Article

Spiritualities, sciences and societies in dialogue

Success for the interfaith and interdisciplinary colloquium organised by the University Chair Our Lady of Peace and the eponymous research centre, in collaboration with the Abbey of Maredsous.
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Article

Arcadie, a new research centre in the ESPHIN institute

Arcadia is the name of an ideal society, a bucolic utopia. But it is also the name chosen by the members of a brand-new research centre at UNamur. This centre, created within the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters and attached to the ESPHIN institute, questions three themes at the heart of our contemporaneity: the Anthropocene, history and utopias.
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Event

Ecology of living organisms" seminars - Aux racines de l'Humain

It's obvious to anyone paying attention to the paths taken by a growing number of 21st century thinkers: these paths lead to the living! Whether it's called "ecophilosophy", "ecoanthropology", "ecosophy", or "ecopolitics", this thinking about the living is occupying a growing place not only in the media and publications of all kinds, but also in concrete actions in a variety of fields.Program 2024-2025 | At the Roots of the HumanTo introduce the subjectIf we were to take stock of the history of mankind, one trend would certainly stand out: that of a utilitarian relationship with the non-human that continues to grow, and consequently that of a widening gap between the human and the rest.Humanity, however, has its roots in a living environment that cultivates many other relationships than those we currently privilege, which are dominated by instrumental rationality. Sounding out these forgotten relational universes without which it is increasingly difficult to think about the human is one aim of this seminar, which this year will invite you to encounter the plant.On December 13 2024 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm (intervention, discussions and convivial moment). Quentin HIERNAUX will introduce plant philosophy and tell us about Humboldt's "Tableau physique des Andes" and his equinoctial geography of plants.Next datesOn February 28, 2025 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm (intervention, discussions and convivial moment), Jean-Baptiste VUILLEROD will address the following theme: Naturphilosophie du végétal : Goethe, Schelling, Humboldt.OnApril 11, 2025from 2:00 to 4:00 pm (intervention, discussions and convivial moment), Roland CAZALIS will share with us his biologist's point of view on the plant world. Find out more about seminars
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Event

Ecology of living organisms" seminars - Aux racines de l'Humain

It's obvious to anyone paying attention to the paths taken by a growing number of 21st century thinkers: these paths lead to the living! Whether it's called "ecophilosophy", "ecoanthropology", "ecosophy", or "ecopolitics", this thinking about the living is occupying a growing place not only in the media and publications of all kinds, but also in concrete actions in a variety of fields.Program 2024-2025 | At the Roots of the HumanTo introduce the subjectIf we were to take stock of the history of mankind, one trend would certainly stand out: that of a utilitarian relationship with the non-human that continues to grow, and consequently that of a widening gap between the human and the rest.Humanity, however, has its roots in a living environment that cultivates many other relationships than those we currently privilege, which are dominated by instrumental rationality. Sounding out these forgotten relational universes without which it is increasingly difficult to think about the human is one of the aims of this seminar, which this year will invite you to encounter the plant.Next dateOnApril 11, 2025from 2:00 to 4:00 pm (talk, discussions and convivial moment), Roland CAZALIS will share with us his biologist's point of view on the plant world. Find out more about seminars
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Activities

Colloques 14/11/2024 | The Emergence of ConsciousnessInterdisciplinary colloquium organized by ESPHIN (UNamur's Espace Philosophique), with the collaboration of the Centre Universitaire Notre-Dame de la Paix (cUNDP), the Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology,and Louvai4evolution (UCLouvain).This free colloquium is aimed at:Specialists, students or PhD students from various disciplines: neuroscience, biology, anthropology, medicine, psychology, philosophy, ethics, computer science, robotics, mathematics, ...People with a passion for interdisciplinarity;Humanists and the curious.Location : Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, rue Grafé 1, Local L22Learn more Ecology of life" seminars It's obvious to anyone paying attention to the paths taken by a growing number of 21st century thinkers: these paths lead to the living! Whether it's called "ecophilosophy", "ecoanthropology", "ecosophy" or "ecopolitics", this way of thinking about the living is occupying a growing place not only in the media and publications of all kinds, but also in concrete actions in a variety of fields.Fashion? Ephemeral trend? Collateral effect of "transitionism" tinged with ambient catastrophism? A new attempt at ecological rebellion? The seminars to which we invite you are intended to be a meeting place - an ecosystem - at the heart of which we will resonate with founding texts of this current that integrates nature, environment, milieu, human and non-human, and straddles the worn-out dualisms of our modern tradition. In other words, we propose to read together some key texts by authors who have attempted to draw lessons from their authentic encounters with other living beings.Program 2024-2025 | At the Roots of the HumanOn December 13 2024 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm (intervention, discussions and convivial moment). Quentin HIERNAUX will introduce plant philosophy and tell us about Humboldt's "Tableau physique des Andes" and his equinoctial geography of plants.On February 28, 2025 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm (intervention, discussions and convivial moment), Jean-Baptiste VUILLEROD will address the following theme: Naturphilosophie du végétal : Goethe, Schelling, Humboldt.OnApril 11, 2025from 2:00 to 4:00 pm (intervention, discussions and convivial moment), Roland CAZALIS will share his biologist's point of view on the plant world.Introducing the subjectIf we were to take stock of the history of mankind, one trend would certainly stand out: that of a utilitarian relationship with the non-human that continues to grow, and consequently that of a widening gap between the human and the rest.Humanity, however, has its roots in a living environment that cultivates many other relationships than those we currently privilege, which are dominated by instrumental rationality. Sounding out these forgotten relational universes, without which it is increasingly difficult to think about the human, is one aim of this seminar, which this year will invite you to encounter the plant.Last year we turned our attention to the communal dimension of living things, starting with the work of Aldo Leopold. In particular, the American forester challenged us with a question from which we should never stray: "just what and whom do we love?". His answer, in the middle of the last century, already confirmed the trend evoked above: "Certainly not the soils, which we allow to be scavenged towards the estuaries. Certainly not the waters, which we assume have no other function than to power turbines, carry barges and carry away garbage. Certainly not plants, whose entire communities we exterminate without batting an eyelid. Certainly not the animals, from which we have already extirpated many of the largest and most magnificent species.". In the face of this lack of consideration for what is not us, the earth ethic proposed by Leopold "modifies the role of homo sapiens, who, from conqueror of the earth-community, becomes a full member and citizen of it". It is thus an ethic that "implies respect for other members as well as for the community as such", and "man is ultimately only a member of a biotic team" ("The Ethics of the Earth", in Almanac of a Sand County).To help us rediscover this vital sense of community, this year we'll turn to plant lifestyles: those living things that maintain intimate relationships with light, air, water and everything we call "soil". How can we let ourselves be instructed by the plants without which we could not exist? "By making possible the world of which they are part and content, plants destroy the topological hierarchy that seems to reign in the cosmos. They demonstrate that life is a breaking of the asymmetry between container and content. When there is life, philosopher Emanuele Coccia continues, the container lies within the content (and is therefore contained by it) and vice versa. The paradigm of this reciprocal imbrication is what the ancients already called breath (pneuma). To blow, to breathe, means in effect to have this experience: that which contains us, the air, becomes contained within us and, conversely, that which was contained within us becomes that which contains us." (The Life of Plants).The Tableau Physique (1807) by Alexander von Humboldt:
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Publications

Non-exhaustive overview of publications by institute members.
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NHNAI action-research project

NHNAI - New Humanism at the time of Neurosciences and Artificial Intelligence
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Members

Board members President: Nicolas Monseu-Van CleemputVice-president: Marie d'Udekem-GeversPhilosophy department representative: Laura RizzerioScience-Philosophies-Society Department representative: Geoffroy de BrabanterAssociate member representative: Bertrand HespelSecretariat: Vénonique OroseWebsite manager: Nathanaël Laurent See all members
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Research centers

Image Arcadie - Anthropocene, History, Utopias Image cBUN - Centre for Bioethics View content Image cUNDP - Centre Universitaire Notre-Dame de paix View content
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Research institut

UNamur Institute for Research in Didactics and Education

The Institut de Recherche en Didactiques et Éducation de l'Université de Namur (IRDENa) is made up of researchers from various faculties and departments at the University of Namur. These transversal relationships offer a multidisciplinary approach and aim to amplify synergies between researchers in the world of education and didactics.Their mission is to foster the emergence of new research objects and methodologies, stemming from a variety of disciplinary anchors.

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Event

Doctoral seminar: Aude Hansel and Natassia Schutz

Interdisciplinary collaboration with subject specialists is a key component in the didactics of "Languages for Specific Purposes" (LSP). For LSP teachers, this collaboration makes it possible to devise contextualized courses that integrate both linguistic objectives and disciplinary content. By basing their teaching on a thorough needs analysis, LSP teachers design tailor-made didactic content that precisely meets the communicative requirements of learners in their specialist field.However, the position of LSP teachers within the institution can sometimes make such collaborations less obvious; moreover, it is often LSP teachers who initiate and support exchanges. This workshop aims to deepen understanding of the aforementioned collaborative dynamics, with the aim of improving student learning outcomes by strengthening interdisciplinary connections and fostering an integrated didactic approach.
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Doctoral seminar: Nephtali Callaerts

From its formal appearance in the 3rd year of general secondary education in FW-B, the chemistry course takes the form of a program detailing a series of contents to be taught. Within the framework of an internal didactic transposition specific to their activity, teachers are led to estimate their relative importance in the curriculum and to transform them. In the midst of a pandemic or following a prolonged absence, what content will teachers retain, adapt or delete?This research project proposes to study this prioritization of the content to be taught in the chemistry course by the teaching staff. More specifically, this paper focuses on the construction and analysis of a questionnaire investigating the organization of the main chapters (UAA) by chemistry teachers.
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