poster design: Mees-Hell

THE RALLY IS OVER…
Special thanks to:
Mark Rowlands, Paweł Grabarczyk, Emilia Ivancu, Andrzej W. Nowak, Sebastian Skwarczyński, Maria Spychalska, Leszek Wroński, Mirosław Żelazny, Łukasz Afeltowicz, Ewa Bińczyk, Aleksandra Derra, Włodzisław Duch, Jacek Sieradzan, and Marcin Miłkowski.
THERE WERE NO EVENTS…
left to chance. Since we are known for our love of spontaneity, provided it is controlled – the Rally participants were dragged into a world of carefully pre-arranged and repeatedly practiced instances of experimental chaos. All the delays were painstakingly prepared, as well as psychologically tested beforehand; technical difficulties were the result of a true virtuosity on the part of employed specialists, and what truly did us proud was the program of the Rally – stylized so as to resemble a dodecaphonic score.

THERE WAS NO PROVOCATION…
missing from any event. The “gender” presentation Either smart or beautiful (Albo mądra, albo piękna) met with enthusiastic comments, shock, and evaluation in terms of controversy; the lecture of an eight-year-old scientist from the Polish Academy of Children resulted in a discussion on the state of contemporary education.

THERE WAS NO EXCESS…
regarding the amount of philosophical content. Among the lectures were film screenings; our guest from Miami, Mark Rowlands, promoted his autobiographical book The philosopher and the wolf; and, most importantly, the Rally was immersed in music. On Friday we could hear the sounds of mostly sacral contemporary compositions, nobly and expressively presented by the Astrolabium choir, on Saturday the Jesień group knocked the audience out with rock music of a (paradoxically) poetical dramaturgy, and on Sunday the group Musica Antiqua Inovroclaviensis prepared a feast of music and dance, consisting predominantly of local songs – although the performance of such European “evergreens” as “Buvons Bien” also made a great impression. The entire event owes its graphic design (including the banner, posters, portal project and the waves of colourful Facebook content you doubtlessly appreciated) to Sang Mees-Hell, Karolina Pluta and an organizer wishing to retain their anonymity.

THERE WERE NO SAVINGS ON…
the weather: the sunny (occasionally drizzly) Toruń opened its gardens, verandas and boulevard, reduced the prices on drinks and supplemented the conference with additional events – especially for the guests of the Rally.

THERE WERE NO QUARRELS…
between the cognitivists and cartesianists, the logicians and existentialists, the philosophy of religion and the philosophy of science – possibly because the organizers themselves belong to two research groups of largely differing fields of interest.

THERE WERE NO ATTEMPTS…
to close the conference with a philosophical conclusion, or to play favorites with anyone’s presentation, regardless of the speaker’s conference status.

THERE WAS NO TIME…
to take pictures of Maria Spychalska’s hat.

transl.: Ewa Bodal and Nelly Strehlau; photos by: Anna Samuła, Ewa Międzobrodzka, and archives of Astrolabium