DE NOVO HOMINE: A Dialogical Anthroposafari into the New Human

JOURNAL OF DHARMA: Call for Papers – 2027

DE NOVO HOMINE: A Dialogical Anthroposafari into the New Human

Humanity stands at the crossroads, where some of its oldest questions are assuming radically new forms. What does it mean to be human when intelligence can be simulated by machines? What becomes of faith when inherited certainties encounter unprecedented forms of doubt and spiritual decoding? What does truth mean when knowledge is mediated by algorithms, competing narratives and ideological contestation? How are freedom, identity, community and responsibility to be understood amid plurality, polarization, ecological vulnerability and technological transformation? Such questions call for sustained philosophical, religious, ethical and interdisciplinary reflection. Having undertaken a Theosafari in the previous volume, Journal of Dharma now embarks on an Anthroposafari—a dialogical journey into the mystery of the human person, drawing philosophy, theology, religion, ethics, culture and social thought into conversation. The expression De Novo Homine—On the New Human—does not imply that humanity has simply become something new. Rather, it invites renewed inquiry into the human person under unprecedented conditions of existence. Journal of Dharma invites original scholarly contributions that engage with questions concerning the human and the emerging forms of human existence from diverse intellectual traditions, particularly those of Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America, bringing classical wisdom into dialogue with contemporary transformations.

The four issues will approach this overarching theme through four distinct yet interconnected perspectives. Selected manuscripts will be published following peer review. Submission deadlines are indicated in brackets.

 

January–March 2027 (5 November 2026)

The Human Search for the Sacred: Religion, Faith, Transcendence and the Meaning of Human Existence

The contemporary search for religious certainties has not brought an end to the human quest for transcendence. On the contrary, secularization, new spiritualities, technological culture and changing forms of religious identity have generated renewed queries about faith, belonging, hope and the sacred. Across religious traditions, human existence has been understood in relation to realities that exceed the self. This issue explores the diverse ways in which human beings seek, encounter, interpret and respond to transcendence. It welcomes contributions on the imago Dei; faith and doubt; sacredness and secularity; spirituality beyond institutional forms; mysticism; religious pluralism; comparative understandings of transcendence; pilgrimage and spiritual searching; existential meaning; hope and despair; nihilism; death and mortality; and religious resources for human flourishing. Contributions may draw on Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Indigenous, and other religious traditions, as well as comparative and interdisciplinary approaches.

 

April–June 2027 (05 January 2027)

The Quest for Truth: Being, Knowledge, Freedom, and the Philosophical Search for Reality

What can human beings know? What makes knowledge true? What is ultimately real? These perennial philosophical questions lie at the heart of the philosophical enterprise. From the earliest reflections on being and reality to contemporary debates on knowledge, consciousness, language and interpretation, philosophy has sought to understand both the world we inhabit and the human capacity to understand it. The quest for truth is therefore inseparable from questions of being, meaning, freedom and the nature and destiny of the human person. This issue invites philosophical investigations into being and becoming; reality and appearance; knowledge and doubt; reason and rationality; consciousness and selfhood; freedom and determinism; personhood and embodiment; language and meaning; objectivity and interpretation; realism and relativism; metaphysics and ontology; phenomenology and hermeneutics; and the philosophical foundations of human flourishing. Contributions may bring Greek, Indian, Asian, African, Islamic, Jewish, Christian, and other philosophical traditions into dialogue, attending to both their distinctive insights and their points of encounter.

 

July–September 2027 (05 May 2027)

Beyond Human Intelligence: AI, Technology, and the New Human Condition

Artificial intelligence is transforming the conditions under which human beings think, work, communicate, create, decide and relate to one another. As machines increasingly perform tasks associated with intelligence and creativity, fundamental questions arise concerning the distinctiveness, dignity, freedom and future of the human person. Technology is therefore becoming not merely an instrument but a context within which humanity is redefining itself. This issue examines the philosophical, ethical, theological, social and cultural implications of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. Possible areas include human and artificial intelligence; machine consciousness; personhood and agency; freedom and technological dependence; embodiment and cognition; creativity and machines; AI and education; work and automation; algorithmic decision-making; surveillance and human dignity; responsibility and accountability; misinformation and truth; and AI and religious anthropology.

 

October–December 2027 (05 July 2027)

The Art of Living Together: Difference, Democracy, Identity, Eco-Consciousness and Exclusion Syndromes

Human beings are constituted not only as individuals but also through relationships, communities, cultures and common destiny. Yet contemporary societies reveal deep fragmentation and exclusion shaped by religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, gender, culture and competing identities. How, then, can human beings live together without allowing difference to become a source of exclusion, hostility or violence? This issue explores the ethical, philosophical, theological, political, social and ecological conditions for sustaining a shared world amid profound difference. The concept of exclusion syndromes invites attention to processes through which individuals, communities, minorities, migrants, cultures and even non-human forms of life are marginalized, silenced, or rendered invisible. Possible areas include identity and belonging; democracy and pluralism; recognition and minority rights; citizenship and migration; secularism and post-secularism; religion in public life; interreligious coexistence; dialogue and disagreement; polarization and reconciliation; social exclusion; solidarity and the common good; and ecological belonging and responsibility.

 

A FOURFOLD ANTHROPOSAFARI

The fourfold Anthroposafari moves from the sacred through the philosophical and the technological to the social, tracing the changing dimensions of human existence. It ultimately returns to the enduring question: What does it mean to be human now, and what kind of human future are we capable of imagining?