INPR Major International Seminar June 15-19, 2022 (Paris)
The major international (and bi-annual) seminar of the International Network in Philosophy of Religion (INPR) took place at the Catholic University of Paris with the support of the University. It brought together more than fifty participants, mainly from the United States, but also from many different European countries (France, England, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, etc.). Gathered around the question of the status of "solitude"—"Otherness, community and solitude"—, the aim was to discuss the possibility today of still forming community after the health crisis that the whole world has been facing. From “community” (philosophy), we then moved on to “communion” (theology), at least in an attempt to say and show how much the question of God cannot be forgotten in the “crisis of meaning” that we are encountering in the world today. More than thirty lectures were scheduled and discussed (with parallel sessions), and the necessity of such exchanges was again verified. In the sharing of various questions, from the most intimate solitude to the need to speak for oneself, the question of “crisis” was at the center of all our discussions. Despite the cultural differences between countries, it is indeed this question of “meaning” that we are confronted with, trying to chart a course between catastrophism on the one hand and blissful optimism on the other. Without certainly giving the only solution, Christianity proposes at least in its values to find something of what makes our “common humanity.” Such is its cultural meaning that we must deepen, at the risk of letting it disappear or be forgotten. The seminar ended with a magnificent evening at La Terrasse de Paris (sponsored by a foundation), where the pianist Michaël Levinas played pieces by Liszt and Beethoven for us, after having spoken to us at length about his father Emmanuel Levinas. A very moving moment for all. It is fortunate, and in its vocation, that such a seminar could take place within the Catholic University of Paris. All the members of the INPR warmly thank all those who were able to help in its realization—from close by (students serving the seminar) as well as from afar (financial assistance).
Click here for the program, and see below for a video montage of the seminar.
Created in 2015 under the leadership of Professor Emmanuel Falque (ICP), the International Network in Philosophy of Religion now brings together more than 100 young professors and doctoral students, mainly from the United States, but also from Europe, principally France and Italy. The purpose of this network is to "build bridges" between the two sides of the Atlantic, in accordance with a shared tradition of continental philosophy. At the rate of one major international conference every two years, one week of doctoral and postdoctoral seminars per year, and one annual seminar, the INPR is now attached to and supported by the Vice-Rectorate for Research of the Institut catholique de Paris.
The last major INPR conference was held at the Catholic University of Paris from the 19th to 23rd of June 2019, on the theme "Sense and nonsense". It brought together more than eighty young researchers from all over the world, and in particular from the United States. Professors Jean-Luc Marion, Emmanuel Falque, Richard Kearney, Kevin Hart, Stefano Bancalari, Jérôme de Gramont, Camille Riquier... participated, creating fruitful exchanges with the younger generations about the possibility of thinking about the meaning of religion today.
International conferences and research seminars
The INPR is a network of philosophy and theology in a moment of significant expansion and growth. Three international symposia were organized at the ICP (2015, 2017, 2019), two doctoral and post-doctoral seminars, one in Tivoli (2018), and the other in Touraine in Val d'Aulnay (2019), and an annual seminar was held throughout the year under the direction of INPR doctoral and post-doctoral students (2018-2019). An international Journal is being created.
Led by an international scientific committee (Emmanuel Falque, Kevin Hart, Richard Kearney, Jeffrey Bloechl, Stefano Bancalari, Tamsin Jones), the INPR strives to promote the work of young researchers and to produce a transversal approach in the encounter of cultures and continents. Acting as a major player in this undertaking, the Catholic University of Paris supports and contributes to the international influence of the network, and to the research in philosophy and theology that constitutes its core.
INPR Update
Dear friends,
A few days after the end of our INPR seminar in Paris, our friend, the philosopher and poet Jean-Louis Chrétien left us, and his funeral is approaching. Here "in the meantime" or in this "in-between", his lines continue to scroll before our eyes and his words to resonate in our ears. The tribute paid to him by my colleague who was very close to him, Camille Riquier, Vice-Rector of Research at the Catholic University of Paris, makes us relive his presence. May this reading unite us around one of the greatest figures in French philosophy.
Emmanuel Falque
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Chers amis,
Quelques jours après le fin de notre séminaire INPR à Paris, notre ami, philosophe et poète Jean-Louis Chrétien nous a quitté et ses obsèques approchent. Dans cet « entre-temps » ou dans cet « entre-deux », ses lignes continuent à défiler sous nos yeux et ses paroles à résonner à nos oreilles. L’hommage que lui laisse mon collègue Camille Riquier, vice-recteur à la recherche de l’ICP et qui était très proche de lui, nous en fait revivre la présence. Que cette lecture puisse nous unir autour de celui qui fut l’une des plus grandes figures de la philosophie françaises.
