PhilFest’22, Turkey’s first large-scale philosophy festival, took place at Bilkent University on Tuesday, October 4, 2022.
There were 70 booths offering access to philosophy books from leading publishing houses, such as Elsevier, Ayrıntı, İletişim, İmge, Yapı Kredi, Doğu Batı and FOL. Visitors from all over Turkey had the opportunity to meet and exchange information with associations and societies, such as the Philosophical Society of Turkey, Society for Women in Philosophy in Turkey, Evrim Ağacı, Öncül Analytical Philosophy Journal and Turkish Logic Society.
PhilFest’22 started with a speech by Prof. Erdal Erel, Vice Rector of Bilkent University, followed by talks on Sustainability and Long Termism (Fırat Akova), Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence (Mehtap Doğan), Analytical Philosophy in Turkey: Yesterday Today Tomorrow (Taner Beyler), Philosopher Physicians of Ancient Greece (Sevim Coşkun) and Philosophy for Everyone in the Age of Information (Pelin Dilara Çolak). Prizes were then awarded in a quiz and photography contest on philosophy and critical thinking. The festival culminated with an outdoor screening of Pixar’s 2020 movie “Soul.”
Organized by the Department of Philosophy, Bilkent Philosophical Society, Bilkent University Library and Psychological Counseling and Development Center, PhilFest will be an annual event. The festival aims to bring together philosophy enthusiasts of all ages and to increase interactions between individuals interested in philosophy and publishing houses, associations and communities.