Thought-provoking philosophy at Saint Emilion

BNP Paribas (South-West Region, France) has partnered with Philosophia, a European festival of philosophy in France, for the third year in a row. The festival was held in the village of Saint Emilion on the 30th and 31st of May 2009.

The festival was created by Eric le Collen (the writer, director, composer, and screenwriter) and based on the Italian philosophy festival held at Modène. The Italian festival has been running for several years and attracts an impressive number of visitors.

The festival is completely free for all visitors and is designed for people of all ages. With each year comes a theme: “The Senses” in the first year, and “Happiness” in the second.

Many renowned French and international philosophers participated in the latest festival (including Albert Jacquard, Heinz Wismann and Raphaël Enthoven, among others), which revolved around the themes “global” and “universal,” and in particular around the concept of heritage. Appropriately, in 2009, Saint Emilion is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its recognition as a UNESCO world heritage site: a global landscape, what landscape, what world? Should we feel moved by the same landscapes, by the same dramas?

Throughout the weekend, participants celebrated the pleasures of philosophic enquiry in an idyllic setting. Not only speakers and philosophers, but also economists, architects, geographers, and artists suggested areas of reflection and debated ideas such as “World heritage – does it have universal value?” “Globalisation and territorial reconfiguration,” and “Should there be a universal language?”, among other topics.

On behalf of our customers, we sponsored the philosophical discussion led by Pascal Bruckner on the theme of “The crisis of the idea of the nation-state in a borderless world.”