Overview

The systematic perspective that is thematic to our workshop, process philosophy, accentuates the dynamicity of reality. Process philosophy starts from the presupposition that such dynamicity as the characteristic feature of processes is an indispensable part of good metaphysical explanations. Thus, processists not only challenge the reductionist’s accounts of dynamicity but also, in placing dynamic processes at the foundation, they aim to make fruitful the explanatory power of processes as explanantia. Processes offer novel ways of explaining for emergence, causality, mental occurrences, normativity, etc.

In its effort to restore dynamicity to a focal point of comprehensive philosophical study, process philosophy is nothing short of a paradigm shift. It replaces central assumptions and concepts by their dynamic counterparts. This paradigm shift encompasses a broader process philosophical account but also more narrow reinterpretations of scientific questions and their interpretation.

In our workshop we want to pick out two particularly important sciences regarding such a processual shift: Biology and Physics. Especially in the philosophy of biology there is a long-standing dispute over the feasibility of a purely mechanistic explanation of life – and recently it seems to strongly trend towards the negative. Then life must be grounded not in the state-sequence of inherently static functions, but a processual organistic account.

Similarly, there is a processual attempt to understand the fundamental entities of modern physics. Processists have argued that the vexing nature of quantum particles, fields or spacetime are better understood from a processual perspective. Some have explicitly defended the claim that quantum field theory confronts us with entities that match most convincingly with processes and recently, physicist Carlo Rovelli has defended a theory of loop quantum gravity (LQG) which can be understood as a thesis about the emergence of spacetime from fundamental processes. Do the processes at the fundamental level exist (metaphysically) before time then?

At our workshop we aim to work on the foundation of process metaphysics. We are inviting speakers working on notions of processes and dynamicity more broadly alongside experts on sciences, particularly physics and biology. We hope that such an event can both foster effects of synergy across discourses but equally discuss in-depth particular issues. Therefore, we have also invited speakers critical of the processual movement which have written nuanced articles on the potential shortcomings of some of the process-proposals.

Format

The workshop will begin on the 18th of September and end on the 19th. It features 10 speakers with each speaker having around 30-40 minutes time for a presentation leaving 20-30 minutes for discussion.

The workshop will be structured aligning with the three topics it aims to cover. We will begin with three speakers on the broader process metaphysical picture and questions about dynamicity. Then we will have four speakers discussing the advances in the philosophy of biology and its processual interpretation. We will conclude with three speakers on the prospects of process-physics and the involved notion of dynamicity.

Presenters

• Cord Friebe (University of Siegen): Is the expanding universe a fundamental process?
• Spyridon Α. Koutroufinis (Technische Universität Berlin): Can organisms be understood ontologically appropriately through neo-mechanistic thinking? A process-metaphysical perspective.
• Emilia Margoni (University of Geneva, University of Pisa/Firenze): Meeting at the crossroads: foundational physics and process thinking
• Anna-Lisa Nußbaum (University of Siegen): Temporally expanding wholes in the Growing-Block universe
• Vesselin Petrov (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences): Dynamic Methodology for the Philosophy of Education
• Tina Röck (University of Dundee, UK, Scotland): Fundamental Impermanence – Overlaps between Whitehead’s process philosophy and Buddhist thought
• Dennis Sölch (University of Düsseldorf): Process Metaphysics in the Context of Early Twentieth Century Biology
• Giuliano Torrengo (University of Milan): The passage of time, processes, and fragmentalism
• Maximilian Zachrau (University of Siegen): Levelled Notions of Dynamicity – Fundamental Processes and Dynamic Time

Schedule

Thursday 18th of September

• 09:15-09:30 Introduction
• 09:30-10:30 Tina Röck Fundamental Impermanence – Overlaps between Whitehead’s process philosophy and Buddhist thought
• 10:30-10:45 Break
• 10:45-11:45 Maximilian Zachrau Levelled Notions of Dynamicity – Fundamental Processes and Dynamic Time
• 11:45-12:00 Break
• 12:00-13:00 Anna-Lisa Nußbaum Temporally expanding wholes in the Growing-Block universe
• 13:00-15:00 Lunch Break
• 15:00-16:00 Vesselin Petrov Dynamic Methodology for the Philosophy of Education
• 16:00-16:15 Break
• 16:15-17:15 Spyridon A. Koutroufinis Can organisms be understood ontologically appropriately through neo-mechanistic thinking? A process-metaphysical perspective.

Friday 19th of September

• 09:30-10:30 Dennis Sölch Process Metaphysics in the Context of Early Twentieth Century Biology
• 10:30-10:45 Break
• 10:45-11:45 William Morgan TBA
• 11:45-12:00 Break
• 12:00-13:00 Cord Friebe Is the expanding universe a fundamental process?
• 13:00-15:00 Lunch Break
• 15:00-16:00 Emilia Margoni Meeting at the crossroads: foundational physics and process thinking
• 16:00-16:15 Break
• 16:15-17:15 Giuliano Torrengo The passage of time, processes, and fragmentalism

Participation

There is no participation fee for the workshop.

There are only limited spots available. If you want to attend the talks please sent a message to: maximilian.zachrau@uni-siegen.de. Students of the foregoing summer school are particularly welcome to attend the talks at the workshop and need not register beforehand.

Proceedings

Philosophies, an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal from MDPI, has agreed to publish the workshop proceedings on a rolling basis in a special issue on “Process Metaphysics”. You can find the webpage here: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/philosophies/special_issues/WR0Q64WHA8