Les Entretiens de Morgat : nouvelles perspectives historiques sur une réponse francophone aux positivismes logiques (1935-1948)

Abstract

We intend to re-examine a whole part of the history of philosophy of science in France between the middle of the 1930s and the immediate post-war period by focusing on the activities of a network of scientists and philosophers that was formed around Gaston Bachelard, Jean-Louis Destouches and Ferdinand Gonseth after the Parisian scientific philosophy congress that took place in September 1935. This network formalized its break with logical positivisms by organizing a colloquium in Morgat in September 1938. The activities of this network took shape during the Occupation with the publications in 1942 and then in 1944 of two booklets which were largely given over to the thoughts of Louis de Broglie, Jean-Louis Destouches and Paulette Destouches-Février in theoretical physics along with other topics such as language and finalism. These two fascicles occasionally reflect the commitments of one of its members, namely Jean Mariani, to the so-called Révolution nationale in France. This movement was severely purged in the autumn of 1946 but the majority of this network continued to play a structuring role in philosophy of science after the war and even gained visibility on the international philosophical scene, thanks to the support of Ferdinand Gonseth and Stanislas Dockx.