Bilingual conference jointly organized by the Department of Political Science at Université Laval, the Chair in Democracy and Public Ethics (Université Laval), and the Centre for Research in Ethics (CRÉ).

We are pleased to welcome Jonathan Wolff (Oxford) and Daniel Weinstock (McGill) as our two keynote speakers.

Summary

The conference aims to explore how political philosophy can be mobilized to address the major challenges we face as a society – such as the climate crisis, the rise of populism, the erosion of democratic norms, and radicalization. In this context of polycrisis, there is a need to create a space for reflection dedicated to addressing these pressing problems. Hence the appeal to political philosophy, which is by nature a normative discipline: its objective is to provide us with norms and guidelines to help us move towards a more just society. However, it is not enough to have good ideas and policies; we need ideas and policies that will be supported by the population. It is therefore worth noting that there is a link between distributive justice and social acceptability, in that there is empirical evidence supporting the idea that fair distributions enjoy greater popular support. Thus, this discipline stands to gain significantly by directly addressing the major challenges we face today and by doing so in a way that brings knowledge out of the confines of academia.

This conference will therefore bring together renowned researchers to reflect on and formulate recommendations to help address these major challenges, including climate change, the rise of populism, disinformation, and the erosion of democratic norms. The presentations will therefore not be solely intended for the academic community, but rather for society at large. Presenters are encouraged to formulate clear recommendations, regardless of the stage of development of the problem they are considering. Researchers are invited (but not required) to shed light on concrete public decisions that have been or will be made, using specific examples (public policies, bills, evidence-based data), thereby demonstrating both how political philosophy is essential for understanding these issues and how it helps us move towards solutions that can garner broad public support.

Schedule: 

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm·: Welcome table

• 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm: Student Panel 1, chaired by Alexandre Gajevic Sayegh (ULaval).
  • Molly Dea Stephenson (McGill), Ecotage and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: On Defensive Justification of Putatively Hopeless Climate Activism;
  • Ester Palm (UdeM), Repenser la justice à partir du ‘travail animal’ et du ‘prolétariat du sentient’;
  • Sasha Emanuel Mossu (ULavaL), Différentes crises, différentes philanthropies : quelle durée de vie pour les fondations ?.

2:30 pm – 3:00 pm: Coffee Break Coffee and snacks will be served

• 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm: Student Panel 2, chaired by Sylvie Loriaux (ULaval).
  • David Oh (McGill), Reconsidering (Dis)trust: Reluctant Reliance and Normative Expectations;
  • Mélanie Guillemette (ULaval), Ce que les injustices épistémiques et l’ignorance active font à la démocratie;
  • Alexandre Petitclerc (UdeM), Le court-métrage documentaire et la philosophie politique: au delà de la mobilisation des connaissances.

6:50 pm – 7:30 pm: A pleasant walk in the Parc and the Citadel with stunning views of the city, and the Parliament.

7:30 pm – 10:00 pm: Dinner in lively St-Jean Baptiste neighbourhood at Le Hobbit.

Thursday, May 7, 2026

9:45 am – 10:15 am: Welcome and Coffee

• 10:15 am – 10:30 am: Opening remarks.
  • Conference organizer Alexandre Gajevic Sayegh will set the tone with a brief overview of the conference’s themes and a warm welcome to all participants.
• 10:30 am – 12h00 pm: Panel 1, Structural Change and the Aesthetics of Equality, présidée par François Blais (ULaval).
  • Mauro Rossi (UQAM) – An Account of Structural Change – CANCELED;
  • Christian Nadeau (UdeM) – Mouvements sociaux et fragilisation de l’État de droit.

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm: Atrium Lunch

• 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm: Panel 2, Taxation, Capital and the Moral Limits of Markets, chaired by Jérôme Gosselin-Tapp (ULaval).
  • Patrick Turmel (ULaval) – Dépasser la taxe Zucman: impôt sur le capital et démocratie;
  • Vida Panitch (Carleton) – The Moral Limits of Markets and Non ideal Justice.

2:30 pm – 3:00 pm: Coffee Break

• 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm: Panel 3, Pipelines, Resistance, Climate Action and Populism, chaired by Naïma Hamrouni (UQTR).
  • Amy Janzwood (McGill) – Build Baby Build? Lessons from Mega Pipelines and Mega Resistance;
  • Alexandre Gajevic Sayegh (ULaval) – Climate Action in the Age of Populism.

4:30 pm – 5:00 pm: Coffee Break 

• 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm: Keynote Session, chaired by Alexandre Gajevic Sayegh (ULaval).
  • Jonathan Wolff (Oxford) – Posterity and the ‘Me’ Generation.

6:15 pm – 9:00 pm: Reception Drinks and a food buffet will be offered

Friday, May 8, 2026

9:30 am – 10:00 am:  Welcome and coffee

• 10:00 AM – 12:00 pm: Panel 4, Social Movements and Ghost Work, chaired by Sylvie Loriaux (ULaval).
  • Jocelyn Maclure and Hugo Cossette-Lefebvre (McGill) – Freedom of Speech, Autonomy and Epistemic Dependence;
  • Denise Celentano (UdeM) – Ghost Work: Conceptual and Normative Concerns.

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm: Atrium Lunch

• 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm: Panel 5, Institutional Distrust and Political Emotions, chaired by Ryoa Chung (UdeM).
• • Natalie Stoljar and David Ho (McGill) – What is Institutional Distrust?;
  • Laura Silva (ULaval) – On People’s Passion: On Emotion and Populism.

2:30 pm – 3:00 pm: Coffee Break

• 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm: Panel 6, Education and Democracy, chaired by Patrick Turmel (ULaval).
  • Arash Abizadeh (McGill) – Popular Sovereignty vs Democracy: Or, How Rousseau Killed Democracy;
  • Andrée-Anne Cormier (ENAP) – Democratic Education Today: Political Philosophy, Civic Skills, and Higher Education – CANCELED.

4:30 pm – 5:00 pm: Coffee Break 

• 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm: Keynote Session, chaired by Ryoa Chung (UdeM).
  • Daniel Weinstock (McGill) – The Challenge of Folk Political Philosophy.

7:00 pm – 8 :00 pm: Walk Old Town Gorgeous walk from Hotel Le Concorde through Quebec City’s famous old town. 

8:00 pm – 10:30 pm: Le Don Dinner at Le Don, eclectic vegan spot for food and cocktails in beautiful Basse Ville.

Conference organizers: Alexandre Gajevic Sayegh (Associate Professor, Political Science, ULaval) Ryoa Chung (Full Professor, Philosophy, UdeM) Patrick Turmel (Full Professor, Philosophy, ULaval) Alexandre Petitclerc (PhD candidate, Philosophy, UdeM).

Our partners:
Chaire de recherche Démocratie et éthique publique
Centre de recherche en éthique (CRÉ)
Département de science politique, Université Laval
Faculté de philosophie, Université Laval
Institut d’éthique appliquée (IDÉA), Université Laval
Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire sur la normativité (GRIN)
Faculté des sciences sociales, Université Laval