The Nature of Social Identities: Metaphysics, Epistemology, and Politics

In recent decades, political and social debates have increasingly focused on identity-based groups defined by characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, class, religion, or age. These developments have generated extensive discussion in political philosophy and social theory. However, many of the metaphysical and epistemological assumptions underlying identity politics remain insufficiently examined.

This conference aims to investigate the nature, constitution, and epistemic role of social identities. In particular, we seek to explore the mechanisms through which identities emerge as robust social and political entities, and the ways in which identity-related features—such as lived experience, self-identification, social recognition, and shared narratives—contribute to their formation and persistence. Another central aim is to examine whether different identities (for example, race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or class) are constituted through similar or distinct metaphysical and epistemic mechanisms. The conference also addresses the epistemological aspects of social identities, including questions concerning situated knowledge, epistemic authority, intersectionality, and conflicts among different socially situated perspectives.