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GOD SEEN BY SCIENCE: ANTHROPIC EVOLUTION OF THE UNIVERSE
A CONTRIBUTION OF SOPHIA-IBERIA TO THE METANEXUS CONFERENCE 2008
GOD SEEN BY SCIENCE: ANTHROPIC EVOLUTION OF THE UNIVERSE CHRISTINE HELLER DEL RIEGO (EDITOR) Manuel G. Doncel Javier Monserrat Ignacio Núñez de Castro Agustín Udías
CÁTEDRA DE CIENCIA, TECNOLOGÍA Y RELIGIÓN
This book has been published by the Cátedra of Science, Technology and Religion in collaboration with the Program of Science, Technology and Social Ethics of the Engineering School ICAI of the Universidad Pontificia Comillas during the preparation of the centenary of its creation (1909-2009). The Program of Science, Tecnology and Social Ethics is supported by:
Printed by the Universidad Pontificia Comillas Alberto Aguilera, 23 28015 Madrid, Spain ISBN 978-84-8468-235-6
CONTENTS PROLOGUE BY CHRISTINE HELLER DEL RIEGO Why the anthropic principle? / 1 PART I: INTRODUCTION BY AGUSTÍN UDÍAS Introduction to the Relationship between Science and Religion / 5 PART II: TEILHARD DE CHARDIN BY AGUSTÍN UDÍAS Teilhard de Chardin and the Current Dialogue between Science and Religion / 45 BY IGNACIO NÚÑEZ DE CASTRO The Bio-Philosophy of Teilhard de Chardin / 61 BY MANUEL G. DONCEL Creation in Evolution: Philosophical and Theological Perspective / 79 PART III: BARBOUR, PEACOCKE AND POLKINGHORNE BY J AVIER MONSERRAT Science and Religion in Ian G. Barbour / 93 Science, Biochemistry and Panentheism in Arthur Peacocke / 115 John Polkinghorne, Science and Religion from theoretical physics / 131 PART IV: CONCLUSION BY MANUEL G. DONCEL The Kenosis of the Creator / 157 PART V: SOPHIA-IBERIA IN EUROPE / 173 MATTER /177 UNIVERSE / 185 LIFE / 191 MAN AND NEUROLOGY / 199 FORMAL SCIENCES: / 207 PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY / 215
Why the anthropic principle?
PROLOGUE Why the anthropic principle? CHRISTINE HELLER DEL RIEGO UNIVERSIDAD PONTIFICIA COMILLAS, MADRID
The history of life on Earth is estimated in 50 billion species, of which only around 50 million are still alive today. Why consider the anthropic principle? If man has been evolutionarily possible, we must postulate, within a general evolutionary paradigm, that the ontology of primordial matter already had certain anthropic properties which made the organization of an anthropic universe possible. But how long will Homo Sapiens survive? Species either die outright, like dinosaurs, or they evolve into something different (“transformed out of existence”). As Denis Edwards puts it: “the loss of biodiversity is a theological issue”, especially when the extinction of other species is caused by human beings. Will man be able to control the environment and stop his own extinction or will we continue to evolve and eventually become something else? The Sophia Iberia Project is searching for the anthropic roots of human evolution. The reflection on the anthropic properties, which make the emergence of the human being from matter possible, is essential in order to correctly understand human nature, including the nature and the functional use of reason. However, we consider that the grand metaphysical questions of humanity and the questions on the final meaning of life remain open, in the new scientific image of the world. Therefore, Sophia-Iberia would like to go beyond the purely scientific by addressing the ideological, philosophical and theological problems from the point of view of science. The content of this book is an introduction to the general themes of the science-religion dialogue from the perspective of the Sophia-Iberia Project. The essays can be grouped as follows into four parts: I - A systematic historical introduction to the science-religion dialogue, written by Prof. Agustín Udías. II – Three essays on the teilhardian interpretation of the evolutionary process, written by Professors Agustín Udías, Ignacio Núñez de Castro an