This year's theme · Ended
Change & Invariance
变与不变
This edition has ended. Thank you to everyone who contributed through inquiry, discussion and collaboration. The program, call for papers and policies remain available for long-term reference.
The Third Session
Issue III
- Conference status
- Ended
- Dates
- Oct 2–5, 2026 · 4 days
- Location
- Held entirely online
- For
- Middle and high school students
- Auditors
- University students and teachers may audit
- Submission deadline
- 20 September 2026 (Sun), 23:59
- Registration
- Closed
Change and invariance — an ancient question. Heraclitus held that change is the only truth of this world, that so-called eternal stillness is itself merely a state: hence “no one steps into the same river twice.” Parmenides, gazing upon the One of Being, dismissed all change as illusion — it is the invariant that lies at the core.
When philosophers reflect on change and invariance, they are often pointing to the divide between substance and appearance. Aristotle saw change as the actualization of potential — and yet the old tree, through four seasons, remains that same old tree. In the East, the Book of Changes finds within all “change” something “unchanging”: the law by which things run is itself “simplicity” — the Dao. We live in an age of upheaval — new technologies, shifting ideas — often adrift amid endless change; we long to hold fast to certain invariant values, yet risk hardening them into dogma.
This session takes “Change & Invariance” as its theme. In a life-world of constant flux, what constitutes the invariant we ought to hold? And how can such holding stay alive within change, rather than harden into dead obstinacy? True wisdom, perhaps, lies not in clinging to either pole, but in grasping the invariant law within change, and making room for the force of change within the invariant.
Seen from the aspect of change, heaven and earth cannot last a single blink of the eye; seen from the aspect of invariance, all things and I alike are inexhaustible — what, then, is there to envy?
— Su Shi, First Ode on the Red Cliffs (赤壁赋)
— Chen Yu, Deputy Secretary-General · February 2026
Student Papers
Student Paper Presentations
Presenting authors give a 25–30 minute talk, followed by guest comments and a 15–20 minute open discussion.
Lectures
Guest Lectures
Experts and scholars give 30–40 minute lectures around the theme "Change & Invariance", with open exchange afterwards.
Phil-Hackathon
Philosophy Hackathon
A cross-disciplinary experiment borrowing the short, intense collaboration model: teams tackle philosophical and ethical problems together.
- When and how was this edition held?
- Oct 2–5, 2026, Held entirely online.
- Can I still register or submit a paper?
- This edition has ended. Registration and submissions are closed. For post-conference enquiries, contact the committee at sspcz2026@163.com.
- What can I read after the conference?
- The program, call for papers, policies and public documents in Resources remain available.Resources →
- Presenting Members
- Authors of presenting papers selected from submissions, who present their research at the conference and receive comments from guests and peers.
- Attending Members
- Students whose submissions are selected as attending papers. They attend the full conference in the front rows, and their papers are included in this session's proceedings.
- Auditing Members
- Secondary school students — and curious people of any age — interested in philosophy. Open to all Q&A sessions, lectures, reading groups and exchanges with scholars.
- Guests
- Experts and scholars from various fields who comment on papers and deliver lectures, bringing current scholarship and philosophical reflection.