We have been inspired by Bachelard’s philosophy of imagination. We conducted seminars and conferences devoted to these inspirations, translating fragments of his texts that had not been translated into Polish, especially in the volume „La Terre et les rêveries du repos” (we translated the chapter “La grotte” and “Le labyrinthe”) and several volumes were created by dr M. Ples-Bęben, assoc. prof. I. Błocian, dr K. Morawska and assoc. prof. B. Trochimska-Kubacka.
We have been inspired by Bachelard’s series of works devoted to the imagination of the elements, literary and philosophical images related to the nature. We have had long-term cooperation with Prof. J.-J. Wunenburger as part of the Center de Recherches Interdisciplinaires de l’Imaginaire (CRI 2 i) and we went on consultations, scholarships, and research to Dijon, Lyon and Paris (I. Błocian, M. Ples-Bęben, G. Lubowicka and K. Morawska). The research of Gilbert Durand and his concept of archetypal structures of imagination were also of particular importance to us. We were strongly inspired by the work of the entire group of centers associated with prof. Wunenburger and their series of publications. (Paris, 1940s.)
Recently, dr Karol Morawski visited prof. Corin Braga in Cluj-Napoca (Romania) with a series of lectures on political imagination (Wizyta dr Karola Morawskiego na Uniwersytecie Babeș-Bolyai – Instytut Filozofii). This is still a lively, rich area of our research and we are constantly continuing it.
We were very interested in the area of connection between Bachelard’s philosophy of imagination and the conceptions of the unconscious in psychoanalysis.
Our publications include:
- Studia Philosophica Wratislaviensia, red. R. Konik, B. Trochimska-Kubacka, vol. VII, fasc. 3, Wrocław 2012 (a volume containing texts by members of the Bachelard Society devoted to the conceptions of imagination);
- Ilona Błocian, Kamila Morawska, Marta Ples-Bęben, Gaston Bachelard i filozofie obrazu, Wrocław 2018;
- Gaston Bachelard. Konteksty i interpretacje, ed. M. Ples- Bęben, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego, Katowice 2021.
- Le numéro 2/2021 (2022) de la revue „Études Bachelariennes” éditée par Ilona Błocian et Marta Ples-Bęben, Bachelard et la psychanalyse.
“This is how I chose phenomenology, hoping that I would be able to re-examine the images from a new perspective, which I have faithfully loved, so firmly embedded in my memory that I do not even know whose I am remembering or imagining when I find them in my dreams” (Bachelard, La Poétique de la rêverie)
