Bilkent hosted PhilFest’26 on Saturday, September 26, bringing together students, academics and visitors from across Türkiye for a full day of philosophical engagement. Running from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Spring Festival Area, the festival brought philosophy into conversation with music, dance, art, science and everyday life. Talks on the stage addressed cinema, literature and possible worlds; life and nature; and the philosophy of quantum physics with speakers including Erkcan Özcan, Bayram Tekin, Cansu Yüksel and Mehmet Elgin. A session on the social epistemology of science communication, with Nurcan Seven and Ömer Kamacı and moderated by Çağın Tan Eroğlu, was held as part of the Science Café (Bilim Kafe) series organized by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK). Participants met with more than 40 philosophy societies and associations from around the country and browsed discounted titles at the book fair. The program also featured prize competitions, exhibitions, interactive posters, “Change My Mind” tables, a dance workshop and PechaKucha presentations on “Women in Philosophy.” In the evening, the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra gave a narrated concert at Bilkent Odeon with A. Onur Aktaş, bringing philosophy and classical music together on the same stage. PhilFest ’26 was organized by the Department of Philosophy, the Bilkent Philosophical Society, the Bilkent University Library, the Bilkent Psychological Counseling and Development Center and the Bilkent Teaching and Learning Support Center.
