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The Metaphysical Society of America
Founded in 1950
Constituent of the American Council of Learned Societies

67th Annual Meeting

Thinking with the Pre-Socratics:  History, Myth, and Metaphysics

Annapolis, Maryland
March 17-20 2016

Conference Details

The meeting will be held in Annapolis, Maryland, an historic site on the Chesapeake Bay that is home to two venerable, but quite distinctive educational institutions:  the U.S. Naval Academy, and St. John’s College (home of the “Great Books” core curriculum).  Annapolis itself is became the capital of Maryland during the Colonial era, and briefly served as the Nation’s capital, where it served as the backdrop for George Washington’s historic resignation, before the Continental Congress, of his commission as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army.   

Annapolis lies within easy reach of Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia, and is also the gateway to the Eastern Shore (the “DelMarVa Peninsula), all sites of some of the earliest European settlements in the New World.  The Chesapeake Bay itself is the world’s largest marine estuary, teeming with aquatic and bird life, and home to some of the best seafood and sailing in the world.  This location lies within a few hours drive of many eastern seaboard cities, from Atlanta to New York and Boston.  The region is served by three major airports, all within 30-60 minutes of Annapolis, and by two metropolitan Amtrak rail station complexes in Baltimore (Penn Station and BWI airport) and Washington (Union Station and New Carrollton).   

The meeting hotel and headquarters will be at the Lowe’s Annapolis Hotel in the heart of colonial Annapolis, within easy walking distance of the sites and institutions of colonial Annapolis referenced above.  The meeting will be preceded by a session of the Society for the Study of Process Philosophy (SSPP) on Thursday late afternoon, followed by a formal reception for all arriving MSA participants.  The official opening of the meeting itself will be on Friday morning, and the annual presidential address and banquet will be held on Friday afternoon and evening, respectively.  Sessions will be scheduled throughout the day Saturday, and on Sunday morning, and provide ample time for the tours we will schedule for interested attendees and their families of St. John’s College, the Naval Academy, and colonial Annapolis itself.  Weather permitting, a two-hour sunset sail on the Chesapeake on Saturday afternoon will be available for up to 40 participants at a modest additional cost, featuring wine and hor d’oeuvres, prior to inviting all present to dine in town on their own.  

Suggestions:  bring the family, treat them to a Chesapeake spring break vacation afterwards. Either visit the national sites of Washington, DC, or drive the kids down the Eastern Shore of MD and VA to visit Chincoteague and Assateague Islands, see the ponies, and stop at St. Michael’s, MD on the way: “the Town that Defeated the British” during the War of 1812.  (It was our only victory before New Orleans!)  Plan to eat oysters and crabs in abundance.

Conference Host

George R. Lucas, Jr., MSA President
Visiting Professor, Reilly Center for Science, Technology & Values
Professor of Ethics & Public Policy Emeritus, Naval Postgraduate School
Distinguished Chair of Ethics, U.S. Naval Academy (retired)

george.r.lucas.jr@gmail.com
http://www.usna.edu/Ethics/staff/LucasBio.php

Aristotle Prize
 Papers submitted by persons who have not yet earned a Ph.D. or whose Ph.D. is less than 5 years old at the time of submission will be considered for the Aristotle Prize if the Program Committee is alerted to eligibility. 

The prize carries a cash award of $500, inclusion in the program, and assistance with costs associated with attending the meeting. Please encourage graduate students and junior colleagues to consider entering the competition. Papers submitted for the Aristotle Prize must be complete by September 1, 2015. Please encourage graduate students and junior colleagues to consider entering the annual competition.

Travel Grants
Thanks to the generous support of members of the Metaphysical Society and a grant from the Hocking-Cabot Fund for Systematic Philosophy we are pleased to offer travel grants to graduate students whose papers are selected for the program for our annual meeting. Click here for more information.

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