International Congress Philosophy and City: Movement(s) and identity on September 19-20, 2024 in Krakow, Poland

Western philosophy can be argued to have originated from the cities, among other factors, as a response to the challenges that the city as a space, a technical object and as a community brought with itself. However, when facing the question about the nature of the city itself, it is difficult to provide an answer, due to the city’s heterogeneity, evading clear definition. It cannot be understood solely as an architectural model or a static political organization; rather, it is a human space, inextricably linked to the human agents on the eternal movement(s) of various kinds, where they come into interaction with human and non-human Others. Thus, both: the exploration of the human identity and the urban identity of a place is crucial to the consideration of the identity problem in the context of cities. The city can be said to be the space for exploring the self vs the Other dynamics, and for fostering empathy. It is especially important nowadays, when the cities are experiencing the dynamization of the social space caused by massive and varied migrations, whether we are talking of economic or scientific mobility, or the refugees fleeing war and natural disasters or climate change consequences. It appears that the city always has to be thought of as the meeting space of various actors and realities. In the words of Eric Corijn (Brussels Urban Summit 2023), “a good city is one that we make together”.