About us
The Independent Institute of Philosophy's mission is to revitalize cooperation among Russian-speaking researchers outside of Russia, to encourage them to think freely and critically about new international realities and their own identity, and to establish joint research projects with colleagues from all over the world.
The idea of creating the Independent Institute of Philosophy belongs to Yulia Sineokaya, ex-deputy director for research and ex-head of the Sector of the History of Western philosophy at the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who has been living in France since February 2022. In August 2022, she began to restore communication among philosophers who left their home country in response to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. The goal of the organization is to resume cooperation between Russian-speaking researchers outside of Russia, fostering a free and critical understanding of new international realities and self-identification, and executing joint scientific projects with foreign colleagues. The association’s original working name Fire exit, was devised by Yulia Sineokaya and Alexander Dobrokhotov, and has left its trace in our logo.
On October 13, 2022, the first online meeting took place, attended by 16 people, marking the association's inception. The association has held weekly meetings on Saturdays since October 2022, where participants deliver and debate reports and address association-related matters. The number of attendees varies. By the time of the association's legal registration in Paris in April 2023, the number of members had approached 40. The official founders of the association are Yulia Sineokaya and Alexey Zhavoronkov.
In addition to philosophers, the association consists of philologists, sociologists, historians, psychologists, and writers, uniting Russian, Ukrainian, European, and American scholars from different generations. The Paris Prefecture formally recognized the Independent Institute of Philosophy's registration declaration on May 9, 2023.
On October 13, 2022, the first online meeting took place, attended by 16 people, marking the association's inception. The association has held weekly meetings on Saturdays since October 2022, where participants deliver and debate reports and address association-related matters. The number of attendees varies. By the time of the association's legal registration in Paris in April 2023, the number of members had approached 40. The official founders of the association are Yulia Sineokaya and Alexey Zhavoronkov.
In addition to philosophers, the association consists of philologists, sociologists, historians, psychologists, and writers, uniting Russian, Ukrainian, European, and American scholars from different generations. The Paris Prefecture formally recognized the Independent Institute of Philosophy's registration declaration on May 9, 2023.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
No, we do not have a political agenda, or engage in political campaigning. The objectives of our professional, non-profit association are to assist our emigrated colleagues and to conduct joint research with scholars around the world.
As you can see from the list of the projects of our association, the scope of our research is quite broad: from historical studies that shed light on the origins of current events to interdisciplinary research in political philosophy and political theory, epistemology and sociology, bioethics and medical humanities, philosophy of science and many others.
There are no restrictions. We welcome the participation of colleagues from any country.
We conduct our activities in various languages, mainly French, Russian and English.
No, IPHI was created as an international association with the objective of cooperation between researchers from different countries. IPHI will carry out projects that touch on all areas of humanities and social sciences. The association brings together researchers from different countries. The main languages of IPHI research projects are French, Russian, English and German, but other languages are also possible.
No, it is not obligatory. Everyone is free to choose whether or not to make information about themselves public. However, for those planning to publish descriptions of their projects on our website, their name is required, as our projects are not anonymous.
We welcome participation in our events and projects and are always open to new proposals. At the same time, we do not oblige members to participate; it is their voluntary decision.
We will be delighted to hear from Ukrainian colleagues who wish to join our projects and events. We treasure the cooperation and the opportunity to look at topical issues from different angles.
We cooperate with colleagues in Russia. However, we do not publish information about them on our website to avoid exposing them to additional risks.
In the future, we will prepare separate pages in the respective languages for projects concerning Ukraine, Belarus and other countries.
Join the association
We welcome you to join the Independent Institute of Philosophy Association if you share our values of liberty, oppose Russia's invasion of Ukraine, are eager to promote the development of critical philosophical thought, and are open to international collaboration in the social sciences and humanities.
