In recent decades, the debate in the field of the relationship between science and theology had to contemplate the emergence of a new epistemological approach to the knowledge of reality going under the name of ‘complexity’. It is a cognitive paradigm, having its precursor in the French philosopher and sociologist E. Morin, that has undergone a remarkable development in the last forty years. He presents his epistemological proposal in Il Metodo, a work consisting of six volumes where he outlines the basis for a new approach to world knowledge, not based on the separation of different fields but on their mutual interaction. This approach affected not only the specific field of philosophical speculation and social sciences but penetrated and even shed light upon the natural sciences, such as physics, biology, and climatology, continuing to have considerable influence in more strictly applicative research fields such as cybernetics and artificial intelligence. As regards this, we remember important figures such as the Belgian physical chemist Ilya Prigogine, author of fundamental studies on far-from-equilibrium systems, and the American Norbert Wiener, the father of cybernetics. These fields have in common the fact that they all deal with systems made up of many elements interacting with each other according to non-linear dynamic models, making very difficult, and sometimes impossible, even approximate predictions. Given the considerable extent of such systems in nature and human sciences, it would be more appropriate to speak of ‘sciences of complexity’, including in this category all those disciplines that have to do with this kind of systems following an epistemological approach based on the theory of complex systems. Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato sì', frequently refers to this approach as an essential paradigm to understand the reality of today’s world for what concerns ecological, social, and economic issues. The following pages have the function of presenting the most relevant aspects of complexity in their scientific and philosophical, and theological dimensions. It will take place through a brief examination of some of the most relevant publications that in recent years illustrated the richness this worldview carries with it.
Zuccaro, G., Theology and Complexity: A Bibliographic Overview, <<ESSSAT-NEWS>>, 2021; 31 (3): 5-19 [https://hdl.handle.net/10807/226527]
Theology and Complexity: A Bibliographic Overview
Zuccaro, Gianluca
2021
Abstract
In recent decades, the debate in the field of the relationship between science and theology had to contemplate the emergence of a new epistemological approach to the knowledge of reality going under the name of ‘complexity’. It is a cognitive paradigm, having its precursor in the French philosopher and sociologist E. Morin, that has undergone a remarkable development in the last forty years. He presents his epistemological proposal in Il Metodo, a work consisting of six volumes where he outlines the basis for a new approach to world knowledge, not based on the separation of different fields but on their mutual interaction. This approach affected not only the specific field of philosophical speculation and social sciences but penetrated and even shed light upon the natural sciences, such as physics, biology, and climatology, continuing to have considerable influence in more strictly applicative research fields such as cybernetics and artificial intelligence. As regards this, we remember important figures such as the Belgian physical chemist Ilya Prigogine, author of fundamental studies on far-from-equilibrium systems, and the American Norbert Wiener, the father of cybernetics. These fields have in common the fact that they all deal with systems made up of many elements interacting with each other according to non-linear dynamic models, making very difficult, and sometimes impossible, even approximate predictions. Given the considerable extent of such systems in nature and human sciences, it would be more appropriate to speak of ‘sciences of complexity’, including in this category all those disciplines that have to do with this kind of systems following an epistemological approach based on the theory of complex systems. Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato sì', frequently refers to this approach as an essential paradigm to understand the reality of today’s world for what concerns ecological, social, and economic issues. The following pages have the function of presenting the most relevant aspects of complexity in their scientific and philosophical, and theological dimensions. It will take place through a brief examination of some of the most relevant publications that in recent years illustrated the richness this worldview carries with it.
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