Introduction

The main concern of the new research program offered by the Gregorian University will centre upon the issue of justifying scientific activity upon a well-founded philosophy of nature. The task of this research is twofold: 1) to articulate the connections between science’s structure and philosophy in general, 2) to detail the metaphysical and ontological conclusions which can be drawn specifically from contemporary science.

It is not the role of science to found and justify its own activity, it requires something of an external analysis; that is, because science is part of human activity in general it must be substantially grounded upon a theory of action. Here the work of Pierce and Blondel prove very promising. Like Pierce, we aim to show that the fundamental structures of human activity are ontologically rooted in the structures of being itself (using his concepts of firstness, secondness, thirdness, or with the concepts of tychism, synechism and agapism), and following Blondel we hope to analyse the incompleteness of human action. Ultimately we wish to reveal how these ontological structures depend on the existence of God.

As for the lessons to be learnt from contemporary science we draw on two related discoveries from Quantum Mechanics.

1. The first is its rejection of the postulates of classical mechanics that is the assumptions of determinism, reductionism and mechanism which lead to a materialist and mechanist metaphysics.
2. The second regards the positive conclusions which can be drawn for metaphysics. Quantum Mechanics distinguishes three fundamental features:1) the abrupt discontinuous production of an event (i.e. a measurement outcome) 2) the relational, continuous dimension of the superposition and entanglement, 3) the dynamical trade-off between these two opposite features.

The dynamical interactions establish or destroy entanglement, allow measurement outcomes and their spontaneous analogies or annihilate possible measurement outcomes by coming back to the initial state through reversible dynamics (the so-called quantum eraser). A nice example of this is provided by John Wheeler’s delayed choice experiment. Wheeler’s findings have important consequences for Information Theory. They clearly show that quantum mechanical systems can be seen in terms of information. Everything material can be explained as information, or using Wheeler’s own sound bite – ‘it from bit’. Entanglement is the channel or the mutual information, the dynamics is the signal and the detection event the final reception.

Information is therefore an important paradigm which encompasses both mind and matter (this does not mean that matter and mind be the same: matter, without any form, is rather a limiting concept than a reality). It is in the light of these considerations that we aim to show that in experience, in human praxis, the mental or spiritual and material dimensions always converge. We hope to develop the connection between the three above-mentioned features of Quantum Mechanics, Pierce’s three fundamental categories and the categories of the Christian tradition.

It is in this manner therefore that we hope to respond to Fathers Scheuer and Isaye’s proposal for an Inductive Metaphysics. We echo here the authoritative words of Prof. Zycinski, Archbishop of Lublin written in a letter of 29th April 2003: ‘In publications issued in the Roman Academic milieu very often traditional schemes dominate which, instead of inspiring interdisciplinary dialogue, suggested by Fides et Ratio, one finds traditional epistemological opposition between perfect and certain ontology, on the one side, and imperfect conjectural scientific theories, on the other. The consistent teaching of John Paul II brings a challenge to this uncritical metascientific pattern and situates in a radically new context the methodology of creative and responsible dialogue between philosophers and scientific.’

Programs

Our research will concede two doctoral grants for the academic years 2004-5 and 2005-6. The grants will be offered publicly and candidates will be considered before an examination commission. Those successful in obtaining the doctoral grants will be concerned solely with research under the guidance of a tutor. Successful candidates are obliged to follow two workshops annually, of the following list.

Academic year 2004-2005

Workshop about information in dynamical systems.
Information in Physics: Quantum information, Chaos
Information and biology
Information and cognitive sciences

Workshop about the foundations of the philosophy of Nature
The actual situation in science
The main developments of traditional philosophy of nature in German idealism
The main developments of traditional philosophy of nature in the catholic world
What are future possible developments?

Academic year 2005-2006

Workshop in history of Science: The passage from classical to new physics
The status of classical physics at the end of the XIX century
The birth and meaning of quantum mechanics
The birth and meaning of relativity
The birth and meaning of complexity and chaos theories

Workshop about the foundations of the philosophy of nature
The problem of contingence and chance in physics and biology
The problem of the relationship between efficient and final causes
The status of the laws and their relationship with phenomena
The problem of evolution and of conservation laws
The meaning and status of time

Other aims

We will publish the proceedings of the lectures and workshops (2 books every year). In the proceedings of the workshop will be a part open to contributions of students in doctoral degree.