Dr. Mitchel Atkinson III as Lead Discussant at the Pluartis Symposium 2026
BRUSSELS / PULA – We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Mitchell Atkinson III will serve as our Lead Discussant for the highly anticipated debate session at the Pluartis Symposium 2026 in Pula. Anchoring our roundtable on “The Digital Soul: Can AI inhabit the Citadel?”, Dr. Atkinson will set the stage for our panel of scholars and experts as they bridge ancient philosophy with the frontiers of artificial intelligence.
Dr. Mitchell Atkinson III is a writer, philosopher and sociologist. He was born and raised in Flint, MI. He is the author of Alterity and the Flint Water Crisis and has published work on consciousness, social experience, religious experience, substrate independence and whole brain emulation, environmental justice, musical experience, aesthetic theory, as well as methodological topics in phenomenology and sociology. He holds advanced degrees in analytic philosophy, sociology, and phenomenological philosophy. He studied phenomenology under Professor Jagna Brudzinska.
His imaginative fiction explores experiences of social difference, technology, the supernatural, and intersubjectivity. His play Symposium O takes up the question of apocalyptic love in the global academy.
Atkinson has eschewed both techno-optimism and luddism. He has argued that epistemological challenges associated with key aspirations of the transhumanist movement are insuperable. He is a fan of free software and drafts on paper with a fountain pen.
With his unique expertise bridging the philosophy of mind, technological critique, and classical traditions, Dr. Atkinson is uniquely equipped to guide this pivotal conversation. We look forward to the profound insights he will bring to the Pluartis stage this August. Please join us in giving him a warm welcome to Istria!