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Articles

Oh Come All Ye Thoughtful…

Anja Steinbauer reporting from the 20th World Congress of Philosophy in Boston.

The blazing sun shone hot on the asphalt, the nauseating noise of dense urban traffic surrounded me, as I threw my weight against one of the huge glass doors of the Marriott Hotel. As it opened, the cool relaxed atmosphere of executive luxury mixed with an international flair. Then, tweed-jackets, animated chatter, and huge messy heaps of leaflets and posters, some of which read: “Wanted – Good Ideas – $1000 Reward”, “Philosophers wanted – We are seeking the kind of minds it took to launch a civilisation.”

For six days in August of this year, Boston became the Mecca of philosophers. More than 3500 thinkers from all over the world set out on the pilgrimage to participate in over 2000 symposia organised under the aegis of the twentieth World Congress of Philosophy, the largest ever convention of philosophers.

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