Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments from previous volume
The editor of this volume expresses his gratitude to the editors of the journal Laval Théologique et Philosophique, Bernard Collette and Guy Jobin, for giving their consent to translate and reprint a shortened version of Anne Devarieuxâs article âPuissance(s) du moi: Louis Lavelle et Maine de Biran,â previously published in volume 69/1 (2013), pp. 35â56.
Herausgegeben mit freundlicher Unterstützung der Universitätsstiftung Lucia und Dr. Otfried-Eberz im Rahmen der Regensburger Universitätsstiftung (Bayern), Deutschland.
Published with the kind support of the Lucia and Dr. Otfried-Eberz University Foundation within the framework of the Regensburg University Foundation (Bavaria), Germany.
Acknowledgments from current volume
The core of this volume originated within and evolved around the first extensive international multidisciplinary research colloquium devoted to the work and influence of the French philosopher Marie-François-Pierre Maine de Biran (1766â1824), Posterities of Maine de Biranâs Physio-Spiritualism in the 20th Century. Organized by the Faculty of Languages, Literature and Cultures at Regensburg University, 25â26 September 2020, it was facilitated, due to the Corona restrictions, in an online format.
The idea of reconstructing some of Biranâs core discourses and initial reception around 1800, moving then to trace his resonances throughout the course of the twentieth century with a special focus on the period following World War II, however, emerged from a need for research regarding this specific trajectory identified during the course of a research project devoted to proto-phenomenological aesthetics that the editor of this volume is still in the process of pursuing at the aforementioned institution in the context of visual arts.
Indeed, this book, constituting a joint effort by scholars from Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the USA, is attending to a need to thoroughly examine the scarcely investigated influence of Biranâs conspicuous concept of âphysio-spiritualismâ upon postmodernity, existentialism, and phenomenology, respectively on experimental psychology, as well as physiology and neurology, during the second half of the twentieth centuryâagainst the historical backdrop of multidisciplinary medical humanities, philosophy, and mysticism.
To this end, the editor has, in following his initial historiographic mapping of the project for the purpose of a funding application, assembled a team of researchers comprised, on the one hand, of explicit Biran-scholars and, on the other, of scholars specializing in those philosophers whose concepts have been explicitly influenced by Maine de Biranâs physio-spiritualism. This has enabled senior and junior investigators from the disciplines of cultural history, philosophy, psychology, and literature to hold a cross-fertilizing dialogue that is, in fact, ongoing and that continues to evolve into further projects.
Our effervescent conversations and constructive disagreements during the research symposium and in its wake have ultimately inspired a dynamic writing process which enabled us to identify synergies and established a fluid coherence between individual topics and amongst the historical phases wherein these are situated. The ongoing dialogues within our heterogeneous research circle and with scholars from neighboring disciplines have been and are laying the foundations of the historical discourse that emerged from the concept of physio-spiritualismâespecially in its relationship to phenomenology.
While many of the chapters united and intertwined in this volume are based on talks presented during the symposium, others were written later for this project at the editorâs request by scholars who were either unable to join our discussions or preferred to make their contribution exclusively in written form. An exception is the chapter by Anne Devarieux âPower(s) of Self: Louis Lavelle and Maine de Biranâ that was previously published in French. I also wish to thank the author, the editors, and the publishing house involved for granting permission to translate this text.
The initial research conducted for this book would not have been possible without the inspiring creative academic environment provided, on a daily basis, by all of my colleagues. In this regard, I would like to express my heartfelt thankfulness, particularly to Christiane Heibach (Vice-Chair), Bernhard Dotzler (Chair), Renate Vogl (our Secretary) at the Institute of Information and Media, Language, and Culture of the University of Regensburgâfor their continued support of my research over the past years. I am equally grateful to our assistants, especially to Sonja Kalnin and to Tobias Emmerling. Sonja Kalnin has devoted much time and energy to this project both in her support with the preliminary organizational steps of the colloquium and during its actual execution. Her much valued dedication was instrumental in developing this project expeditiously. Tobias Emmerling meticulously supported the preparation of the book manuscript in its final stage, to skilfully address format and technical issues.
The translations required for this book have been generously funded by the Lucia and Dr. Otfried Eberz Foundation under the umbrella of the Bavarian Vielberth University Foundation. The team of authors as a whole feels indebted to the board of trustees for their flexibility during these challenging times of the Corona pandemic, specifically in their decision to reallocate the financial resources usually provided to facilitate conference venues for translating essential texts from French and German into English. In this context, I wish to express appreciation for the efforts of Jacob Watson, the translator of the texts written by Anne Devarieux and Rolf Kühn. Mr. Watson has also done language editing for the chapters written by non-native speakers to conform to proper English style as well as adapting all the chapters, in tandem with the editor, to adhere to the required consistency.
Furthermore, the editor and authors wish to thank Ben Morgan (University of Oxford) and Andrés Quero Sanchez (University of Regensburg) for their solid trust expressed by inviting us, at a very early stageâsix months prior to our research colloquiumâto publish the outcome of this project in their distinguished novel series Studies in Mysticism, Idealism and Phenomenology.
I also extend my heartfelt gratitude to Jennifer Pavelko (the former Senior Acquisitions Editor of Philosophy at Brill) and to her successor Erika Mandarino (Acquisitions Editor of Philosophy at Brill), as well as to her colleague Helena Schöb (Associate Editor of Philosophy) for their continued interest, support, and advice.
I am equally grateful to Denise Vincenti (University of Milan-Bicocca) and Marc Maesschalck (Catholic University of Louvain), contributors to this volume, who have been supportive in granting remote access to the library holdings of their academic institutions and provided, via email-communication, data from resources that contributed to the precision of the manuscript.
I also wish to address a special note of gratitude to colleagues and friends: to Sigmund Bonk (Director of the Academic Forum Albertus Magnus; Institute of Philosophy, University of Regensburg), to Anne Devarieux (Department of Philosophy, Université Caen Normandie) and to Rolf Kühn (Emeritus, University of Freiburg im Breisgau) for their valuable critical input whenever we exchanged thoughts regarding the evolving structure and content of this project.
Most important of all, I would like to thank the wonderful being by my side, my wife Neslihan DemirtaÅ-Milz, who, even from a distance, constantly enriches my endeavors and my life.