Projects / Programmes
The Structure of the Void
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 7.00.00 |
Interdisciplinary research |
|
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| H001 |
Humanities |
Philosophy |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 6.03 |
Humanities |
Philosophy, Ethics and Religion |
atom, vacuum, void, philosophy of science, history of science
Researchers (7)
Organisations (3)
Abstract
The basic aim of the proposed project is to explore the contemporary range of Alexandre Koyré's thesis about the “philosophical underpinning” of scientific theories. We will determine under what conditions and in which areas can it be applied to the most current scientific theories. In the course of the project, we will answer the question of how philosophy—as an autonomous discipline of thought—can actively contribute to progress in the physical and chemical sciences. Our research will stem from the conviction that the potential contribution of philosophy is indirect, concerning issues that surface in scientific practice and are not in the absolute domain of individual sciences. In the project, we label these problems of science as “intrinsically philosophical”. On this basis, we will also appraise the elementary conditions of interdisciplinary studies in philosophy and science, taking into account both existing theories of science and an analysis of contemporary science practice. The central axis of the project is the concept of the void, which is paramount for two reasons. Firstly, the void is historically one of the key intersections between scientific and philosophical thought (ancient atomism, the mediaeval and modern problem of vacuum). Secondly, several contemporary scientific and philosophical theories feature a cognate trend towards redefining the void. A new perception of the void appears in both quantum physics and various philosophical theories. The void is no longer empty—it boasts its own internal structure.
Significance for science
Structure of the void focused specifically on interdiscplinary research, leading to collaborations between scientists from humanities and natural sciences, thus opening new horizons for the interpretation of knowledge in modern age. Our time is a time of intentionality, a time when science is predominatnly understood as a servant of technology, and is thus always prescribed a clear and attainable object. However, research and collaborations arising from the Structure of the void show the insufficiency and debilitating aspects of such an understanding of science. The main reason being a simple fact that science at the point of a radical theoretical novelty lacks its own object, since this object is yet to be created by scientific practise itself. At such points science and philosophy immanently intersect, while being withdrawn from an immediate instrumentalization. Contemporary submissions of science to technology overlook the intrinsic neccessity of this lack of object for any true scientific endeavor, which should hold an absolute conceptual primacy over any subsequent technological exploitation of scientific achievements.
Significance for the country
The project was involved in the field of international research on the discussed issue in several ways. Firstly, the project connected researchers from Slovenian institutions with those from Humboldt University and Free University (Berlin), Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Science (St. Petersburg), The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (Triest), CIEPFC (Paris), University of Aarhus and others. The lectures and presentations were focused on several aspects, including the philosophy of quantum physics of the Slovenian philosopher S. Žižek. Secondly, the project members edited a special volume of the Slovenian humanist journal Filozofski vestnik (“Structure of the Void”, 2/2013), thus contributing not only to acquisition of new knowledges, but also to their dissemination in the appropriate scientific periodical. Thirdly, given its interdisciplinary organization, the project contributed to a more complete overview of the treated phenomenon in pedagogical field.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2011,
2012,
2013,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2011,
2012,
2013,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
