art and Meaningful Living”
Chair: Michael Mohajer |
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Xiaoyu (Dan) Deng (University of Oklahoma), “Trust and Meaning in Human–AI Interaction”
Chair: Nobuo Kurata |
2:20-2:30pm |
Break |
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2:30-3:10pm |
Jack Symes (Durham University), “Modal Panentheism: Ethics, Afterlife, and Evil”
Chair: Brian Ballard |
Jacob Cherry (Duquesne University), “The Phenomenology of Aesthetic Experience in Michelangelo’s Pietà and the Art of Suffering as a Warning Against Despair”
Chair: Michael Mohajer |
Kerry Clark (University of Tennessee), “Living Creatively”
Chair: Nobuo Kurata |
3:10-3:25pm |
Coffee Break |
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3:25-4:40pm
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Sherri Irvin (University of Oklahoma), “Everyday Aesthetic Activism”
Chair: Yujin Nagasawa
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4:40-4:50pm |
Closing Remarks |
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Thurman J. White Forum Building
1704 Asp Ave
Norman, OK 73072
