Reassessing Bergson

International workshop (11th & 12th September)

The thought of Henri Bergson (1859-1941), one of the most influential theorists of time of the

twentieth century, has primarily been confined to the so-called “continental” tradition of philosophy.

In the past few years this has started to change; his work has begun to receive ingenious reassessment

from philosophers outside the field of “continental” philosophy in general and within analytic

philosophy in particular. The aim of this conference is to capture this moment and use it to provide

new perspectives on Bergsonian philosophy, expanding and reassessing Bergson’s legacy and

producing a major permutation in the philosophy of time.

Attendance at the conference is free, but please confirm your participation by emailing Matyáš Moravec: mm2153@cam.ac.uk.

PROGRAMME

Wednesday 11 September

8.45-9.00 Matyáš Moravec (Cambridge), Welcome & Introduction

9.00-9.45 Anne Sophie Meincke (Southampton), “Lessons from Bergson for (Analytic) Process

Metaphysics”

9.45-10.30 Florian Fischer (Siegen), “Bergsonian Answers to Contemporary Persistence Questions”

10.30-11.00 Tea break

11.00-11.45 Mark Sinclair (Roehampton), “Express Yourself! Bergson on Freedom”

11.45-13.00 Lunch

13.00-13.45 Steven Savitt (UCB), “What Bergson Should Have Said to Einstein”

13.45-14.30 Suzanne Guerlac (Berkeley), “Bergson: Misreadings / Rereadings”

14.30-15.00 Tea break

15.00-15.45 Elie During (Paris X Nanterre), “Indeterminacy, Non-Locality and Simultaneity:

Uncovering Bergson’s Creative Present”

15.45-16.30. Emmanuel Picavet (Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne), “Bergsonian Challenges for Our

Understanding of Regulation, Interaction and Constraints in Connection With Collective Aspirations.”

Thursday 12 September

8.45-9.00 Opening remarks

9.00-9.45 Barry Dainton (Liverpool), “Bergson, Einstein, and the Fall of Light”

9.45-10.30 Caterina Zanfi (CNRS / ENS), “Time and History in Bergson’s Philosophy”

10.30-11.00 Tea break

11.00-11.45 Frédéric Worms (ENS), “Thinking in Bergson’s Philosophy”

11.45-13.00 Lunch

13.00-13.45 Sonja Deppe (Jena / Landau), “The Benefits of Bergson’s ‘Qualitative Multiplicity’ for

Temporal Metaphysics”

13.45-14.15 Tea break

14.15-15.00 Yaron Wolf (Oxford), “Bergson and the Experience of Time: A Contemporary

Perspective”

15.00-15.30 Florian Fischer (Siegen), Concluding Remarks

The conference is also complemented by an introductory reading seminar for postgraduate students on

the afternoon of the 10th September. If you are interested in taking part in the seminar, please e-mail

mm2153@cam.ac.uk for more information.

Lead organiser: Matyáš Moravec

Co-organisers: Theo Borgvin-Weiss, Florian Fischer, Sam Sokolsky-Tifft, Zoe Walker.

This event is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, The Aristotelian Society, the

British Society for the History of Philosophy, Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge, The Mind

Association, Pembroke College, Cambridge, the Société des amis de Bergson, and co-organised

together with the Society for Philosophy of Time.

For more information: https://s-p-o-t.weebly.com/reassessing-bergson.html