University of Pardubice Hosted An International Workshop Entitled “Conflict beyond Resolution: Meta-Ethical, Normative, and Applied Perspectives”

The aim of the two-day workshop (27–28 August 2026) was to reflect upon and, where appropriate, challenge the assumption that ethics have to focus primarily on the effective resolution of conflicts. It also attempted to answer the question of what it means to resolve a conflict and what further assumptions we must accept in order to regard various responses to conflicts as their resolution. Preliminary results of research were presented during the workshop by six researchers involved in the CoRe project, several external speakers, and three keynote speakers; the event was also attended by PhD and MA’s students from the Centre for Ethics, University of Pardubice, and other interested members of the academic community.

These topics were explored from various perspectives – ranging from meta-ethical reflections on the nature of ethics and its relationship to conflict, to questions of normative and applied ethics that focus on conflicts and their resolution (or the absence thereof) in diverse fields.

The research findings of the presented outputs converged on several points:

Conflict is an irreducible part of moral experience, and attempts to use normative ethical theories to eliminate it often lead to a distortion of moral experience.
There is also a problem in reconciling the awareness of ongoing conflict with the imperative to avoid dehumanisation and the rejection of others.
A morally healthy and resilient society requires a foundation in relational values (care, inclusivity) that can coexist with various forms of disagreement.

The event was organised by the Centre for Ethics at the Faculty of Arts, University of Pardubice (Prof Ondřej Beran, doc. Silvia Caprioglio Panizza, doc. Niklas Forsberg) with the support of the project “Beyond Security: The Role of Conflict in Strengthening Resilience”, reg. no.: CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004595, co-funded by the European Union.