The philosophy festival Barcelona Pensa sets time as the core theme in its tenth anniversary

Organized by the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Barcelona since 2014, this festival was a pioneering one in the creation of a philosophy dissemination platform for the public. Ten years later, the result is very positive, as stated by the co-director of the festival and UB lecturer of Philosophy, José Díez: “The festival has been surprising to us, it has received an unexpected reception from the public; it has been consolidated as the first festival of philosophy in Spain and as a cultural model for our city”.   

This year, the edition is focused, exceptionally, on one theme: time, a fundamental category in philosophy and a large dimension of human experience. The climate urgency, the spread of pandemics or the emergence of artificial intelligence are altering the perception of reality and the daily life. This is why all the activities (guided tours, roundtables, book presentations, conferences, theatre plays, concerts and activities for children and teenagers) revolve around this theme. Lorena Fuster, lecturer of Philosophy at the UB and co-director of the festival says: “It looks like, after many years, the future is the focus of the cultural interest again, mainly due to the emergencies of our present. We want to think not only about the future but all the times, that is, the great variety of its senses”. 

A powerful and diverse programme 

Barcelona Pensa gathers, for a week, the teaching staff and the students of the Faculty of Philosophy to think collectively. The starting point will be the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) on Saturday, 11 November. This is the start of a frenetic week that will start on 13 November with the conference “De la llibertat d’expressió al discurs de l’odi” (From freedom of expression to hate speech), given by the UB professor of Law and magistrate of the Constitutional Tribunal Laura Díez. It will take place at the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Philosophy of the UB at 6.30 p.m. and will be presented by the lecturer of Philosophy of Law of the Pompeu Fabra University Josep Lluís Martí.  

The activities will continue on Tuesday, 14 November, with the illustrators Jaume Capdevila (Kap) and Joaquim Aubert (Kim). They will talk about time in comics and on images as a way of thinking and social reflection, at Cafè Laie, at 7.00 p.m. 

Artificial intelligence is one of today’s biggest challenges and its future depends on the evolution of the human beings. Marcel Cano, David Casacuberta and Carlos Rodríguez will debate on this technology which is revolutionizing the social, economic and cultural scene worldwide, on Wednesday 15 November at 5.00 p.m. in Pati Manning.  

On Thursday, 16 November, World Philosophy Day, the Ateneu Barcelonès will hold, at 7.00 p.m., the main conference of the festival, given by the Italian philosopher Elettra Stimilli, lecturer at the Sapienza University of Rome and researcher at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa. The conference is titled “Cossos entre el temps de la vida i el sentit de la història”.  

The festival will close on Friday, 17 November. Carlos Fernández Liria, professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, will give the conference “Capitalismo y ciudadanía: una cuenta pendiente para el futuro” at the Ateneu Barcelonès, at 7.00 p.m. 

These and other activities (debates, roundtables, exhibitions, theatre plays, readings, philosophy cafés) will be available during the week of the festival, dedicated to reflecting on the challenges and urgencies of our times.