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Metaphysics as essential and natural bridge between science and religion
Valeria Ascheri
Ph.D. Philosophy of Science
Researcher of Philosophy of Science
School of Philosophy - Pontifical University of the Holy Cross
Using a metaphysics seems to be necessary in order to carry on with a Science and Religion dialogue. If we try to deny this assumption, it will be very hard to go on because religion has an intrinsic metaphysical dimension. Thus science has to recognize the metaphysical level as essential and face the dialogue with such opening to the transcendent sphere. At the same time science should be considered an activity with a metaphysical background because it ‘believes’ in the intelligibility of reality and it aims to offer something more than a mere collection of data, interpretations and theories more or less accepted and working. The primary challenge of science consists in understanding and grasping something beyond the empirical reality, that is ‘meta-physical’. The first chapter of The Mind of the Universe (1999) by Mariano Artigas is just entitled “Science transcends itself”: it happens in its presuppositions and perhaps more evidently particularly when science reaches its most advanced and inner levels. The reason of this outcome as a ‘vanishing point’ is properly a metaphysical one: in the domain of reality there are several entities and ontological kinds of realities that can be studied under varied perspectives and according to the methodologies and the purposes used. Yet, the different disciplines and research areas reveal the natural and ontological unity of reality when they don't succeed in knowing the essence or the ultimate causes of their objects.
Artigas (1999) suggests the idea of building a bridge between science, metaphysics and religion that “respects the specific character of the different approaches involved” (p.25) in order to overcome the problem of ‘filling the gaps’. Following his proposal, my idea is that the gaps and the vacuum should be filled by metaphysics itself; actually metaphysics can be considered as the natural bridge and its fundamental principles (uniformity of nature, realism and so on) and concepts (space, time, cause, matter, laws of nature, finalism, etc.) constitute the pillars of the bridge, or some of them may be assumed as ‘bridge-concepts’. Regarding this issue, Artigas states: “As I see it, the articulation between science and theology is not some kind of mixture or combination of both: it is impossible to add factors which are not homogeneous. The articulation should rather be achieved at the philosophical level, namely through a reflection on the presuppositions and implications both of science and theology. In this level we can find a real dialogue” (M. Artigas, Communication presented in the Sixth European Conference on Science and Theology (ESSSAT VI), Cracovia (Poland), March 26-31, 1996 and published on CRYF website).
One of the fundamental questions is about which metaphysics should be used: dealing with religion, and particularly Christian faith, it seems that a renewed classical metaphysics may be preferable, accompanied by a sound epistemology, philosophy of nature and updated philosophies of sciences (physics, biology, chemistry....). Hence, philosophy has to assume naturally the ‘connection role’ and to guarantee the feasibility of the science and religion interaction: working on this ground and particularly recovering and developing a complete and dynamic metaphysics apt to support the articulation of science and religion may be the right pathway to follow.