8.0190 Conference: Einstein meets Magritte (1/163)

Elaine Brennan (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Thu, 15 Sep 1994 17:12:46 EDT

Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 8, No. 0190. Thursday, 15 Sep 1994.

Date: Thu, 15 Sep 1994 16:14:13 +0100
From: fheyligh@vnet3.vub.ac.be (Francis Heylighen)
Subject: Interdisciplinary Conference: "Einstein meets Magritte"


FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT


Einstein meets Magritte

An interdisciplinary reflection on
science, nature, human action and society

Conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel

May 29 / June 3, Brussels, Belgium


Never before has humanity made such an attempt as now to take its fate into
its own hands (science and technology). The increasing speed of current
global changes, however, leads to a sense of disorientation. Need this
paradox be resolved, and if so, can it be dealt with from a perception that
knowledge and actions lead to ever larger fragmentation?

Different attitudes prevail, involving respectively;

(1) an attempt to reconstitute a form of unity, often projecting the hope
that the alleged unwanted effects of scientific and technological progress
will become comprehensible and eventually controllable;

(2) a relativist attitude, depicting the modern worldview, with its
instruments and products (western science and technology), as one among
many conceivable,and probably not the most desirable, course for humanity.

Each of these attitudes tends to portray the other as a caricature.
'Relativists' stigmatize attempts at unification as dictatorial, unfeasible
and naive. Relativism, in its turn, is said to lead anywhere and nowhere at
all. The aim of the conference is to gather scholars from different
domains, inviting them to set up a dialogue between the above attitudes,
and integrate the more relevant insights of both into a new perspective on
global change.

We have taken up the two myths of Albert Einstein and Rene Magritte,
because we believe that where they 'meet' some significant clues might be
revealed. How does science (producing knowledge and technology) confront
art (producing revelations and sensations)? Do we have to oppose life
'within object' (the conscious ordering of the physical and social world,
symbolized in 'Einstein') to a form of life 'beyond object' (symbolized in
the imagery of Magritte)?


Tentative list of invited speakers:
-----------------------------------

Zygmunt BAUMAN, Leeds University, United Kingdom.
Rosi BRAIDOTTI, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Bob EDWARDS, Cambridge University. United Kingdom.
Murray GELL-MANN, Caltech and Santa Fe Institute, USA.
Adolf GRUNBAUM, University of Pittsburgh, USA.
Jurgen HABERMAS, University of Frankfurt, Germany.
Douglas HOFSTADTER, Indiana University, USA.
Julian JAYNES, Princeton University, USA.
Daniel KOSHLAND, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Niklas LUHMAN, University of Bielefeld, Germany.
Constantin PIRON, University of Geneva, Switserland.
Michel SERRES, Sorbonne-Stanford, France.
Isabelle STENGERS, University of Brussels, Belgium.
Zeev STERNHELL, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Bas VAN FRAASSEN, Princeton University, USA.
=46rancisco J. VARELA, Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, France.
James WATSON, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, USA


Four workshops will be held during the conference on the following themes:

1. Science, society and the university.
2. The nature of life (and death).
3. A world in transition.
4. Worldviews and the problem of synthesis.

Conference proceedings "Einstein meets Magritte : An interdisciplinary
reflection on science, nature, human action and society", will be
published, including contributions of participants. Anyone wishing to take
part in the conference, or to receive a second announcement containing a
more complete programme, should fill in the reply form and return it to us.



Organising committee:
--------------------
Diederik Aerts,
Paul Devroey,
Patrick De Wilde,
Christiaan Sybesma,
Jeffrey Tyssens,
Jozef Van Bellingen,
Luc Van Langenhoven,
Ludo Veny.


Conference secretary:
---------------------
Linda Dasseville
DINF, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
tel: 32 2 629 34 90,
fax: 32 2 629 34 95,
e-mail: einmag@vub.ac.be


For more information concerning the 'scientific aspect' of the conference
contact:

Diederik Aerts
TENA,Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
tel: 32 2 629 32 39 or 32 15 22 07 05
fax: 32 2 629 22 76 or 32 15 22 51 98
E-mail: diraerts@vub.ac.be

or:
Christiaan Sybesma,
BIOF,Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
tel: 32 2 629 32 69
E-mail: csybesma@vnet3.vub.ac.be

The conference is part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the 'Vrije
Universiteit Brussel', which was founded in 1969 as a separate university
from the 'Universite Libre de Bruxelles'. It is co-organised by CLEA, an
interdisciplinary research centre at this university investigating the
possible ways of integrating different worldviews.



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INTEREST FORM:

I am interested in taking part in the conference "Einstein meets Magritte :
An interdisciplinary reflection on science, nature, human action and
society", and wish to receive the second announcement.

Name:.......................................................
Affiliation:.......................................................
Fax:.......................................................
E-mail:.......................................................
Tel.:.......................................................

I wish (yes\no) to submit a paper, and if 'yes' include with this form
an abstract (not more than 1 page)
I prefer to present the paper as :
(1) contributed talk ( )
(2) poster ( )
(indicate preference)

Tentative title of the talk :......................................
...................................................................

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All correspondence should be sent to "Einstein meets Magritte", TENA, Vrije
Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
e-mail: einmag@vub.ac.be

More info is available on the World-Wide Web, at URL:

http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Conf/EinmagAn.html