International researchers honored this extraordinary anniversary with a three-day symposium titled ”Mirabilis scientiae fundamenta.Descartes en Allemagne 1619-2019” that was held at the Neuburg Castle. The conference with a historical-philosophical and systematic focus was jointly organized by Prof. Dr. Walter Schweidler (Eichstätt) and Prof. Dr. Vincent Carraud (Paris-Sorbonne) in close collaboration with PD Markus Rothhaar (Hagen) and Dr. Dan Arbib (Paris).
On the occasion of the festive opening of the conference at the town theater in Neuburg, Pierre Lanapats, Consul General of the French Republic in Bavaria, officially welcomed the guests. He underlined the importance of the Franco-German relations, not only in a scientific and cultural context but also with regard to philosophical approaches. The Member of the German Bundestag Reinhard Brandl emphasized the great relevance of philosophical reflection in today’s world. He said that there was particular need for advice in fields such as bioethics and in discussions involving artificial intelligence issues. Brandl affirmed: “We are very happy that there are institutions like the ones at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt that provide advice and support in these issues.” The Neuburg Mayor Dr. Bernhard Gmehling said that it was an “honor and pleasure” for the city to host the Franco-German colloquium. KU President Prof. Dr. Gabriele Gien also welcomed the participants of the conference to the opening celebrations. With a view to the strong integration of sustainability in the KU’s profile, she raised the important question of what impact “Descartes had on the vision of man, on his perception as a part of creation and on the development of science”.
The opening ceremony was scientifically supported by a keynote speech held by the renowned Descartes expert and philosopher Prof. Dr. Jean-Luc Marion from Académie française in which he presented a philosophical analysis of the three dreams Descartes had.
At the three-day conference, researchers from France, Italy, Germany and Switzerland discussed most current research results and findings. “You can see that rationalism arises from something that is not reasonably accessible – from dreams and intuitions. And this is what we want to explore at this conference”, these were the words with which Prof. Dr. Walter Schweidler, holder of the Chair of Philosophy in Eichstätt, summarized an important aspect of the Franco-German conference. The other 17 contributions addressed the historical classification, the foundations and the reception of Cartesian philosophy as well as the challenges of an appropriate translation.
Whether René Descartes actually gained his philosophical insights in Neuburg is not definitely certain. Other cities as well, among them also Ulm, claim to be the birthplace of rationalism. During the conference, however, the participants spoke out in favor of the theory that the young philosopher had been inspired by the stucco on the church ceiling of the Hofkirche in Neuburg in November 1619. It shows the invocation of the Mother of God, a representation that is particularly prominent in the Italian pilgrimage place Loreto, where Descartes spent a lot of time. “Loreto has a clear reference to Neuburg”, is also confirmed by Prof. Dr. Walter Schweidler.
On Monday morning, Dr. Tobias Holischka (KU Chair of Philosophy), Stefan Raich (project “Mensch in Bewegung”), the French doctoral student Damien Lacroux (Sorbonne University) and Prof. Dr. Holger Günzel from the University of Applied Sciences Munich visited the secondary school Descartes Gymnasium in Neuburg. Conference participants had lively discussions with pupils from the eleventh grade and students from Paris and Toulouse on how the basic ideas of the French philosopher could be applied to the field of artificial intelligence.
A special highlight of the conference on Monday evening was a reading held by the award-winning author Durs Grünbein in the Neuburg theater which was accompanied by the ensemble Musica aliter. Grünbein read from his works that deal with René Descartes – amongst others from his book “Vom Schnee oder Descartes in Deutschland” (About snow or Descartes in Germany).
At the end of the conference, the feedback from both participants and organizers was very positive throughout. Prof. Dr. Walter Schweidler confirmed that the academic exchange had been extremely productive and had produced insights that would flow into both philosophical thinking and the teaching practice. The organizers already started thinking about continuing the conference because it produced many new findings and insights gathered by the researchers in Neuburg. The responsible organizer for the conference, Clara-Elisabeth Vasseur, was very happy with the outcome: “The program included literary, cultural as well as highly academic components. We gathered the crème de la crème of Descartes research in Neuburg which most certainly contributed to the conference’s huge success.“
