About the Conference
The research project “Understanding Homo Individualis” takes homo individualis to stand for a conceptual structure accounting for the intrinsic individuality of human beings, this individuality being essentially irreducible to physical, biological, mental, or sociological determinations. The purpose of the conference is to stimulate discussion among scholars of a variety of philosophical orientations regarding the consciousness of one’s own individuality, thereby contributing to the current theoretical and practical debates.
Conference Program
24 September 2025
Sala delle edicole
14:00 – 15:00
Registration
15:00 – 15:30
Opening Ceremony
15:30 – 16:45
Kristina Musholt
(University of Leipzig)
On Learning to Think about Oneself: From Quasi-Predicates to Spatially Grounded ‘I’-Thoughts
Moderator: Claudia Cavaliere
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16:45 – 17:00 – Coffee Break
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17:00 – 18:15
José Luis Bermúdez
(Texas A&M University)
What Would Count as a Theory of the Self?
Moderator: Celia Cabrera
25 September 2025
10:00 – 11:15
Sala delle Edicole
Guido Baggio
(Roma Tre University)
The Gestural Genesis of the Self
Moderator: Filippo Nobili
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11:15 – 11:30 – Coffee Break
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11:30 – 13:00
Parallel Sessions
Aula Film
Stan Pilischenko (University of Würzburg)
Becoming King of China: Parfit Revisited through Leibniz’s and Locke’s Lenses
Cristiano Leone (Sapienza University Rome)
Sidgwick (and Parfit): Personal Identity and Egoism
Francesco Catanzaro (Ca’ Foscari University)
Selfless agents. The Missing Link Between Individuality and Intersubjectivity in Buddhist Philosophy
Moderator: Andrea Altobrando
Aula AIS2
Paulina Alejandra Morales Guzman (Leiden University – Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)
The Uniqueness of Expression as the Fulfillment of Singularity and the Deconstruction of Individuality in Merleau-Ponty
Sabrina De Biasio (Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Jyväskylä University)
Gender Atmospheres: A Phenomenological Inquiry into Gender Identity, Affectivity, and Constraint
Necdet Yildiz (Anadolu University)
The Lost Self and the Other: Singularity, Friendship, and Digital Dissociation
Moderator: Marco Deodati
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13:00 – 14:15 – Lunch Break
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14:15 – 15:15
Parallel Sessions
Aula Film
Cristina Cristea (University of Bucharest)
Affective Singularities: Narrative Identity and the Affective Structure of Self-Other Relation
Markus Pawelzik (RWTH Aachen University)
On Homo Individualis as a Psychological Subject Matter
Moderator: Joshua Bergamin
Aula AIS2
Francesca Casciotta (University of Jena)
Self, Consciousness, and Attention in Husserl’s Ideas I
Celia Cabrera (University of Padua)
Husserl on Individual Vocation and the Idea of an Individual Categorical Imperative
Moderator: Laura Oppi
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15:15 – 15:30 – Coffee Break
———
15:30 – 16:30
Parallel Sessions
Aula Film
Claudia Cavaliere (University of Padua)
Self-Knowledge from the Outside In: A Non-Givennist Account
Simon Skempton
Haecceity and Subjectivity
Moderator: Filippo Nobili
Aula AIS2
Riccardo Valenti (Ca’ Foscari University; Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Becoming Person(s): Enzo Paci’s Philosophy of Right and Political Science
Eric John Russell (University of Louvain)
Homo Opinicus: Toward a Critical Theory of Opinion
Moderator: Benedetta Cogo
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16:30 – 17:00 – Coffee Break
———-
17:00 – 18:15
Sala delle Edicole
Wenjing Cai
(Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
Shame and Freedom Revisited: A Phenomenological Perspective
Moderator: Antonio M. Nunziante
26 September 2025
10:00 – 10:45
Visit to Bo Palace
11:30 – 12:30
Parallel Sessions
Aula Film
Li Yingkai (Capital Normal University)
The Paradox of Self and Other: Kojève’s Resolution
Elena Billwiller (University of Padua)
Work and the Constitution of Individuality
Moderator: Stan Pilischenko
Aula AIS2
Lucas de Dietrich (Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Homo Pluralis. Against a Common Misconception of the Individual
Dominika Dziurosz-Serafinowicz (Warsaw University of Life Sciences)
In Defense of Individualism: A Case of Lying
Moderator: Claudia Cavaliere
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12:30 – 14:00 – Lunch Break
———-
14:00 – 15:00
Parallel Sessions
Aula Film
Benedetta Cogo (University of Wollongong)
Getting Personal in the Philosophy of Psychiatry
Shiho Sugiura (Hokkaido University)
From Individual Identity to Relational Co-Authorship: Rethinking Authenticity in Trauma
Moderator: Giulia Lanzirotti
Aula AIS2
Joshua Bergamin (University of Vienna)Playing with Style: Authenticity and Individual Subjectivity in Musical Improvisation
Xu Zhao (University of Padua)
Finitude as Origin: Individuality, Style, and Creative Expression in the Age of Dance Standardization
Moderator: Ilaria Iannuccilli
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15:00 – 15:15 – Coffee Break
———-
15:15 – 16:15
Parallel Sessions
Aula Film
Laura Oppi (University of Copenhagen)
‘No One Mourns the Wicked’ . How Solitary Confinement Erodes Personal Identity
Luca Zanetti (University of Bologna; University of Verona)
Heteronymy and Existential Suffering in Fernando Pessoa
Moderator: Celia Cabrera
Aula AIS2
Francesco Azzarone (Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa)
Social Aesthetics and the Understanding of Modern Individuality
Diego Díaz Hormazábal (University Diego Portales; University of Padua)
Nietzsche’s Ich and Selbst: Between Self-Consciousness and Responsibility for Oneself
Moderator: Elena Billwiller
———-
16:15 – 16:30 – Coffee Break
———-
16:30 – 18:00
Sala delle Edicole
Andrea Altobrando, Marco Deodati, Alice Pugliese
(Homo Individualis Research Directors)
The Idea of Homo Individualis and its Horizons
Keynote Speakers

Kristina Musholt
Professor of Cognitive Anthropology in the Department of Philosophy at Leipzig University
José Luis Bermúdez
Texas A&M University
Professor, Philosophy & Humanities
Samuel Rhea Gammon Professor, Liberal Arts



Venue
Palazzo del Capitanio, piazza Capitaniato 3, Padova
https://maps.app.goo.gl/EyjUkvWjhP4N2P2Z7
Transportation
The nearest international airport is Marco Polo Airport of Venice. You can reach Padua from Marco Polo Airport of Venice by bus (Timetables are available here). Travel time is about 70 minutes. Tickets can be bought at the airports. You can also reach Padua with Taxi Air Service (www.airservicepadova.it). Travel time is about 40 minutes.
The train station is about 1.6 km from conference venues. Local buses and taxis are available outside the station. For taxis, call Radio Taxi (+39 049 651333 – www.taxipadova.it)
Padova is temporarily undergoing significant traffic disruption due to implementation works on the tram line. Besides general discomfort, some bus stops have been moved and you may get confused. Almost everything in the city centre is within walking distance, so we suggest to prefer walking anytime you can!