The main purpose of the network is to plan and facilitate for philosophical cooperation between the departments of philosophy of Baltic and Nordic universities. Cooperation between in particular the Department of Social and Moral Philosophy of the University of Helsinki and the universities of the Baltic countries of the network has begun in the early 1990′s. Based on this extensive experience, the Department has played the central role in establishing theBaltic Philosophy Network (Balphin) in 2007.
The cooperation between the Nordic and the Baltic universities has been continual yet fragmented. From the beginning of the 1990′s, extensive cooperative activities have been developed and realised in various academic fields – in particular in student and teacher exchange but also in philosophical research and meetings – with funding from a variety of sources. Educational collaboration has been enduring with the Department of Practical Philosophy of University of Latvia with continual student exchange and annual teaching visits since 1995, amounting altogether to approx. 25 lecture series and seminars held in both Helsinki and Riga and approx. 30 graduate and post-graduate students from Riga studying in Helsinki over the years. The relationships with the Estonian Institute of Humanities of Tallinn University have been close since Tonu Viik, the current professor of the Department of Philosophy spent a year studying in Helsinki in 1997. From Lithuania, Professor Leonidas Donskis of Vytautas Magnus University has his second doctorate from the Department of Social and Moral Philosophy of University of Helsinki. He is Docent of the Department and has been lecturing there on several occasions since 1997. Cooperation with Center of Ethics of University of Tartu is of more recent origin, yet student and teacher exchange as well as common research have proceeded extremely well during the last couple of years. In 2006, European Humanities University, a Belorussian university located in Vilnius joined in, with new perspectives and areas of interest. To enhance the Nordic expertise in the area of Continental philosophy, Professor Hans Ruin from Södertörn University College was another obvious candidate. As a result of this long-lasting work, The Baltic Philosophy Network (BalPhiN) was founded in Spring of 2007. During the Winter of 2007-8, Professor Mikael M. Karlsson from University of Iceland, an active partner over the past years, returned, thus completing the current configuration of BalPhiN.
The English-language (“analytic”) philosophy in Scandinavia is traditionally of very high quality. In particular in social and moral philosophy, it is on the cutting edge of international research. The philosophical inquiry in the Baltic countries was suppressed for the main part of the 20th century, and it is now regaining its position as a central discipline of the academia. To be more specific, the philosophy departments of the Nordic universities exceed the Baltic partners in practice of analytical philosophy, research training, and education technologies. At the same time, the Baltic philosophers are renowned for their accomplishments in continental philosophy. Thus the prerequisites for reciprocal fruitful collaboration are tangible. This is the point where existing diverse input needs to be defined, framed, and used as a solid foundation for future advancement. Combining the different philosophical traditions and utilizing the individual strong areas, expertise and foreign contacts of the participating universities will inevitably result in high quality research achievements. In a similar manner as Nordic philosophy has gained worldwide academic prestige, this would facilitate the rise of the Nordic-Baltic philosophy to the international top.
Background
The main purpose of the network is to plan and facilitate for philosophical cooperation between the departments of philosophy of Baltic and Nordic universities. Cooperation between in particular the Department of Social and Moral Philosophy of the University of Helsinki and the universities of the Baltic countries of the network has begun in the early 1990′s. Based on this extensive experience, the Department has played the central role in establishing the Baltic Philosophy Network (Balphin) in 2007.
The cooperation between the Nordic and the Baltic universities has been continual yet fragmented. From the beginning of the 1990′s, extensive cooperative activities have been developed and realised in various academic fields – in particular in student and teacher exchange but also in philosophical research and meetings – with funding from a variety of sources. Educational collaboration has been enduring with the Department of Practical Philosophy of University of Latvia with continual student exchange and annual teaching visits since 1995, amounting altogether to approx. 25 lecture series and seminars held in both Helsinki and Riga and approx. 30 graduate and post-graduate students from Riga studying in Helsinki over the years. The relationships with the Estonian Institute of Humanities of Tallinn University have been close since Tonu Viik, the current professor of the Department of Philosophy spent a year studying in Helsinki in 1997. From Lithuania, Professor Leonidas Donskis of Vytautas Magnus University has his second doctorate from the Department of Social and Moral Philosophy of University of Helsinki. He is Docent of the Department and has been lecturing there on several occasions since 1997. Cooperation with Center of Ethics of University of Tartu is of more recent origin, yet student and teacher exchange as well as common research have proceeded extremely well during the last couple of years. In 2006, European Humanities University, a Belorussian university located in Vilnius joined in, with new perspectives and areas of interest. To enhance the Nordic expertise in the area of Continental philosophy, Professor Hans Ruin from Södertörn University College was another obvious candidate. As a result of this long-lasting work, The Baltic Philosophy Network (BalPhiN) was founded in Spring of 2007. During the Winter of 2007-8, Professor Mikael M. Karlsson from University of Iceland, an active partner over the past years, returned, thus completing the current configuration of BalPhiN.
Partner universities and institutions
► Department of Social and Moral Philosophy, University of Helsinki, Finland (coordinator)
► The Estonian Institute of Humanities, Tallinn University, Estonia
► Centre for Ethics, University of Tartu, Estonia
► Department of Practical Philosophy, University of Latvia, Latvia
► Department of Social and Political Theory, School of Political Science and Diplomacy, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania
► Philosophy Unit, European Humanities University, Lithuania
► Department of Philosophy, University of Iceland, Iceland
► Philosophy Unit, Södertörn University College, Sweden
The English-language (“analytic”) philosophy in Scandinavia is traditionally of very high quality. In particular in social and moral philosophy, it is on the cutting edge of international research. The philosophical inquiry in the Baltic countries was suppressed for the main part of the 20th century, and it is now regaining its position as a central discipline of the academia. To be more specific, the philosophy departments of the Nordic universities exceed the Baltic partners in practice of analytical philosophy, research training, and education technologies. At the same time, the Baltic philosophers are renowned for their accomplishments in continental philosophy. Thus the prerequisites for reciprocal fruitful collaboration are tangible. This is the point where existing diverse input needs to be defined, framed, and used as a solid foundation for future advancement. Combining the different philosophical traditions and utilizing the individual strong areas, expertise and foreign contacts of the participating universities will inevitably result in high quality research achievements. In a similar manner as Nordic philosophy has gained worldwide academic prestige, this would facilitate the rise of the Nordic-Baltic philosophy to the international top.