Bergensnettverket for kvinner i filosofi

25/10/2025

GUEST LECTURES | DR. ZUZANNA RUCINSKA | November 5th and 7th, 2025

The Bergen Network for Women in Philosophy (BNWP) has the great pleasure to invite you to two talks by Dr. Zuzanna Rucińska, Leiden University, the Netherlands.

NOVEMBER 5th: "Rock climbing and affordances" at 4:15pm-6 pm.
ABSTRACT:
This talk offers a new theoretical option inspired by the Embodied and Enactive cognition that aims to account for agency in virtual worlds. It proposes that there is only one agent and one action to be considered in VR - the action of the player who is engaging with a complex technological interface. The view goes against the available positions currently offered in the literature (virtual realists and virtual fictionalists) and builds on the enactivist view of agency. From this perspective, agents define their own individuality, are active source of activity in their environments, and regulate this activity in relation to certain norms - all of which is achievable in virtual reality. There are important social and pragmatic consequences to consider from the enactive view of agency in VR, such as re-thinking the nature of embodiment in VR (sense of presence vs. new sensorimotor skills), or fictionalization of virtual abuse and violence in virtual game worlds.

NOVEMBER 7th: "Virtual reality and embodiment" at 12:15pm-2 pm.
ABSTRACT: I this talk I will consider how one’s sense of embodiment can be situated (both afforded and constrained) by one’s ongoing interactions of her body with the environment, looking at the specific environment that rock climbing affords. Professionals and novices who engage in rock climbing experience their bodies in new and different ways. Moreover, the perception of the climbing wall itself changes, once one is actively engaging with the rock. The affordances of the handholds and footholds change from time 1 – the first time they are observed and ‘read’ for their intended use, to time 2 – mid-climb, while hanging by the holds. Dynamic interaction with the wall during the climb allows the climber to see nested possibilities for action, and re-plan her route by adjusting to the demands of the climb on the spot. This skillful interaction further affects one’s sense of embodiment, creating a looping effect, whereby gaining expertise during the continuous adjustment to the situated demands of the climb is linked to new discoveries about one’s capacities for decision making and imagining, all connected to one’s embodiment.

Both talks take place in the Meeting room (Møterommet), 1st floor, Sydnesplassen 12/13, University of Bergen.

BIO: Zuzanna Rucińska is a former postdoctoral fellow of the University of Antwerp, Belgium, the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland, and lecturer of philosophy of mind in Leiden University, the Netherlands. She was an early stage researcher of the Marie Curie Initial Training Network, TESIS, in the United Kingdom, working on the embodied and enactive account of pretending. Her research interests include pretend and imaginative play, forms of creativity, embodied and enacted cognition, theory of affordances, and extend to sport, mental health, Virtual Reality and AI.

Snacks and refreshments will be served during the event.

All interested are heartily welcome to attend the talks!

Best regards,

Anita Leirfall
Leader of the Bergen Network for Women in Philosophy

25/10/2025

GUEST LECTURES | ZUZANNA RUCINSKA | November 5th and 7th, 2025

The Bergen Network for Women in Philosophy (BNWP) has the great pleasure to invite you to two talks by Dr. Zuzanna Rucińska, Leiden University, the Netherlands.

NOVEMBER 5th: "Virtual reality and embodiment" at 4:15pm-6 pm.
ABSTRACT:
This talk offers a new theoretical option inspired by the Embodied and Enactive cognition that aims to account for agency in virtual worlds. It proposes that there is only one agent and one action to be considered in VR - the action of the player who is engaging with a complex technological interface. The view goes against the available positions currently offered in the literature (virtual realists and virtual fictionalists) and builds on the enactivist view of agency. From this perspective, agents define their own individuality, are active source of activity in their environments, and regulate this activity in relation to certain norms - all of which is achievable in virtual reality. There are important social and pragmatic consequences to consider from the enactive view of agency in VR, such as re-thinking the nature of embodiment in VR (sense of presence vs. new sensorimotor skills), or fictionalization of virtual abuse and violence in virtual game worlds.

NOVEMBER 7th: "Rock climbing and affordances" at 12:15pm-2 pm.
ABSTRACT: I this talk I will consider how one’s sense of embodiment can be situated (both afforded and constrained) by one’s ongoing interactions of her body with the environment, looking at the specific environment that rock climbing affords. Professionals and novices who engage in rock climbing experience their bodies in new and different ways. Moreover, the perception of the climbing wall itself changes, once one is actively engaging with the rock. The affordances of the handholds and footholds change from time 1 – the first time they are observed and ‘read’ for their intended use, to time 2 – mid-climb, while hanging by the holds. Dynamic interaction with the wall during the climb allows the climber to see nested possibilities for action, and re-plan her route by adjusting to the demands of the climb on the spot. This skillful interaction further affects one’s sense of embodiment, creating a looping effect, whereby gaining expertise during the continuous adjustment to the situated demands of the climb is linked to new discoveries about one’s capacities for decision making and imagining, all connected to one’s embodiment.

Both talks take place in the Meeting room (Møterommet), 1st floor, Sydnesplassen 12/13, University of Bergen.

BIO: Zuzanna Rucińska is a former postdoctoral fellow of the University of Antwerp, Belgium, the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland, and lecturer of philosophy of mind in Leiden University, the Netherlands. She was an early stage researcher of the Marie Curie Initial Training Network, TESIS, in the United Kingdom, working on the embodied and enactive account of pretending. Her research interests include pretend and imaginative play, forms of creativity, embodied and enacted cognition, theory of affordances, and extend to sport, mental health, Virtual Reality and AI.

Snacks and refreshments will be served during the event.

All interested are heartily welcome to attend the talks!

Best regards
Anita Leirfall
Leader of the Bergen Network for Women in Philosophy

18/08/2025

CFP: WOMEN AT THE DAWN OF ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY

Submission deadline: May 28, 2026 | Conference date(s):
May 28, 2026 - May 29, 2026

Location: Northeastern University London (Devon House, 58 St Katherine’s Way, London) Organiser: Peter West
Contact: peter.west@nulondon.ac.uk

This conference is generously funded by the British Academy/ Leverhulme Trust.

This conference focuses on the contributions to and context of women to early analytic philosophy in the first half of the 20th century. We welcome papers focusing on the philosophical work of women in the analytic tradition or in connection to the analytic tradition (broadly construed).

Papers might focus on the following figures/ topics (the following list is simply intended to be indicative):

Example figures:

Susan Stebbing
Margaret Macdonald
Dorothy Emmet
Alice Ambrose
Helen Knight
Margaret Masterman
Ruth Lydia Saw
Elsie Whetnall
Beatrice Edgell
Ruth Barcan Marcus
Susanne Langer
Dorothy Wrinch
Hilda Oakley

Example topics:

Connections between these figures.
Connections between early analytic women and later women philosophers (e.g., the ‘Wartime Quartet’: Midgley, Murdoch, Foot, Anscombe).
Schools of thought or philosophical groups within early analytic philosophy (e.g., philosophers at Bedford College).
Historiographical/ methodological reflections on women in the history of philosophy or the ‘canon’ and narratives in the history of philosophy.

Again, these are indicative topics - the conference welcomes a variety of proposals. (The time-frame covered is also flexible; figures/ texts pre-1900 or post-1950 will also be considered.)

Invited speakers:

Lawrence Blum (University of Massachusetts, Boston)
Siobhan Chapman (University of Liverpool)
Sophia Connell (University of Notre Dame)
Cheryl Misak (University of Toronto)
Oliver Spinney (University College London)

Proposals:
Proposals should take the form of a maximum 300 word abstract, sent to peter.west@nulondon.ac.uk.
Please also include your name, email, and institutional affiliation.
The deadline for proposals is January 1st 2026.

There is also some funding available to support postgraduate attendees or attendees with (e.g.) childcare support needs.
Please mention this in your email along with the information requested above. Please email the organiser with any queries.

Call for Papers: Women at the Dawn of Analytic Philosophy   Dates: May 28-29th 2026 Location: Northeastern University London (Devon House, 58 St Katherine’s Way, London) Organiser: Peter West Contact: peter.west@nulondon.ac.uk    This conference is generously funded by...

12/05/2025

GUEST LECTURE

Jens Timmermann (St Andrews): "IMMANUEL KANT AND MARIA VON HERBERT" (20/5-2025)

Dear members of the Bergen Network for Women in Philosophy,

I've the great pleasure to announce an invited talk by Professor Jens Timmermann (University of St Andrews) who will give a talk on the correspondence between Baroness Maria von Herbert (1769-1803) and Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). Her three letters to Kant raise several philosophical issues concerning friendship, objectification, the Kantian distinction between lying (saying something that is not true) and reticence (saying not all that is true), and su***de. This exchange puts Kant's arguments regarding the relation between morality and happiness to an existential test and should be of interest to most of us.

IMMANUEL KANT AND MARIA VON HERBERT

In August 1791, a young woman from Carinthia in southern Austria writes to Immanuel Kant to ask his advice. She has offended a dear friend of hers by a "protracted lie”, now revealed to him rather late in the day. As a result, his love for her has vanished. What is she to do? In this seminar, we shall discuss the initial letter, Kant’s reply, Maria von Herberts two further letters and other materials surrounding this extraordinary story. They touch on topics like lying and reticence, the role of experts in ethics, love and friendship, su***de, faith and the meaning of life. Prof. Timmermann will give a brief introductory lecture on the elements of Kant’s moral philosophy that underpin the exchange.

Jens Timmermann is Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of St Andrews. Among his publications are Kant’s will at the crossroads: an essay on the failings of practical rationality (Oxford University Press, 2022), Kant's groundwork of the metaphysics of morals: A commentary (Cambridge University Press, 2007), and Kant and the Supposed Right to Lie (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming).

Just contact me (anita.leirfall@uib.no) if you want to read the correspondence between Maria von Herbert and Kant (draft of a translation from German into English).

Time: Tuesday May 20th at 2:15-4 pm
Place: Meeting room, 1st floor, Sydnesplassen 12/13, University of Bergen

Snacks and refreshments will be served. You are all heartily welcome!

Best regards,
Anita Leirfall
Leader of the Bergen Network for Women in Philosophy

05/03/2025

INTERESSANT ARTIKKEL!

Paxton, Molly, Carrie Figdor, and Valerie Tiberius. 2012. “Quantifying the Gender Gap: An Empirical Study of the Underrepresentation of Women in Philosophy.” Hypatia 27 (4): 950–957. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23352311?seq=1

10/02/2025

CfP: HOW WOMEN SHAPED THE NORDIC ENLIGHTENMENT | Intellectual Equality, Women’s Education, and Moral Philosophy

International Conference at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, June 18-20, 2025 (deadline 20 February 2025). https://inspire.ku.dk/research-activities/whence/events/how-women-shaped-the-nordic-enlightenment/

"(...) While women’s participation in the Enlightenment is well researched in some parts of Europe, notably in France and England, other regions have been neglected in this wave of research. This holds true for Europe’s North, raising the question of how the Enlightenment unfolded."

Conference.

09/12/2024

Associate Professor Sara Uckelman (Durham University) gives a series of lectures with the topic title: "WHAT IS LOGIC?" Highly recommended!

Doctor Logic Awkwardly Does Logic.

18/11/2024

ÅPENT FOR ALLE INTERESSERTE PHD-KANDIDATER FRA ALLE FAG!

Ph.d.-stafett: Kjønnsperspektiver i forskning

Senter for kvinne- og kjønnsforskning (SKOK) ved UiB inviterer alle interesserte Ph.D.-kandidater til et tverrfaglig Ph.D-seminar torsdag 28. november 2024.

Senter for kvinne- og kjønnsforskning (SKOK) ved UiB inviterer alle interesserte Ph.D.-kandidater til et tverrfaglig Ph.D-seminar torsdag 28. november 2024.

28/08/2024

KATHERINE EVERITT: "REALITY IS INCOMPLETE"

RECORDING OF THE TALK:
https://youtu.be/5qYv8yrIJ5Q?si=gcphpNU80dTCYhGO

Presentation for the Bergen Network for Women in Philosophy. University of Bergen. 21 August 2024.

Abstract
What are the limits of space? Does the universe go on and on forever? How could philosophers possibly contribute to what seems like such a brute, empirical question? This precise question of reality's limits is intimately tied to incompletion. From Gödel to quantum physics, the incompletion of reality has proven to tread debates in mathematical and empirical fields alike. What does it mean to make the leap between admitting our knowledge of reality is incomplete to arguing that reality itself is fractured, half-filled-in, and constitutively at a lack? We will explore the works of Hegel, particularly his naturalistic and logical incursions, to answer this question. I argue that incompletion is actually an optimistic assessment, as this guarantees an open world bursting with potentiality. My line of argumentation will closely follow the most grounding aspect of reality: that it is spatial.

Bio
Katherine Everitt is a Hegelian scholar. She is concerned with ontological questions of space, as well as the philosophical implications of quantum physics. Intellectually indebted to the troika of Ljubljana, she integrates Lacan, Badiou, and Žižek (amongst others) in her work. She is a research fellow at GCAS College Dublin and a faculty member at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research.

Jeg tagger noen av dem som uttrykte interesse for foredraget: Kristin Gjerpe Naushard Cader Karin Therese Ekker Sverre Casper Evensen Inger D. Karlsen Sofie Vesterøy Johannes Tvedt Matthew Jernberg

Presentation for the Bergen Network for Women in Philosophy. University of Bergen. 21 August 2024."Reality is Incomplete." Katherine Everitt.

20/08/2024

PHILOSOPHY: GUEST LECTURE IN BERGEN! All interested are warmly welcome!

GUEST LECTURE | KATHERINE EVERITT, 21st of August, 1715-1900 | Meeting room, 1st floor, Sydnesplassen 12/13, UiB.

REALITY IS INCOMPLETE

Abstract
What are the limits of space? Does the universe go on and on forever? How could philosophers possibly contribute to what seems like such a brute, empirical question? This precise question of reality's limits is intimately tied to incompletion. From Gödel to quantum physics, the incompletion of reality has proven to tread debates in mathematical and empirical fields alike. What does it mean to make the leap between admitting our knowledge of reality is incomplete to arguing that reality itself is fractured, half-filled-in, and constitutively at a lack? We will explore the works of Hegel, particularly his naturalistic and logical incursions, to answer this question. I argue that incompletion is actually an optimistic assessment, as this guarantees an open world bursting with potentiality. My line of argumentation will closely follow the most grounding aspect of reality: that it is spatial.

Bio
Katherine Everitt is a Hegelian scholar. She is concerned with ontological questions of space, as well as the philosophical implications of quantum physics. Intellectually indebted to the troika of Ljubljana, she integrates Lacan, Badiou, and Žižek (amongst others) in her work. She is a research fellow at GCAS College Dublin and a faculty member at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research.

Time: Wednesday 21st of August at 5:15-7 pm.
Place: Meeting room (Møterommet), 1st floor, Sydnesplassen 12/13, University of Bergen.

Snacks and refreshments will be served during the event.

All interested are heartily welcome to attend the talk!

Best regards,
Anita Leirfall
Leader of the Bergen Network for Women in Philosophy

11/08/2024

GUEST LECTURE | KATHERINE EVERITT, 21st of August, 1715-1900 | Meeting room, 1st floor, Sydnesplassen 12/13, UiB.

The Bergen Network for Women in Philosophy (BNWP) arranges an invited talk by Katherine Everett titled:

REALITY IS INCOMPLETE

Abstract
What are the limits of space? Does the universe go on and on forever? How could philosophers possibly contribute to what seems like such a brute, empirical question? This precise question of reality's limits is intimately tied to incompletion. From Gödel to quantum physics, the incompletion of reality has proven to tread debates in mathematical and empirical fields alike. What does it mean to make the leap between admitting our knowledge of reality is incomplete to arguing that reality itself is fractured, half-filled-in, and constitutively at a lack? We will explore the works of Hegel, particularly his naturalistic and logical incursions, to answer this question. I argue that incompletion is actually an optimistic assessment, as this guarantees an open world bursting with potentiality. My line of argumentation will closely follow the most grounding aspect of reality: that it is spatial.

Bio
Katherine Everitt is a Hegelian scholar. She is concerned with ontological questions of space, as well as the philosophical implications of quantum physics. Intellectually indebted to the troika of Ljubljana, she integrates Lacan, Badiou, and Žižek (amongst others) in her work. She is a research fellow at GCAS College Dublin and a faculty member at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research.

Time: Wednesday 21st of August at 5:15-7 pm.
Place: Meeting room (Møterommet), 1st floor, Sydnesplassen 12/13, University of Bergen.

Snacks and refreshments will be served during the event.
All interested are heartily welcome to attend the talk!

Best regards
Anita Leirfall
Leader of the Bergen Network for Women Philosophy