Philosophical questions and reflections: Individual and authority. Socially generated constraints – individual techniques of liberation

The session of communications Interrogations and philosophical reflections within the “Iași Academic Days” includes this year a colloquium dedicated to the relationship between individual freedom and social constraints. According to John Stuart Mill, freedom is determined by the relationship between the individual and society. Individual freedom is not an existential given, but a good that must be acquired, defended and guaranteed. There are always constraining forces, against which individual freedom positions itself and defines itself. Mill considered that the relationship between freedom and authority – first of all, the authority of the state – has been an essential issue since antiquity. The history of Greece and Rome was characterized by the struggle between subjects and Rulership, in various guises. The issue is intensely debated in modern philosophy, in the form of the essential distinction between the individual and society (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Søren Kierkegaard, among others). Slightly modified, the distinction sought is now that between the inner self and the outer society, which demands that the individual conform to its rules. Society seems to be a preeminent entity, whose rules, obligations, customs, role constraints, etc. prevent the individual from reaching his personal potential.

In parallel, a necessary discussion is taking place about liberation, moral emancipation and personal fulfillment, to which every individual aspires. We are dealing with a process that each of us goes through, starting from the internalization of norms, passing through the critical confrontation of their foundations and ending, sometimes, with their programmatic contestation. This path generates a strongly ideological component. Political freedom, the relationship between the individual and any form of authority, constitutes a stake for any of the classical political ideologies. Moreover, the stake of confronting authority is also important for the so-called ideologies of liberation, which extract their substance from this antagonism. Liberation ideologies identify and address groups and communities that are the target of oppression by a dominant group. This category includes feminism, ideologies that combat systemic racism, the oppression of minorities, and the abuse of animals.

We invite specialists from various fields of research to participate in our colloquium, which is expected to reflect on the relationship between the individual and authority from a philosophical, political, historical, psychological, sociological, or cultural perspective. Participants can register by submitting the title of the paper by August 31, 2024, and a short abstract (150 words) by September 30, 2024.