Applied Process Metaphysics Summer Institute

The Centre for Philosophical Practice « Chromatiques whiteheadiennes » (A.S.B.L., non-profit org., Brussels, www.chromatika.org), managed by Michel Weber, Docteur en philosophie, directs its works according to three complementary axis (research, publication and counselling), each reflecting in its own order the guiding principles of the philosophical act (creativity, efficacy, and vision).

The Centre is organizing every two years an Applied Process Metaphysics Summer Institute that takes place in Paris, at the Cité universitaire’s Fondation Biermans Lapôtre. The next Summer Institute is scheduled for July 2013.

Applied process metaphysics seeks to provide and to move beyond detailed technical renderings of process philosophy (cf. Dibben and Kelly, Applied Process Thought I, 2008). What matters is personal experience and how to refresh our shared understanding of experience.

Over the course of three days, participants will have the opportunity to travel through most aspects of Whitehead’s legacy : anthropology, ecology, education, epistemology, metaphysics, psychology, political theory, quantum mechanics and relativity physics. Additionally, some special attention will be devoted to the heuristics of Process and Reality and to the complementarity among its five Parts.

Drawing upon the major Harvard works —Science and the Modern World (1925), Process and Reality (1929), Adventures of Ideas (1933)—, the Summer Institute Memorandum (Whitehead : The Algebra of Metaphysics, 2010), the relevant entries of the Handbook of Whiteheadian Process Thought (2008) and on their own most recent research, the instructors will seek, first, to introduce Whitehead’s thought by clarifying what is at stake in this kind of philosophizing and by providing a synoptic vision of his key categories in light of their historical development ; second, to foster a creative dialogue among all participants ; third, to provide assistance on the participants’ own research projects or inquiries.

To allow this, the work sessions will be paced in the following way : in the morning, introductory talks on specific epistemic fields ; in the afternoon, guided discussions on these fields ; at night, private tutorial sessions. We will make sure that Whitehead is interpreted secundum Whitehead and always bearing actual experience in mind : it makes little sense either to propose an exegesis-type of inquiry or to confine it to secondary literature. Papers finalized during the workshops could be submitted to the Chromatikon Yearbook.

Instructors are Dr Ronny Desmet and Dr Michel Weber. All sessions will be held in English ; tutorials could also take place in Dutch or in French. An attendance certificate will be provided on request. A maximum of 15 applications will be accepted.

Ronny Desmet holds an MA in mathematics (1983), an MA and a PhD in philosophy (2005 and 2010). He is currently research assistant at the Centre of Logic and Philosophy of Science, Free University of Brussels. His research and publications have focused on Whitehead’s philosophy of mathematics and relativity.

Michel Weber holds an MA and a PhD in philosophy (1991 and 1997). He is the director of the Centre for Philosophical Practice (Brussels). He has published more than 40 books, e.g., Whitehead’s Pancreativism. The Basics (2006) and Whitehead’s Pancreativism. Jamesian Applications (2011).

Full program upon request at info@chromatika.org. Applicants should first contact the organisers to introduce themselves and specify their expectations. The registration fee is 250€ (330$) ; reduced rate upon request. Accomodation can be provided by the Foundation at the special rate of 50 € / night (67$). Reservations should be made at info@chromatika.org.