Dialogo-2014 1 1

Proceedings of the Conferences on the Dialogue between
Science and Theology
DIA LOGO
Volume 1 Issue 1 November 2014
COSMOLOGY
(the origin and evolution of the
universe; cosmic coincidences and the
anthropic principle; conditions for extra-
terrestrial intelligent civilizations; Is there
anything esle besides this Universe?;
the universe has a purpose; the primary
condition of the universe; the fabric of
the universe; are there other universes?;
universe with life or nothing? etc.)
LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

(the origin and evolution of life in the
universe —how did life begin?; irreduc-
ible complexity and intelligent design;
extraterrestrial life — are we alone in the
universe?; define „life” in the context of
the limits of the substance (matter) and
life (energy); What is life made of? etc.)
ANTHROPOLOGY
(humankind’s past, present and
future; mind and consciousness; free will
and human behavior; death and after it;
is it possible for the evolution to explain
human nature and the moral character
of its acts, or is it something else need-
ed, other than science can explain on its
own? are `God`, `faith`or conscience-
ness only a function of your brain or are
them something more than that? etc.)
www.dialogo-conf.com
DIALOGO
Proceedings
of the Conferences on
the Dialogue between
Science and Theology
DIALOGO CONF 2014
The First Virtual International Conference on

the Dialogue between Science and Theology.
Cosmology, Life & Anthropology
Organized by the RCDST

(The Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology)
of Ovidius University of Constanta, Romania
held from 6 to 11 November, 2014
at www.dialogo-conf.com
The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not nec-
essarily represent the views of RCDST.
The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the publication do
not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of RCDST concerning the
legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers
or boundaries.
Disclaimer: All abstracts and titles of presentations were only formatted into the correct font,
size and paragraph style and were not language and grammatical edited. The abstracts were
reprinted as submitted by their authors.
The editors accept no responsibility for any language, grammar or spelling mistake.
The authors of individual papers are responsible for technical, content and linguistic correctness.
Publication Series: Dialogo

Description: (Proceedings of the Conferences on the Dialogue between Science and Theology)
ISSN (CD-ROM): 2392 – 9928
ISSN (ONLINE): 2393 – 1744
ISSN-L: 2392 – 9928
Editors: Fr. lecturer Cosmin Tudor Ciocan, PhD (Romania); Ing. Anton Lieskovský, Ph.D.
(Slovak Republic)
Series Publisher: RCDST (Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology)
Ovidius Univesity of Constanta. Romania
1st Volum Title: The 1st Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology.
Dialogo Conf 2014
subtitle: Cosmology, Life & Anthropology
ISBN: 978-80-554-0960-3
Published by: EDIS - Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina
Univerzitna 1, 01026 Zilina
Slovak Republic
Pages: 154
Printed on: 100 copies
Year of publication: 2014
*All published papers underwent blind peer review.
*All published papers are in English language only. Each paper was assigned to 3 reviewers and went through
two-level approval process.
Open Access Online archive is available at: http://www.dialogo-conf.com/archive
(proceedings will be available online one month after the publication release).
In case of any questions, notes or complaints, please contact us at: info(at)dialogo-conf.com.
Warning:
Warning: The owner of Dialogo Journal is RCDST (Research Center on the Dialogue between
Science& Theology), Romania, while the authors hold the copyright of their articles.
The 1st Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology
- 3-
http://dialogo-conf.com
Proceedings of the Conferences on the Dialogue between Science and Theology
DIALOGO November, 6 - 11 2014
Conference Sponsors and Parteners
Research Center on the Di-

Ovidius University of Con-
alogue between Science & www.The-Science.com Research and Science Today
stanta (UOC/Romania)
Theology (Slovakia) www.lsucb.ro/rst
www.univ-ovidius.ro
www.rcdst.ro
Maritime University of The Alexandru Ioan “Vasile Goldis”

“Mircea cel Batran” Naval
Constanta Cuza University of Iasi Western University of Arad
Academy (ANMB/Romania)
(UMC/Romania) (UAIC/Romania) (UVVG/Romania)
www.anmb.ro
www.cmu-edu.eu www.uaic.ro www.uvvg.ro/
The Institute for the Study of Christianity in an

Global Ethics
Age of Science and Technology (ISCAST/Aus-
(Geneva/Switzerland)
tralia)
www.globethics.net
www.iscast.org
Faculty of Educational Sciences Action-research in Contemporary Cul-

Centre for Research and social, psy-
(WNP) ture and Education – Practice & Theory
chological and pedagogical evalua-
Nicolaus Copernicus University in (ACCEPT/Poland)
tion (CCEPPS/Romania)
Torun, Poland www.accept.umk.pl
ccepps.univ-ovidius.ro
www.pedagogika.umk.pl
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Conference Sponsors and Parteners
Faculty of Theology in Faculty of Orthodox Theology Faculty of Medicine in UOC,

UOC, Romania in UAIC, Romania Romania
teologie.univ-ovidius.ro/ www.teologie.uaic.ro www.medcon.ro
Faculty of Theology in UAB, Faculty of Psychology and Sciences Faculty of Psychology and
Romania of Education in UAIC, Romania Sciences of Education in UOC,
www.fto.ro www.psih.uaic.ro Romania
pse.univ-ovidius.ro
Faculty of Applied Science and Faculty of Natural and Agricultur- Centre of Inter - Religious Re-
Engineering in UOC, Romania al Sciences in UAIC, Romania search and Christian Psychoped-
fcetp.univ-ovidius.ro snsa.univ-ovidius.ro agogy Alba Iulia - Saint Serge
(CCIRPC)
First Volume published by
EDIS
RCDST
Publishing Institution
Research Center on
of the University of Zilina
the Dialogue between Science & Theology
Univerzitna 1
Ovidius University of Constanta
01026 Zilina
Romania
Slovak Republic
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International Scientific Committee, Reviewers and Contributors
Christoph STUECKELBERGER IPS Teodosie PETRESCU

Globethics.net Executive Director and Founder; Prof. PhD. (Switzerland) Archbichop of Tomis disctrict;
Anton LIESKOVSKÝ Faculty of Orthodox Theology; “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Prof.
Faculty of Management Science and Informatics PhD. (Romania)
Universitatea Tomas Bata din Zilina; Ing. Ph.D. (Slovakia) Muntean Edward IOAN
Francesco FIORENTINO Faculty of Food Sciences and Technology - University of Agricultural
Dipartimento di Filosofia, Letteratura e Scienze Sociali; Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj–Napoca; Associate Professor PhD.
Universita degli Studi di Bari «Aldo Moro»; (Romania)
Researcher in Storia della Filosofia (Italy) Liliana PANAITESCU
Filip NALASKOWSKI Faculty of Natural Sciences and Agricultural Sciences
Faculty of Educational Sciences - Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun; “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Assoc. prof. ing. PhD. (Romania)
Dr. (Poland) George ENACHE
Panagiotis STEFANIDES Faculty of History, Philosophy and Theology
Emeritus Honoured Member of the Technical Chamber of Greece „Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati; Associate professor PhD. (Romania)
HELLENIC AEROSPACE IND. S.A. - Lead engineer; MSc Eur Ing (Greece) Ahed Jumah Mahmoud AL-KHATIB
Lucian TURCESCU Faculty of Medicine - Department of Neuroscience
Department of Theological Studies - Concordia University; Professor and University of Science and Technology; Researcher PhD (Jordan)
Chair (Canada) Nasili VAKA’UTA
Wade Clark ROOF Trinity Methodist Theological College
J.F. Rowny Professor of Religion and Society; Emeritus and Research Professor University of Auckland; Ranston Lecturer PhD. (New Zealand)
Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life; Director Adrian NICULCEA
Department of Religious Studies - University of California at Santa Barbara (United Faculty of Orthodox Theology - “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Deart-
States of America) ment Head and Prof. PhD. (Romania)
Maria Isabel Maldonado GARCIA Tarnue Marwolo BONGOLEE
Directorate External Linkages/Institute of Language Hope for the Future; Executive Director (Liberia)
University of the Punjab; Head of Spanish Dpt. / Assistant Professor Mihai Valentin VLADIMIRESCU
(Pakistan) Faculty of Orthodox Theology - University of Craiova; Professor PhD.
Cristiana OPREA (Romania)
European Physical Society; member Mohammad Ayaz AHMAD
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research - Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics; University of Tabuk; Assistant Professor PhD (Saudi Arabia)
Scientific Project Leader (Russia)
Akhtar HUSSAIN
Gheorghe ISTODOR Department of History, University of Punjab; Associate professor PhD.
Faculty of Orthodox Theology - “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Deart- (Pakistan)
ment Head and Prof. PhD. (Romania)
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International Scientific Committee, Reviewers and Contributors
Petru BORDEI Richard Willem GIJSBERS

Faculty of Medicine - “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Prof. PhD. (Romania) The Institute for the Study of Christianity in an Age of Science and Technol-
Fermin De La FUENTE-CALVO ogy - ISCAST (Australia)
De La Fuente Consulting (Corporative Intelligence) Flavius Cristian MARCAU
B.Sc. Physics and Professor PhD. (United States of America) “Constantin Brancusi” University of Targu Jiu; Phd. Candidate (Romania)
Kelli COLEMAN MOORE Stanley KRIPPNER
University of California at Santa Barbara (United States of America) Association for Humanistic Psychology, the Parapsychological Association;
Danut ARGINTARU President; Prof. PhD. (United States of America)
Maritime University of Constanta; Lecturer PhD. (Romania) Manisha MATHUR
Osman Murat DENIZ G.N.Khalsa College; University of Mumbai; Assistant Professor (India)
Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi; Associate Professor PhD. (Turkey) Pratibha GRAMANN
Daniel MUNTEANU Saybrook University of San Francisco, California (United States of America)
The International Journal of Orthodox Theology (Canada) Richard Alan MILLER
Dragos HUTULEAC Navy Intel (Seal Corp. and then MRU); Dr. in Alternative Agriculture,
Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava; Assistant Lecturer, PhD candidate Physics, and Metaphysics (United States of America)
(Romania)
Maria CIOCAN
Shiva KHALILI “Mircea cel Batran” Naval Academy; teacher PhD. (Romania)
Faculty of psychology and education - Tehran University; Associate Professor
Gheorghe PETRARU
PhD. (Iran)
Faculty of Orthodox Theology, Iasi; Prof. PhD. (Romania)
Mihai HIMCINSKI
Mircea MARICA
Faculty of Orthodox Theology - „1 December 1918” University of Alba Iulia;
Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of Education, Constanta; Assist. Prof.
Prof. PhD. (Romania)
PhD. (Romania)
Mihai GIRTU
The Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology (RCDST); Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN
President The Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology
Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering - “Ovidius” University of Con- (RCDST); Executive Director
stanta; Prof. PhD. (Romania) Faculty of Orthodox Theology - “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Lecturer
PhD. (Romania)
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Organizing Committee
Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN - SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME OFFICER

RCDST Executive Director and Founder; Lect. ThD.
Faculty of orthodox theology, Ovidius University of Constanta (Romania)
Mihai GIRTU Mircea MARICA - RESPONSIBLE FOR ANTHROPOLOGY
RCDST President and Founder; Prof. PhD. RCDST Member and Founder; Assist. Prof. PhD.
Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering , Ovidius University of Constanta Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of Education , Ovidius University of
(Romania) Constanta (Romania)
Petru BORDEI - RESPONSIBLE FOR ANATHOMY Constantin CUCOS - RESPONSIBLE FOR PEDAGOGY
RCDST Member and Founder; Prof. PhD. Teaching Staff Training Department Director; Prof. PhD.
Faculty of Medicine , Ovidius University of Constanta (Romania) Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of Education,
Danut ARGINTARU - RESPONSIBLE FOR PHYSICS The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi (Romania)
RCDST Member and Founder; Lect. PhD. Adrian NICULCEA - RESPONSIBLE FOR THEOLOGY
Navigation and Maritime and River Transport Faculty, Maritime University of RCDST Member and Founder; Prof. ThD.
Constanta (Romania) Faculty of orthodox theology , Ovidius University of Constanta (Romania)
Alina MARTINESCU - RESPONSIBLE FOR GENETICS Anton LIESKOVSKY - RESPONSIBLE FOR I.T.
RCDST Member and Founder; Lect. PhD. Faculty of Management Science and Informatics, University of Zilina; Ing.
Faculty of Medicine , Ovidius University of Constanta (Romania) PhD. (Slovakia)
Any AXELERAD-DOCU - RESPONSIBLE FOR NEUROLOGY Flavius Cristian MARCAU - RESPONSIBLE FOR PUBLISHING
RCDST Member and Founder; Assoc. Prof . PhD. Research and Science Today magazine (RST); PhD. Candidate (Romania)
Faculty of Medicine , Ovidius University of Constanta (Romania)
- 8-
Welcome Address
INTRODUCTION
On behalf of the Organizing Committee, we welcome you to the 1st Virtual In-
ternational Conference on Dialogue between Science and Theology, jointly
organized by the Research Centre for Dialogue between Science and Theology (RCDST)
and all our partners from 28 academic institutions, faculties and research centers with-
in 8 countries / 4 continents - Romania, Slovak Republic, Poland, Germany, Switzer-
land, Australia, United States of America, and Canada.
The annual “DIALOGO” CONFERENCES promote reflection and research on impor-
tant public issues to which Christian theology can make a constructive contribution and
is essential in the relation between science and religion in this era; scientists are also
invited to manifest their ideas/theories on the topics in a constructive manner. This
virtual conferences series gives you a great new way to participate in the fully fledged,
scientific and professional conference without personal participation.
We aim to search for harmony.
In the light of the many challenges that the world is now facing, a broad understanding
of modern science is indispensable in today’s society, so that we are both competitive in
today’s high-tech job market, and well informed on scientific matters. The methodolo-
gy of modern science has been remarkably successful in uncovering the working of the
Earth and universe for us. Just in the past half-century science has unlocked the code of
life and read the DNA of many organisms, traced the history of the known universe and
discovered a set of mathematical laws that explain, at a fundamental level, virtually all
physical phenomena with remarkable precision. It is increasingly clear that any move-
ment that opposes the progress of modern science is simply digging a pit for itself.
On the other hand, religion plays a similarly important foundation in the lives of
the vast majority of people worldwide. Religion has indisputably inspired some of the
world’s greatest art and literature, as it is evident even from a casual stroll through any
of World’s great art museums. Even more importantly, religion has played an enormous
role worldwide as a governor of moral and ethical conduct through the ages.
Modern science is the most powerful tool known to explore the physical laws and pro-
cesses that govern the universe. Yet it can say next to nothing about morality, salvation,
ethics or the ultimate meaning of life, nor were its methods ever designed to probe such
fundamental questions. Similarly, religion through the ages has addressed morality,
salvation, the purposes of existence, and is a powerful force for mutual understanding
and charity worldwide, but scriptures alone provide no clues as to the mass of the elec-
tron or the equations of general relativity, nor were they ever intended to be read in such
a technical sense. In general, there is nothing in modern science that is fundamentally
anti-religious or in any way negates the many positive aspects of living a moral, char-
itable, purposeful life; and there is nothing in modern religion that is fundamentally
anti-science or should in any way stand in the way of scientific progress.
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Welcome Address
Theologians search for truth in faith; scientists in reason. The first ones believe they
possess this truth because they have the possibility to communicate with the divine
force that started everything; the others think that their path is superior due to working
directly with real matter of all things. No one wants to accept another way but their own;
everyone possesses the meaning of life and do not want to listen to another version of it,
considering that the truth has no versions.
The purpose of the DIALOGO CONFERENCES: Fundamental or experimental re-
search and theoretical papers describing original, previously unpublished work in all
the scientific fields that could be involved into the dialogue with theology are solicited.
We were honored by receiving top rated papers from distinguished scholars from all
over the world. Despite excellent work of scientific committee, not all submitted articles
were published. Prospective authors were invited to submit papers in any of the three
sections of the conference. Altogether 136 articles were presented by the scientists from
29 countries, but only these 25 papers were accepted after a triple peer review pro-
cess by the international Reviewers Committee, and precisely checked by the Technical
Committee, to maintain the highest standards.
The success of the conference is due to the joint efforts of many people.
Therefore we would like to thank the Scientific Committee and the Reviewers for their
valuable contribution. All accepted paper has been precisely reviewed.
Conference DIALOGO 2014 has been supported by Virtual Conferences community,
which is located at www.the-science.com. The goal of this community is to organize
Virtual Conferences covering quality research and make a closer cooperation between
researchers within and between different scientific disciplines. Among all our partneres
in organizing this conference a special role was played by Mr. Anton Lieskovský who
deserve all the credit of outstanding organizing the virtual conference platform.
Last but not least, we are grateful to all the participants for their great and important
work prepared for and presented in this conference. It is a great pleasure and privilege
for me to welcome you to this International Conference where I am happy to see the
positive responses that we have received from scientists and theologians from many
countries, domains and religions in a pursuit of a mutual understanting of our
knowledge about the topics proposed for this year's session.
See you at DIALOGO 2015 with new, useful topics!
Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN

RCDST Executive Director and Founder (ROMANIA)
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DIALOGO the Dialogue between Science and Theology
CONFERENCES November, 6 - 11 2014
Table of Contents
Organizing Scientific Committee 6-8
Introduction 9
Table of Content 11
Section 1: COSMOLOGY
1.Francesco FIORENTINO
The image of the universe as cultural choice between science and theology. Probabilism and realism from the Middle
Ages to the Modern age. 14
2.Juuso LOIKKANEN
How Can God Act in the World? Modern Science and the Problem of Divine Causation 28
3.Adrian VASILE
The Anthropic Principle from a Theological Perspective 32
4.Chr. Stefanides PANAGIOTIS
Golden Root Geometry Structuring the Polyhedra and other Forms Via Plato’s Triangles. Quadrature of Circle 37
5.Steinar THORVALDSEN
The Unique Hoyle State of the Carbon Atom 43
6.Marcel Smilihon BODEA
Mathematical Language / Scientific Interpretation / Theological Interpretation 47
7.Pratibha GRAMANN
Consciousness, Free Will, and Transformation 52
Section 2: LIFE
8.Mariusz TABACZEK
An Aristotelian Account of Evolution and the Contemporary Philosophy of Biology 57
9.Mihai GIRTU. Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN
Scientific Consensus, Public Perception and Religious Beliefs – A Case Study on Nutrition 70
10.Michael MENSKY
Quantum reality explains mystical powers of consciousness 76
11.Gheorghe ISTODOR
Darwinism in the Light of Orthodoxy: Scientific Transformism Based on Materialism and Naturalism 80
12. Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN. Martinescu Alina
Death gene as it is understood by theology and genetics 83
13.Vasile MIRON
The Sacramental and Moral-Educational Function of the Christian Orthodox Cult 89
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DIALOGO the Dialogue between Science and Theology
CONFERENCES November, 6 - 11 2014
Table of Contents
Section 3: Anthropology
14.Constantin CUCOS
The paradigm of interdisciplinarity and the religious values-centered education 95
15. Ioan-Gheorghe ROTARU
Man – body and soul, as well as the relationship between them in the view of St. Justin the Martyr
and Philosopher 100
16.Carmen CIORNEA
Anthropological structures of the religious imaginary in Sandu T 105
17.Florin SPANACHE
The uncreated energies – the spiritual foundation of knowledge 111
18.Mircea Adrian MARICA
On how the Dialogue between Religion and Science is possible 116
19.Sanda Maria DEME. Dana S. Ioncu; Catalin Hreniuc; Simona Dragan; Ani Docu-Axelrad; Daniel Docu-Axelrad;
Dragos C. Jianu
Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) , “déja vu” phenomenon and religious experiences 124
20.Any DOCU-AXELERAD. Daniel DOCU-AXELERAD
Media and popular culture and controversies in comatose patients 124
21.Miguel ALGRANTI
Post-Pope: A postcolonial approach to religious pluralism in Argentina 129
22.Manisha MATHUR
Study of Impact Of Culture On Women Throughout The World 133
23.Gabriela ANDREI. Ana ION
The value of human life and the attitude towards abortion 137
24.Adrian NICULCEA
Orthodoxy and Science 141
25.Calin SAPLACAN
Conditions for a Possible Dialogue between Theology and Science from the Perspective of the
Concept of Frontier 149
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Cosmology
The image of the universe as a cultural choice

between science and theology
Probabilism and Realism from the Middle Ages to Modernity
Francesco Fiorentino
Dipartimento di Lettere Lingue Arti. Italianistica e Culture comparate
Università degli Studi di Bari ‘Aldo Moro’ (UNIBA)
Bari, Italy
fiorentino12@libero.it
Abstract: The famous Galilean question was to become the the aptitude to reconstruct artificially or assist mechanically
paradigm of the conflict between Nature and Scripture, science in the verification of natural phenomena useful for man.
and faith, free research of natural reason and authority of the In Leonardo, however, these requisites remain the private
ecclesiastical institution, obscurantism of the medieval period property of an individual, albeit a genius, without being
and scientific progress which would illuminate the modern shared by a scientific community with standardized methods
age. It is well known that the stereotype of the pure conflict and processes1.
between scientific thought and religious dogma for long With Francis Bacon and Galileo Galilei the rise of
dominated the interpretation of the most profound essence modern science results in the Scientific Revolution, that is,
of the Middle Ages, as an obscurantist age in the grip of the the revolutionary phase of a long process of change in the
universalist political and religious authorities. This image of image of man and the world, a process which began in the
the Middle Ages was greatly corroborated by the Humanist late Middle Ages. Man discovers that he is able to affirm a
writers of the Renaissance and enlightenment historiography. new order in natural reality, rooted in the relation between
things manipulated by himself, as their inventor and master,
This contribution purports to analyse late–medieval science
in disregard of Aristotelian natural philosophy, which is
from an olistic methodology based on history of science and supported by the syllogistic method and by recourse to the
philosophy of science, to obtain a big picture in front to single, non–systematic experience. Yet it is precisely the role
Scientific Revolution and to show the cultural roots of the of experience that distinguishes Bacon from Galileo. For
different images of the universe. Bacon, experience represents a mere inductive inference,
alien to any deductive and hypothetic reasoning, but easy to
Keywords: Science, theology, Galileo, Bacon, Newton, Duns reproduce and control by everyone, thanks to the experiment,
Scotus, Ockham, Adam Wodeham, John Mirecourt that is, the combination of the three Tables with the correct
applications that must eliminate every hypothesis2.This
elimination links Francis Bacon to Isaac Newton, for whom
I. INTRODUCTION everything that is not inferred from observed phenomena
Modern science is not a corpus of common demonstrative must be banned from experimental philosophy, which is
knowledge, based on absolutely certain and evident based on the induction of a limited number of specific cases
principles, but a specific kind of knowledge that formulates generalized into universals. Once the sufficient causes have
such principles by mediating geometrical and mathematical been identified through the principle of economy, and these
axioms, using them as tools for measuring physical Nature, causes have been associated with the effects of the same kind
taken as the set of quantitatively determinable data rather through the principle of uniformity, the properties that have
than as a substance endowed with essences or qualities that been demonstrated to be invariable in the experimentation
justify its purpose. This knowledge allows us to determine, can be considered universals. The simple, uniform and
and not just to know, objects in the physical world to which universal character of Nature is assured by the Creator,
scientific theories refer, and in particular the mechanical whose sensory organs are space and time.3
relations of material bodies in space and time.
1 Esposito, C. and Porro, P., Moderna. Vol. 2 of Filosofia, Bari:
It is usual to date the advent of modern science at least Laterza, 2009, pp. 62–64.
as early as Leonardo Da Vinci, the ideal Renaissance man, a 2 Esposito and Porro, Moderna. 74–85.
great painter, inventor of machines and attentive researcher 3 Esposito, and Porro, Moderna, 269–277; Rossi, P. Francesco
of physical Nature and the human body. In Leonardo we Bacon. Dalla magia alla scienza, Bologna: il Mulino, 2004.
find most of the requisites for the development of modern Newton was deeply religious and convinced both with the
science: the empirical observation of Nature, the Reason that creation of the universe in seven days of different duration
demonstrates mathematically what has been observed, and and the apocalypse; see White, M. Newton. L’ultimo mago,
Milano: Rizzoli, 2001, pp. 217-222.
The 1st Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology SECTION
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http://dialogo-conf.com COSMOLOGY

For Galileo, on the other hand, experience translates the Faith; no term is superfluous or used incorrectly. In the
into systematic experimentation in the laboratory, which Copernican Letters, on the other hand, Galileo assigns to
serves to verify an existing theoretical hypothesis and Sacred Scripture a value as guide only in matters of faith
provides data that must undergo [definitively] the abstract and morality.6
and mathematical schematization of precisely calculable
and quantifiable relations. This schematization allows for Thus, it opened the famous Galilean question, which
the discovery of deterministic and general physical laws was to become the paradigm of the conflict – never fully
that function as postulates and for which the scientist builds resolved – between Nature and Scripture, science and faith,
deductively a complex and organic edifice. Therefore the free research of natural reason and the authority of the
Physics is not only experimental due to experimentation, ecclesiastical institution, between the obscurantism typical
but also due to the mathematical code with which the of the medieval period and scientific progress which would
experiments are conducted, exploiting the mathematical illuminate the modern age.7
order of the Book of Nature. Since it conserves the imprint Indeed, it is well known that the stereotype of the pure
of its Creator and the Truth is only one, the Book of Nature conflict between scientific thought and religious dogma
is more certain than Sacred Scripture, since the latter was for long dominated the interpretation of the most profound
only dictated by God with a conventional linguistic code essence of the Middle Ages, as an obscurantist age in the
open to interpretation. Therefore, science does not formulate grip of the universalist political and religious authorities.
hypotheses in order to conserve observed phenomena, but This image of the Middle Ages was greatly corroborated by
represents the authentic structure of the physical world. It the Humanist writers of the Renaissance, who found nothing
was precisely this epistemological concept that conflicted better to do than to demolish the recent past in order to
with that of the theologians who were critical of Galileo, exalt the distant past of the classical civilizations of Greece
in particular the Jesuit cardinal Roberto Bellarmino . They and Rome.8 Enlightenment historiography persevered in
sought to confine science to the sphere of philosophical offering an absolutely negative image of the Middle Ages in
hypotheses alone, since every natural effect could be antithesis to the Age of Reason.9
explained in a different way over the course of the history
of science4.While Galileo seeks to interpret Sacred In our age, the concept of Christianity as an obstacle to
Scripture in the light of the Patristic tradition in order to scientific progress was theorized mainly by John William
smooth out the problematic knots, such theologians are Draper and Andrew Dickson White. While in Europe the
used to interpreting Sacred Scripture ad litteram without the neo-scholastic movement took shape and the corpus of
mediation of that tradition, and they are reluctant to accept Thomas Aquinas’ works began to be critically edited with
any heterodox interpretation of Sacred Scripture, conscious Pope Leo XIII’s blessing, Draper, professor of chemistry
of the methodological rules of Melchior Cano and the 16th and physiology at New York University, in 1874 published
century prohibitions on the individual’s liberty to interpret a history of the clash between religion and science that
the Bible, a liberty which lapsed into hermeneutic relativism was very critical of Christianity and favourable toward
after the Reformation.5 classical culture, which would pollinate Renaissance
science. The book was reprinted fifty times and translated
Bellarmino sustains the absolute infallibility of Sacred into many languages. White, the first dean of Cornell
Scripture, not only with regard to specific issues of faith and University, in 1896 wrote a history of the conflict between
morality, but also, in general, with regard to the facts and science and Christian theology as distinct from religion.
opinions of the Church, whether these concern the whole While theology interfered dogmatically with the study of
community of the faithful or a specific individual. Not only Nature, considering the Bible a scientific text, religion had
the sentences, but all the words in Sacred Scripture concern a universal value, in the order of morality, in the conduct of
4 Esposito and Porro, Moderna, 86–100; Giorgio Stabile,
one’s life. Only religion, as an individual sentiment, could
“Linguaggio della natura e linguaggio della scrittura in
encourage science. Again in 1955 White’s work was praised
Galilei. Dalla historia sulle macchie solari alle lettere
by George Sarton.10
copernicane” [“The Language of nature and the language of 6 Ponzio, Copernicanesimo e teologia, 43–44; Redondi,
Scripture in Galileo. From the historia of the sunspots to the P., “Natura e Scrittura” in: Bucciantini, M., Camerota, M.
Copernican letters], Nuncius 9 (1994), pp. 38–47 (translation & Giudice, F. (eds), Il Caso Galileo: una rilettura storica,
by author). filosofica, teologica, Convegno internazionale di studi,
5 Especially the fifth Lateran Council on 19 December 1516, Florence, 26–30 maggio 2009, Florence: Olschki, 2011, PP.
the Provincial Council of Florence in 1517 and the session 153–162.
of the Council of Trent, which took place on 8 April 1546; 7 Garin, Eugenio, “Il ‘caso’ Galileo nella storia della cultura
see Baldini, Ugo, “L’astronomia del cardinale Bellarmino” moderna” in: Galluzzi, P. (ed.), Novità celesti e crisi del
in: Galluzzi, P. (ed.), Novità celesti e crisi del sapere. Atti sapere. Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi galileiani,
del Convegno Internazionale di Studi galileiani, Florence: Florence: Giunti Barbera, 1984, pp. 5–14; Vasoli, Cesare,
Giunti Barbera, 1984, pp. 293–305; Prosperi, Adriano, “‘Tradizione’ e ‘Nuova Scienza’. Note alle lettere a Cristina
“L’inquisizione fiorentina al tempo di Galileo” in: Galluzzi, di Lorena e al P. Castelli” in: Galluzzi, P. (ed.), Novità celesti
P. (ed.), Novità celesti e crisi del sapere. Atti del Convegno e crisi del sapere, Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi
Internazionale di Studi galileiani, Florence: Giunti Barbera, galileiani, Florence: Giunti Barbera, 1984, pp. 73–94.
1984, pp. 315–325; Ponzio, P., Copernicanesimo e teologia 8 Bottin, F., La scienza degli ockhamisti, Rimini: Maggioli,
: scrittura e natura in Campanella, Bari: Levante, 1998, pp. 1982, pp. 277–284.
27–34; Camerota, M. Galileo Galilei e la cultura scientifica 9 Guerci, L., Note sulla storiografia illuministica, Florence:
nell’età della Controriforma, Roma: Salerno, 2004, pp. 226- Olschki, 1979.
230. 10 Lindberg, David C., “Introduction” in: Lindberg, D. C.
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From the 1920s a conciliatory position began to be This thesis, on the eve of the Scientific Revolution, placing
affirmed in favour of religion as a propulsive factor for medieval scientific progress at the heart of Christianity, dealt
science and the idea that the universe was the result of a a decisive blow to the stereotypical image of the Middle
providential order, decreed by God’s will. This was the case Ages, and influenced a whole group of post WWII scholars,
of Arnold N. Whitehead, for example.11 spearheaded by Anneliese Maier and Alaistair C. Crombie.
Maier adopted a strongly ‘continuist’ perspective, taking
In 1938 Robert K. Merton discriminated between her cue from the interweaving of science and theology and
Catholicism and Protestantism: while the Catholicism then focusing her attention on purely scientific writings.16
pervading Latin and Medieval Christianity was ascetic According to Crombie, the methodology of scientific
and distrustful of Nature and matter, judged as a source of research that flowed into the Scientific Revolution could be
precariousness, the Puritan ethic stimulated the study of traced to the late Middle Ages.17
Nature as an act of piety and an attempt to unveil the glory
of the Creator through the order and harmony of the created Crombie’s position gained wide approval, especially
universe, but also as a desire to better the conditions of from John Herman Randall, but also severe criticism from
humanity thanks to the advantages of scientific progress.12 Marshall Clagett, James McEvoy, and especially Alexandre
Koyré.18 In 1961 Randall, following Ernst Cassirer19,
With Pierre Duhem we witness a fundamental change demonstrated that the University of Padua had welcomed a
of direction that seeks to overcome the perspective of number of scholars, from Peter of Abano to Zabarella and on
a mere ideological conflict13. Duhem concentrated on to Galileo20. Randall’s essay too was criticized, especially in
the Middle Ages, inspired by the intuition that a whole 1963 by Neal Gilbert, who noted that Galileo derived the
millennium couldn’t not contain some element of scientific methodology of the resolutio and compositio from Greek
development. In particular, the Parisian condemnations mathematicians rather than from Paduan scholars.21
of 7th March 1277 would begin to destabilize the safe
paradigm of Aristotelian physics and trace new paths of Clagett and his group marginalized a priori external
research that would lead definitively to the birth of modern criteria and enhanced internal criteria, attentive to the content
science.14 This vision of the Middle Ages in continuity with of critical editions of scientific treatises and the technical
the Renaissance and the Modern Age rests on the theology language of specific sciences.22 This technical approach has
of creation, which was not alien to Galileo and Newton, and recently been endorsed by Fabio Seller, for whom, when
is the idea that the universe, as created by God, conserves, the medieval scientist, who is also, indeed principally, a
like a watermark, the imprint of its Creator, exhibiting the theologian, faces questions of natural philosophy at a high
features of goodness, order and rationality that underpin the technical level, he is more often thinking like a scientist
birth of science. Duhem’s thesis was neglected in France, and not like a theologian or man of faith. This mental habit
due to the scientific and anti–clerical ambient of the Third must be assumed by the contemporary scholar when reading
Republic, but it met with great success in the USA thanks to and interpreting the sources in order to follow the patterns
George Sarton’s positive review of his most important work of reasoning. “On different occasions we can note that the
‘Le Système du Monde’15. pattern has nothing to do with religion or theology, but
& Numbers, N. (eds), God and Nature. Historical Essays on places itself on a level of often disorienting technical skill
the Encounter between Christianity and Science, Berkley: […] The historian of ancient and medieval philosophy who
Berkley University Press, 1986, pp. 1–18; Lindberg, David deals with scientific questions cannot concede himself the
C., “Science and the Early Church” in: Lindberg, D. C. & privilege of not also being a historian of science.”23 Hence,
Numbers, N. (eds), God and Nature. Historical Essays on the autonomy and specialization of late–medieval natural
the Encounter between Christianity and Science, Berkley: Hélène Duhem and the Publication of the Système du
Berkley University Press, 1986, pp. 19–48. Monde” in Intercollegiate Review, vol. XXI, M. Sprindling
11Whitehead, Arnold N., Science and the Modern World, New (ed.), Wilmington: Academic, 1985–1986, pp. 41–49.
York: Mentor Book, 1925. 16 Maier, A. Metaphysische Hintergrunde der
12 Merton, R. K., “Science, Technology and Society spaatscholastichen Naturphilosophie, Rome: Storia e
in Seventeenth Century England” in: Osiris, vol. IV, A. Letteratura, 1955.
Rusnoch, (ed.), Chicago: Academic, 1938, pp. 360–632. 17 Crombie, A., C. Augustine to Galileo: the History of
13 Murdoch, John E., “Pierre Duhem and the History of Science A.D. 400–1650, London: Heinemann, 1957.
Late Medieval Science and Philosophy in the Latin West” 18 McEvoy, J., The Philosophy of Robert Grosseteste,
in: Imbach, R. & Maierù, A. (eds), Gli studi di filosofia Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982.
medievale fra Ottocento e Novecento. Contributo a un 19 Cassirer, E. Das Erkenntnisproblem in der Philosophie
bilancio storiografico, Rome: Storia e Letteratura, 1991, pp. und Wissenschaft der neueren Zeit, Berlin: de Gruyter, 1911,
253–302; Jaki, Stanley L., An Easy Genius. The Life and 1, pp. 136–143.
Work of Pierre Duhem, The Hague: Nijhofff, 1984. Volumes 20 Randall, J., H., The School of Padua and the Emergence
2 and 3 of Synthese Review are devoted to Pierre Duhem. of Modern Science, Padua: Antenore, 1961.
14 Biard, Joel, “Le rôle des condamnations de 1211 dans 21 N. W. Gilbert, “Galileo and the School of Padua” in:
le développement de la physique selon Pierre Duhem” [The Journal of the History of Philosophy, vol. I, S. Nadler, (ed.)
role of the condemnations of 1211 in the development of Madison: Academic, 1963, pp. 223–231.
physics according to Pierre Duhem], Revue des Questions 22 Clagett, M. The Science of Mechanics in the Middle
Scientifiques, 75 (2004), pp. 15–35 (translation by author). Ages, Madison: University of Wisconsin press, 1959.
15 At the time of Duhem’s death in 1916 many of his 23 Seller, Fabio, “Temi e problemi per la definizione di un
manuscripts were unpublished; his daughter Hélène and paradigma scientifico medievale” in: D’Onofrio, G. (ed.),
his students continued the publication of these manuscripts The Medieval Paradigm. Religious Thought and Philosophy,
up to 1959; see Jaki, Stanley L., “Science and Censorship: Turnhoult: Brepols, 2012, p. 111.
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philosophy, or at least of those who study it.24 was Andrew Cunningham, in 1999 and 2000, who accused
him of undisguised ‘continuism’: historians of science
In 1956 Koyré sought to prove that most medieval tend to confound the plane of modern science with that
scientific discoveries could not be associated with the of medieval natural philosophy, which is scientific, but in
Scientific Revolution. The great medieval machines, like a peculiar way. For Cunningham, despite the presence of
clocks, were the causes, and not the effects, of scientific many questions of natural philosophy, any work containing
theories. Even the developments of Ockhamism were them would be based on an object that went beyond that
irrelevant for the birth of modern science25. In 1986 Edward of a specific enquiry, referring to a universe of theological
Grant made a distinction between the early and late Middle meaning that was an integral part of scientific production.
Ages. While the former was characterized by a scarce Metaphysics and theology also composed a “big picture”
scientific level, which was encyclopaedic, confused and in which science was seen as historically contingent, that
uneven, so that it didn’t represent an alternative source of is, limited to and rooted in particular cultures, places and
knowledge to Christian doctrine, the rediscovery of Græco– epochs. Seen in this way, the birth of modern science can be
Arabic science in the late Middle Ages was a decisive step dated to between 1760 and 1848.30
toward the modern concept of science.26 In 1974 Grant
vindicated the substantial autonomy of late–medieval The dispute between Grant and Cunningham still echoes
scientific thought from the religious context surrounding its among historians of science, divided between an attitude
authors; engaged in commentaries on the works of Aristotle, ‘centred on the present’ and a perspective open to cultural,
Galen and Ptolemy, they inevitably ran up against God and social and political aspects that lay the ground for the
the Faith, albeit in a negligible way.27 In 1996 and 1999 Grant emergence of certain speculative problems with the relative
identified the prerequisites of the Scientific Revolution in proposed solutions. The former sustain a progressive
the late Middle Ages, that is, the translations of Græco– clarification of scientific truth, from the perspective of the
Arabic scientific works, which were being taught in the contemporary scientist to the detriment of those hypotheses
newly founded universities; as well as the multiple skills that turn out to be unfounded ex post;31 while the latter
of university teachers, who were, at one and the same time, refuse to consider science as a transcendental product of
philosophers and theologians, transmitting the new fields thought, introducing external factors, such as the economy,
of knowledge, despite the ecclesiastical condemnations of politics and religion.32
the 13th century, which had a local and limited importance.
The Parisian condemnations of 1277 must be considered David Lindberg has highlighted the role of the Church as
as secondary aberrations in the overall history of western the direct or indirect patron of medieval intellectual activity.
Christianity. The prerequisites for the Scientific Revolution He states that it would be counter–intuitive to ignore this role
must be sought in the role of natural philosophy and of the in order to approve the autonomous and secular character of
exact sciences. By virtue of these prerequisites, the reading science; the ideological factor accompanying this role was
of books newly acquired by the Faculty of Arts and the physiological and reflected a requisite that was socially and
Faculty of Theology stimulated the proposition of many politically integral to intellectual production. Ultimately,
questions of a natural character, which opened the way to Christianity was an omnipresent reality in the Middle Ages,
original methods and solutions at the foundations of modern which nevertheless interfered in scientific endeavour in a
science.28 less intrusive way than is generally believed.33
Grant’s concept of the philosopher–theologian was This contribution purports to analyse late–medieval
taken up by Edith Sylla in 2003, who underlined the science from a dual perspective: history of science and
‘synolon’ of philosophy and theology in their mutual philosophy of science. Such a perspective will allow us to
referentiality and interaction,29 while Grant’s main critic obtain a detailed overall picture, which will then be compared
24 Seller, Temi e problemi per la definizione di un paradigma University Press, 2003, pp. 187–195.
scientifico medievaleI, 113. 30 A. Cunningham and P. Williams, “De–Centring the ‘Big
25 A. Koyrè, “The Origins of Modern Science: A New Picture’: The Origins of Modern Science and the Modern
Interpretation” in: Diogenes, vol. XVI, M. Aymard & L. M. Origins of Science” in: The British Journal for the History
Scarantino (eds), Medford: Academic, 1956, pp. 14–42 of Science, vol. XXVI, J. Agar, (ed.), Cambridge: Academic,
26 Grant, Edward, “Science and Theology in the Middle 1993, pp. 407–432; A. Cunningham,, “The Identity of
Ages” in: Lindberg, D. C. & Numbers, N. (eds) God and Natural Philosophy. A Response to Edward Grant” in:
Nature. Historical Essays on the Encounter between Early Science and Medicine, vol. v, R. Lüthy (ed.), Leiden:
Christianity and Science, Berkley: Berkley University Press, Academic, 2000, pp. 259–278.
1986, pp. 49–75. 31 T. G. Ashplant and A. Wilson, “Present–centred history
27 Grant, E. A Source Book of Medieval Science, and the problem of historical knowledge” in: The Historical
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1974. Journal, vol. XXXI, A. Preston & P. Withington (eds),
28 Grant, E., The foundations of modern science in the Cambridge: Academic, 1988, pp. 253–273.
Middle Ages: their religious, institutional and intellectual 32 Steneck, N., H., Science and Creation in the Middle Ages.
contexts, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996; Henry of Langenstein (d. 1397) on Genesis, Notre Dame
Idem, “God, Science, and Natural Philosophy in the Late (Ind.): University of Notre Dame Press, 1976; Funkenstein,
Middle Ages” in: Nauta, L. & Vanderjagt, A. (eds), Between A., Theology and the Scientific Imagination from the Middle
Demonstration and Imagination. Essays in the History of Ages to the Seventeenth Century, Princeton: Princeton
Science and Philosophy, Leiden: Brill, 1999, pp. 243–267. University Press, 1986.
29 Sylla, Edith D., “Interactions of natural philosophy 33 D. C. Lindberg, “Medieval Science and its Religious
and theology” in: A. S. McGrade (ed.), The Cambridge Context” in: Osiris, vol. X, A. Rusnoch, (ed.), Chicago:
Companion to Medieval Philosophy, Cambridge: Cambridge Academic, 1995, pp. 60–79.
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with modern science and the Scientific Revolution. diagonal arches (rounded and then pointed); navigation,
with the Latin sail, a greater number of masts, the hinged
rudder, the compass, marine charts, and maps; chemistry,
II. History of science with gunpowder, glass for domestic use, eyeglasses, cloth
The technical and scientific discoveries that characterize dyes, glues, siccative, inks, pharmaceutical minerals, and
the history of science in the late Middle Ages are indeed alcohol; and metallurgy, with blast furnaces equipped with
many. For example, at the University of Paris, Jean Buridan, hydraulic bellows to produce cast iron and copper and steel
Nicole Oresme, Albert of Saxony and Marsilius of Inghen wire, tuned bells, fire arms, and large mechanical clocks.37
proposed exciting hypotheses on the falling of weights, the
motion of bodies in space, the liveableness of the earth, the Paris, in the early 14th century, was the true capital of
relative motion and rotation of the earth, the plurality of Europe, and like many other cities on the continent, it was
worlds, the extra–cosmos and the infinite. Buridan, Oresme immersed in an “atmosphere of calculation” – as Jacques Le
and Albert of Saxony described many experiments on Goff says38 – between mural quadrants, mechanical clocks
falling stones, the relative motion of ships and the spheres and equal hours, promissory notes and letters of discount,
of the sublunar world.34 Likewise, between the 13th and gold coins and other currencies, double–entry bookkeeping,
14th centuries, a whole series of Greek, Roman and Arabic mensural notation and polyphonic song, perspective
instruments and techniques were perfected. For example, painting, marine charts, and maps.39
the improvement of distillation instruments for volatile
substances, like alcohol and acid concentrates, which led to III. Philosophy of science
the spread of alchemy35, as well as Hindu–Arabic positional
algebra, Arabic mensural notation, which gave rise to Various late–medieval authors formalized the inductive
polyphony, and pictorial perspective. A general process of method. For example, as I have shown elsewhere40,
thematization came to impose itself both at Oxford, with according to the Franciscan philosopher and theologian,
the calculationes , the proportiones and the regulae solvendi John Duns Scotus, who taught at Oxford and Paris in the
sophismata, and at Paris, with the graphic representation of early 14th century, contingent propositions, which signify
Oresme’s three scales.36 recurrent factors, cannot escape from the vis terminorum,
that is, from the immediate comprehension of terminology.
This process may have been inspired by Roger Bacon’s Such comprehension is gained through experience,
famous hymn to mechanism. He presaged the construction mediated by a sophisticated demonstrative procedure: 1)
of many machines, such as one for navigation without experience gauges the effective verification of the inherence
oarsmen, carts that could move without the use of muscular of the property to the subject of the proposition, and
force and with incredible speed, a flying machine in which therefore, the verification of the fact that this proposition has
one could sit and operate artificial wings, a small machine meaning in the extra–mental world; 2) this fact is verified
that could lift, or drop, enormous weights, another with which in the majority of cases through an inductive method; 3) as
a man could violently pull 1000 people toward himself, a a rule, everything that happens in the majority of cases is a
device for walking on the surface or the bottom of rivers and natural effect and has an associated natural cause, and so the
seas, suspension bridges over water, and other astonishing fact that the proposition has meaning is understood as the
devices. Bacon’s enthusiasm was sustained by a fair dose of natural effect and associated with the relative cause; 4) once
fantasy; however, it was part of a wider social atmosphere in cause and effect [NB no definite article] are established, a
which production was increasingly dominated by machines. demonstratio potissima propter quid is constructed, that is, the
For example, the field of mechanics was evolving with the strongest form of the Aristotelian deductive demonstration,
piston rod and crank handle, the water mill, the wind mill (in inserting the subject’s definition as the middle term; 5) as a
a small format with vertical wings), the hydraulic saw, the rule, everything that happens in the majority of cases, via
pedal hammer, and the handle drill. The textile industry was a cause that is not free, is the natural effect of that cause,
not far behind with the spindle and the Egyptian pedal loom, and, as such, the cause is associated with the relative effect.
while architecture was progressing with the barrel vault on Both these rules serve to generalize, in the majority of
cases, the relation between cause and effect; however, the
34 Bianchi, Luca, “La struttura del cosmo” in: Bianchi, L first rule associates effect with cause in an inductive mode,
(ed.), La filosofia nelle università, secoli XIII–XIV, Florence: while the second associates cause with effect in a deductive
La Nuova Italia, 1997, pp. 269–302; Biard, Joel, “Le statut mode. Therefore, the connection between cause and effect
du mouvement dans la philosophie naturelle buridanienne” is demonstrated in a circular mode. Both these rules can
in: Caroti, S. and Souffrin, P. (eds), La nouvelle physique du
XIV siécle, Florence: Olschki, 1997, pp. 141–159; Caroti, 37 Crombie, Augustine to Galileo, 152–209.
S.,“Nuovi linguaggi e filosofia della natura: i limiti delle 38 Le Goff, J., Your Money or Your Life: Economy and
potenze attive in alcuni commenti parigini ad Aristotele” Religion in the Middle Ages, New York, Zone Books, 1988.
in: Caroti, S. (ed.), Studies in Medieval Natural Philosophy, 39 Crosby, A., W., La misura della realtà. Nascita di un
Florence: Olschki, 1989, pp. 177–226; Grant, E., God nuovo modello di pensiero in Occidente, Bari: Dedalo, 1998,
and Reason in the Middle Ages, Cambridge: Cambridge pp. 59–252.
University Press, 2001, pp. 158–183. 40 Fiorentino, Francesco, “The theory of scientific
35 Crombie, A., C., Augustine to Galileo: the History of knowledge according to John Duns Scotus” in: Honnefelder,
Science A.D. 400–1650, London: Heinemann, 1957, pp. L., Mohle, M., Speer, A., Kobusch, T., & Bullido del Bario, S.
111–119. (eds), John Duns Scotus (1308–2008). Die philosophischen
36 Maier, A., On the Threshold of Exact Science, Perspektiven seines Werkes. Proceedings of the Quadruple
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982, pp. Congress on John Duns Scotus, Part 3, Münster: Aschendorff
169–170. Verlag, 2010, pp. 327–343.
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function only after prior operations, that is, the induction of Stephen Marrone notes, this expansion overturns the
the effect, in the majority of cases, with regard to the first Aristotelian primacy of necessary truths in favour of
rule, and the construction of the demostratio potissima (that contingent truths, which become more perfect than the
is, of the most rigorous demonstration, in which the middle former in the context of what Marrone calls “experimental
term contains the definition of the subject or predicate of the science”44. Concluding his article, Marrone states that this
main proposition) with regard to the second. The criterion of conception places Scotus well within the history of the
‘majority’ alone is enough to mark the natural character of modern theory of science.45 Scotus enters this history with
the effect and the necessary character of the relative cause. the lesson of the condemnations of the late 13th century,
The result is a transformation of the role of induction, which that is, the abandonment of an exasperated recourse to the
goes from being the necessary instrument for extrapolating necessity of natural laws, but without the ultra–contingency–
the universal from the particular, in Aristotelian terms, to oriented and sceptical deviations of the 14th century.46
the means for verifying and testing the atomic assertions, as
premises and conclusions.41 In effect, the fact that the laws of Nature, not being
free, must always act in a natural and uniform way, sets
Thus Scotus elaborates scientific knowledge not only up the possibility of the regularity of Nature, but without
from necessary facts, but also from contingent facts42, invalidating the contingency of the divine will. On the other
expanding de facto the dominion of science to Nature, in a hand, the divine will, being capable of impeding the action of
way that rests on the theory of the determination of divine every natural cause, does not upset the natural order, which
will43. In other words, God choses and determines freely would hinder scientific enquiry. The constancy of Nature
and voluntarily just one side of each co–possible pair of does not depend on an objective factor, that is, on Nature
contraries, bringing it to be in the created world. This theory itself, which God could always overturn, but on the concrete
renders natural laws absolutely contingent, and contingent experience of the invariability of natural laws. That is, on
facts absolutely necessary, as correlated in the supreme and the empirical constatation of the fact that, though capable of
absolutely necessary Being. The main speculative focus doing so, God has not desired to overturn the natural order,
shifts from facts as parts of genera and from their necessary so that its laws remain constant; hence the scientist can
nature, to the laws that make such facts co–possible. As discover them and they allow him to harmonize contingent
events in a single proof. This constatation allows us to limit
41 That could bring Scotus close to Bacon’s concept of the role of the exception, which does not invalidate the
experimental science; see Lindberg, David C., “Introduction” natural law, since it does not represent proof of the possibility
in: Idem, Roger Bacon and the Origins of Perspective in the of overturning the natural order, but instead, represents the
Middle Ages, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996, p. IV. documentation that this order has not yet been overturned,
42 This concept has already been underlined by Roberto though it could be in the future. The perennial subsistence
Hoffmeister Pich in Der Begriff der wissenschaftlichen of the possibility of a counter–factual course does not limit
Erkenntnis nach Johannes Duns Scotus (unpublished PhD the role of contingency, which was transformed after the
Dissertation, Bonn 2001, pp. 145–158. 1277 condemnations. From being the ontological residue of
43 Courtenay, William, J., “The dialectic of omnipotence the precariousness of the world, in antithesis to the absolute
in the High and Late Middle Ages” in: Rudavsky, T. necessity of God, contingency became the most peculiar
(ed.), Divine Omniscience and Omnipotence in Medieval expression of God’s infinite omnipotence and freedom. Yet
Philosophy: Islamic, Jewish and Christian Perspectives, this subsistence limits the role of necessity, which must be
Dordrecht: Reidel, 1985, pp. 121–127; B. De la Torre, relative (secundum quid) or hypothetical (ypothetica) and
“Thomas Buckingham and the contingency of futures. The not absolute, as in the Aristotelian supposition which Scotus
possibility of human freedom” in: Mediaeval Studies, vol. criticises.47
XXV, J. Black (ed.), Toronto: Academic, 1987, pp. 91–101;
S. D. Dumont, “The origin of Scotus’ theory of synchronic 44 Marrone, Stephen, P., “Concepts of science among
contingency” in: The Modern Schoolman, vol. LXXII, Parisian theologians in the Thirteenth Century” in:
J. D. Jacobs (ed.), St. Louis: Academic, 1995, pp. 149– Tyorinoja, R. (ed.), Knowledge and the Sciences in Medieval
167; F. Fiorentino, “La teoria della determinazione della Philosophy, vol. I, Helsinki: Acta Philosophica Fennica,
volontà divina di Duns Scoto e la sua immediata recezione 1990, pp. 131–132.
medievale” [The theory of the determination of the divine 45 Marrone, Concept of science, 132; Idem, “Scotus at
will in Duns Scotus and its immediate medieval reception], Paris on the criteria for scientific knowledge” in: Brown S.
Rome: Antonianum, 80 (2005): 277–318 (translation by F., Dewender, T. & Kobusch, T. (eds), Philosophical Debates
author); Idem, “Il rapporto tra la volontà divina e la volontà at Paris in the Early Fourteenth Century, Leiden: Brill, 2009,
umana in Francesco di Meyronnes dopo Duns Scoto” [The pp. 383–400.
relationship between the divine will and the human will 46 W. J. Courtenay, “John of Mirecourt and Gregory of
in Francis of Meyronnes after Duns Scotus] in Franciscan Rimini on whether God Can Undo the Past” in: Recherches
Studies. 63 (2005): 159–214 (translation by author); Idem, de Théologie ancienne et médiévale, vol. XXXIX, G.
Gregorio da Rimini, Il futuro, la contingenza e la scienza Guldentops (ed.), Leuven, Academic, 1972, pp. 224–253,
nel pensiero tardo–medievale, Rome: Antonianum, 2004; vol. XL, 1973, pp. 147–174; Grassi, Onorato, “Probabilismo
Idem, Francesco di Meyronnes. Libertà e contingenza nel teologico e certezza filosofica. Pietro Aureoli e il dibattito
pensiero tardo–medievale, Rome: Antonianum, 2006; sulla conoscenza nel ‘300” in: D’Onofrio G. (ed.), Storia
Randi, Eugenio, “Onnipotenza divina e futuri contingenti della teologia nel Medioevo, vol. III, Casale Monferrato:
nel XIV secolo” [Divine omnipotence and contingent futures Piemme, 1996, pp. 515–517.
in the 14th century] in Documenti e Studi sulla Tradizione 47 Ioannes Duns Scotus, in Metaphysicam VI, q. 2, ed. G.
Filosofica Medievale, 1 (1990), pp. 605–630 (translation by J. Etzkorn, St. Bonaventure: The Franciscan Institute, 1997,
author). vol. II, pp. 47–48, § 29.
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A few years later the scientia experimentalis reappears The examination of all the cases is not only impossible, but
in the Franciscan, William of Nottingham, who appeals to futile, since there is already a rule, which is not deduced
extrinsic evidence that relies on induction. In William’s from, but only corroborated by experience. This rule
judgement, starting from sensible experience in the suggests the implementation of certain operations with
memory, both mediated and unmediated, induction allows regard to the raw data of experience: 1) the elimination of
us to comprehend the universal, which is the premise of all the extraneous causes, 2) the verification of the frequent
syllogistic deduction.48 In this way we obtain what Robert concurrence between setting out the cause and setting out
Grosseteste calls principium universale experimentale.49 the relative effect. Recognition of the cause triggers the
syllogistic deduction, which generates a deductive science.
At the end of the 1410s the Franciscan theologian, For example, once it is known through experience that a
John of Reading, replying to his confrere Petrus Aureolus’ certain illness is frequently cured with a certain herb, we
opinion on the nature of theology, analysed inductive science can demonstrate a priori that this herb cures this illness.
transversely, and distinguished three types: 1) ex effectu ‘Concludo sicut sentio’, that is, inductive science and
sensato vel esperimento, 2) ex experientia, 3) ex experientia deductive science coincide in a circular fashion in the same
with the addition of Nature. The first type, which Reading epistemic content.52
bases, with good reason, on Scotus, resembles the per
regressum method of the Paduan School. In it, we proceed The third type of inductive science presupposes the
from a single, empirically observed fact to its cause. Once second and adds the discovery of the subject’s nature,
it has been observed that the Moon increases in size, we which is not obtained through the same experiment already
resort to the nominal definition of a circular body in order employed, but through another experiment, with which
to return to the circularity of the moon as cause, which acts another conclusion is reached. For example, suppose
as the subject in the major premise, from which we deduce that this herb can cure this illness, in virtue of another
a priori the conclusion containing the initially observed experiment, we can conclude that the healing power of the
effect. So, the effect is not the cause, but only the occasion herb depends on the fact that it corrupts a cold illness, so it
for investigating the cause of the subject’s property.50 can be deduced that the herb in question has a hot nature. 53
The other two types of inductive science do not William of Ockham, Reading’s confrere and fellow
make use of a single experiment, but rather a series of student at Oxford, seems to favour a purely inductive
experiments, which Reading calls ‘approximatio contingens method, when he affirms, in the first prologue question of
experimentata’, as if to say that the repetition of the his Commentary on Peter Lombard’s Sentences, that the
experiment allows us to grasp the connection between effect premise “every herb of a certain species is given to the
and cause, which in itself is contingent and so may happen, feverish person” cannot be demonstrated with a syllogism,
while it does not happen, and may not happen, while it does which must begin with a premise that is known in and of
happen. Yet this repetition can only be approximate, since it itself; instead, it requires one or more intuitive types of
cannot cover all the cases effectively verifiable.51 knowledge of herbs through various experiments on the
individual herb, which point to the direct causation between
The second type draws on experience: this entails the a given herb and the cure for fever, once every other cause
repetition of a single experiment and demonstrates the has been removed.54 In the fourth prologue question,
association between effect and cause in a certain frequency Ockham adds that the conclusion “the Moon is lit by the
of cases. The frequency, which corresponds to a statistical Sun” cannot be demonstrated a priori, but can only be
criterion, attenuates the contingency of Nature and becomes known with evidence gained through experience.
the precondition for the application of the propositio
quiescens apud intellectum, that is, the a priori mental However, even Ockham seems to fear an a priori
rule whereby, having established the cause and put aside demonstrative procedure: take a name, which denotes
all the rest, if the effect happens in the majority of cases, the illumination of the Moon and connotes the Sun as the
then it comes to be associated with that cause. So, there is cause of this illumination, remove every other cause, and
a principle that does not derive from experience, but that, know that the Sun is a luminous body, which can light up
remaining in the intellect, oversees the interpretation of the Moon, and that the Sun is directly opposite the Moon,
data obtained through the various repeated experiments. without the interposition of other planets. So we can obtain
48 Fiorentino, F., Conoscenza scientifica e teologia fra i
the conclusion, without seeing empirically that the Moon is
secoli XIII e XIV, Bari: Pagina, 2014, pp. 173-186.
eclipsed by the Sun.55 Thus even Ockham seems to adopt
49 Crombie, A., C., Robert Grosseteste and the Origins
a per regressum method, which utilises the insertion of the
of Experimental Science 1100–1700, Oxford: Clarendon
subject’s definition in the middle term of the demonstration,
Press, 1971; Rossi, Pietro, “Robert Grosseteste and the
following Scotus and Nottingham.56
object of scientific knowledge” in: McEvoy, J. (ed.),
Robert Grosseteste. New Perspectives on his Thought and 52 Ibidem, pp. 347, 349.
Scholarship, Turnhout: Brepols, 1995, pp. 154–187; Serene, 53 Ibidem, p. 348.
F., “Robert Grosseteste on Induction and Demonstrative 54 Guillelmus de Ockham, Scriptum in primum librum
Science” in: Synthese, vol. XL, O. Bueno, V. F. Hendricks, Sententiarum, Prologus, q. 2, a. 1, ed. G. Gál, St. Bonaventure
W. van der Hoek & G. Sher (eds), New York: Academic, N.Y., The Franciscan Institute, 1967, pp. 86, 17 – 87, 18.
1979, pp. 87–121. 55 Ibidem, q. 4, pp. 155, 25 – 156, 10.
50 Ioannes de Radingia, Scriptum in primum librum 56 Martini, Maria Gabriella, “La verità scientifica negli stoici
Sententiarum, Prologus, q. (=quaestio) 5, a. (=articulus) 2, e in Ockham. Un accostamento possibile” [The scientific
ed. F. Fiorentino, Paris: Vrin, 2011, p. 347. truth in the Stoics and Ockham. A possible approach?], Studi
51 Ibidem, p. 348. francescani, 99 (2002), pp. 237–252 (translation by author).
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In the second prologue question not even tautological if an absolute, or a property that ensues from something
propositions – like ‘God is God’ or ‘the white man is absolute, appertains to an individual, then a similar
the white man’ – can escape experience, with which the absolute can appertain to any individual of the same nature;
subject’s real existence should be verified.57 In substance, therefore, every herb of the same species is healing’64. This
whoever intends to use the inductive method – according middle term is equivalent to a rule of approximation, which
to Ockham – must accept as evident the premise “this herb extends the characteristics of a certain individual to all
cures this fever”, if the effective causal connection between those similar, thereby avoiding the recourse to experience.
the herb and the fever is verified in Nature. This connection As already noted,65 this lack of recourse is justified by the
is generalized through an extrinsic rule not existing in the supposition of the constancy of Nature, which nevertheless
intellect, that is, ‘all individual [herbs] of a certain type permeates the conclusions demonstrated empirically with
cause the same effects in every patient equally disposed’. 58 an inevitable probabilistic character and with the ensuing
risk of scepticism, which appeared on the intellectual scene
Once the premise has been demonstrated empirically, in the 14th century. 66
the syllogism can be composed, in which the rule becomes
the middle term, that is, ‘this herb cures this fever; all the Reading explained to Ockham that the non–
individual [herbs] of a certain type cause the same effects demonstrability of some properties with regard to the
in [all] the patients equally disposed; therefore, every herb relative subjects a priori does not depend on the fact that
of this species cures every fever of this species.’59 This the properties do not inhere in those subjects in a deductive
rule rests on the well–known faith Ockham nourished for way, but on the concealment of some causes to the human
intuitive knowledge, as well as for its skill in recording intellect; whereby such causes must be discovered a
exactly the causal connections operating in Nature60; yet, at posteriori per experientiam.67
the same time, it refers to a universality that no intuitive
knowledge, no matter how often repeated, can achieve. Both Walter Chatton and Adam Wodeham objected to
The analysis of Ockham’s text induces us to say that the Ockham that experience and syllogistic demonstration do
singularity or repetition of the experiment can be explained not produce the same science. Chatton identified experience
by the subject’s nature in the premise. If that nature is a and demonstration with a priori and a posteriori procedures,
unique species, then a single experiment is sufficient; if, which cause different sciences, because they utilise
instead, that nature is common to more than one species, different media. This diversity provokes the duplication
then more than one experiment is needed.61 If one intends to of self–evidence and of doubtability as the prerequisite
prove a certain nature of an entire genus, then first it must for the demonstration. The immediate principles become
be verified in every single individual, and second in every demonstrable through experience for two reasons: 1) they
species. Only at this point can a further rule of generalisation are dubitable a posteriori, while they are self–evident a
be applied, for which, when something agrees to all that priori; 2) like every other principle, [principio] they must
is contained under a certain genus, then it agrees to the be converted into consequences, whose antecedent signifies
whole genus.62 For example, if we wanted to demonstrate the condition of existence of the subject of the consequent.
the proposition ‘the animal can grow’, we would first have Such evidence must be verified empirically, as Ockham
to separate that proposition from the various propositions anticipated in his tautological propositions. 68
having as their subjects all the species comprised under The science Wodeham had in mind is no longer a habitus,
the genus ‘animal’, that is, ‘the ox can grow’, ‘the lion can but an actus, that is, an act with which the intellect assents
grow’, ‘man can grow’, and so on. These propositions would to the proposition, which is evident in that it conforms to
then be demonstrated, verifying the real connection between the sic esse, that is, to the real state of extra–mental things.
growable–ness and each individual of each species above. Hence, what is known scientifically is not so much the
Only after this operation would it be possible to conclude object, but rather the intellectual judgement of the object,
that the initial proposition was evident.63 that is, a mental state, a second–level epistemic content,
Obviously, this operation, though rigorous, is impossible. which refers to the object in that it is a first–level epistemic
Hence, Ockham suggests the passage from the singular content. The verification of the sic esse must be submitted
proposition to the universal one, inserting the middle term to the syllogistic deduction and the regulae quiescentes in
‘if an absolute, or a property that ensues from something anima, recalling Reading. What is obtained is not knowledge
absolute, appertains to an individual, then a similar absolute of the existence of the single individual, but knowledge
can appertain to any individual of the same nature’ so as of the possibility, or at least the non–impossibility, of the
to form the demonstrative syllogism ‘this herb is healing; 64 Ibidem, pp. 94, 20 - 95, 3.
57 Guillelmus de Ockham, In Sent. I, Prologus, q. 2, a. 3, 65 Bos, Egdard, P., “A Contribution to the History of
ed. G. Gál, St. Bonaventure N.Y., The Franciscan Institute, Theories of Induction in the Middle Ages” in: Jakobi, K.
1967, pp. 112, 9 – 113, 19. (ed.), Argumentationstheorie. Scholastische Forschungen zu
58 Ibidem, a. 1, pp. 86, 17 – 87, 18. den logischen und semantischen Regeln korrekten Folgerns,
59 Ibidem, a. 2, pp. 91, 16 – 92, 2. Leiden: Brill, 1993, pp. 553-574; Weiberg, J., Abstraction,
60 J. F. Boler, “Ockham on Evident Cognition” in: Relation and Induction. Three Essays in the History of
Franciscan Studies, vol. XXXVI, J. F. Calogeras (ed.), St. Thought, Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1965, pp.
Bonaventure N.Y.: Academic, 1976, pp. 85–98. 141-150.
61 Guillelmus de Ockham, In Sent. I, Prologus, q. 2, a. 2, 66 Boler, “Ockham on Evident Cognition”, 85-98;
ed. G. Gál, St. Bonaventure N.Y., The Franciscan Institute, Fiorentino, Conoscenza scientifica e teologia fra i secoli
1967, pp. 92, 18 – 93, 6. XIII e XIV, chpt. 5, section 9.7.
62 Ibidem, p. 93, 7–19. 67 Ibidem, chpt. 5, section 6.
63 Ibidem, p. 93, 20–23. 68 Ibidem, chpt. 6, section 1.1.
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species’ existence; for the species to be possible, or at least science, because it is based on pure logical correctness,
not impossible, its logical non–repugnance is enough, even rather than on the verification of the effective state of
without the real existence of some of its content. On the things, signified by the proposition. Such signification is
one hand, if the proposition is evident, the intellect cannot not proved through syllogistic demonstration, which is
not assent to it. On the other, it is the intellect that judges confined to the level of pure formal correctness, but through
whether the proposition is so evident as to merit its assent. the inductive procedure. This procedure provokes once
The result is that the separation between the mental state again an inevitable probabilistic character, which becomes
and the extra–mental state is cancelled. This cancellation fused with the supposition of Nature’s regularity. This
exposes the human mind to the possibility of deception, character is the counterbalance to the limitation of special
which God could exercise through His omnipotence, in a evidence.73 And Mirecourt extends it to many propositions
Cartesian way. In Wodeham, such a possibility does not in the natural sciences, to the principle of causality and to
destabilize the constancy of Nature, which is assured by the infinite sequence of trials. The profound devaluation
God’s ordained potency; but, God’s acting on intellectual of the principle of causality and of the infinite sequence of
judgment deprives all scientific proof of absolute evidence, trials seriously undermines all proofs of the existence of
independently of the source for this evidence. Hence, a new God. But, in general, it is theology and natural science that
judgment arises: a hypothetical judgment, together with a [definitively] undergo a robust re–dimensioning, in spite of
general probabilism, which is the ultimate effect – albeit the philosophi and the Aristotelian system of Nature and
not an intentional one – of the Ockhamist discussion of science, as George Tessier has underlined.74
experimental intuitive knowledge. 69
Mirecourt invalidates the principle of causality, not only
As Maier has observed70, these consequences are so on a supernatural plane, but also on a natural one, affirming
radicated as to elicit reactions against the entire Ockhamist that the identification of the appropriate cause does not
movement.71 Alfonso Maierù has clearly outlined the new exclude the existence of another, concurrent and unknown,
season of western thought, which comes to fruition with natural cause. This affirmation corrodes inductive science
Pierre d’Ailly, and which is defined by the epistemological from within and foils Buridan’s attempt to stem Nicholas
fracture between the two types of evidence, distinguished Autrécourt’s reductionism.75
by their capacity to resist, or not, the engulfing role of divine
omnipotence. 72
IV. Conclusion
This season is greatly encouraged by John of Mirecourt, As we can see, the combination of history of science
who theorized special evidence: it has the merit of remaining and philosophy of science is very fruitful, since it provides
indifferent to omnipotence, but its field of application is a complete yet detailed picture of late–medieval science,
just as limited, comprehending only the first principle, in which we glimpse two phenomena typical of the 14th
tautological propositions, the fact that something is, and century: a general process of mathematization, calculation
the mere logical validity of the consequences, whether and mechanisation, and a keen interest in the inductive
manifest or concealed under the form of enthymemes. This method and experimental science, which cannot be confined
limitation precludes from special evidence the knowledge to Ockham – as André Goddu76 has continued to maintain
of the real world empirically observed in the factual state – but which begins at least with Scotus. Indeed, we can
of things. This is the price that such evidence must pay for observe, in the Franciscan tradition at the intersection
reflecting on an abstract, and hence counter–factual, world. between Scotism and Ockhamism, the predilection for a
Yet, while in Wodeham supernatural intervention acts only circular method that combines induction and deduction.
on the mental state, instilling systematic doubt in a person’s This development is not obstructed, but instead favoured,
mind, in Mirecourt such intervention is directed toward the by the ecclesiastical condemnations of 1277, which had
extra–mental state, introducing the possibility of a counter– the effect of destabilising the Aristotelian epistemic model,
factual course. In Wodeham, the knowing intellect cannot founded on a purely deductive method and on the necessity
be sure of what it perceives or knows, while in Mirecourt of the object, with the consequent enhancement of the
the known object can be changed and so default on the contingency of Nature, and the omnipotence and freedom
principle of Nature’s constancy. Hence, in Wodeham the of God.
recourse to experience does not serve to banish doubt in the
intellect, which does not focus on what can be the object of 73 Fiorentino, Conoscenza scientifica e teologia fra i secoli
experience, but on itself. Wodeham must refer to pure logical XIII e XIV, , chpt. 8, section 4.
validity, which transcends such doubt. In Mirecourt, instead, 74 Tessier, Gerard, “Jean de Mirecourt philosophe et
experience is enough to verify whether or not the extra– théologien” [John of Mirecourt philosopher and theologian],
mental state of things follows an ordinary course, while Revue d’histoire littéraire de la France, 40 (1974): 1-52, in
the criterion of logical validity can play no role in proper particular 48 (translation by author).
69 Ibidem, chpt. 6, section 3.1. 75 John Buridan recognises that it is impossible to know if
70 Maier, A., Metaphysische Hintergründe der and when God intervenes in the effective course of Nature;
Spätskolastiken Naturphilosophie, Rome: Storia e SEE Southern, Ri. Robert Grosseteste. The Growth of an
Letteratura, 1955, p. 199, note 1. English Mind in Medieval Europe, Oxford: Clarendon Press,
71 Fiorentino, Conoscenza scientifica e teologia fra i secoli 1988, pp. 195-201.
XIII e XIV, chpt. 6, section 5. 76 Goddu, Andrew, “Medieval Natural Philosophy and
72 Maierù, Alfonso, “Logique et théologie trinitaire. Pierre Modern Science. Continuity or Revolution” in: Emery, K.,
d’Ailly” in: Kaluza, Z. & Vignaux, P. (eds), Preuve et raison Friedman, L. R. & Speer, A. (eds), Philosophy and Theology
à l’université de Paris. Logique, ontologie et théologie au in the long Middle Ages: a Tribute to Stephen F. Brown,
XIV siècle, Paris: Vrin, 1984, pp. 253-268. Leiden: Brill, 2011, pp. 214-233, in particular 230-233.
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Initially, in Scotus, the centrality of omnipotence and the by the Aristotelian–Ptolemaic system, swells to the point of
new concept of contingency render necessary the recourse bursting. For example, Ptolemaic cosmology underwent so
to experience, which has the task of verifying the real many adjustments that it became too complex and therefore
course of Nature, which God could always overturn. The unsustainable, compared with the Copernican system.78
focus on experience as an instrument of certification for the For John Weisheipl, while “John Buridan was concerned
ordinary course of Nature induces theologians, like Reading with new problems of ‘impetus’ and the via moderna in its
and Ockham, to concentrate on the inductive method. For widest application, the Physics of Aristotle remained the
Reading, the recourse to empirical induction is provoked cornerstone of medieval natural philosophy.”79
by the concealment of causal connections from the
intellect, which is too weak to deduce all the properties of Guido AllineyGuido Alliney80 and Bernard Cohen81 have
a certain subject; while Ockham believes that the properties objected that Copernicus’ results did not present fewer errors
themselves are not inherent in their subjects in a deductive than the Ptolemaic system and that his calculations were
way. not much simpler; indeed, Copernicus used the epicycles
and the same experimental data as the Ptolemaic tradition.
Both Reading and Ockham trust in the repeated Moreover, Aristotle no longer represented an indisputable
experiment in order to discover the appropriate cause and authority. For example, Pierre Jean Olivi complained that
eliminate any other, as Newton would reiterate. Mirecourt, Aristotle was held to be the regula infallibilis veritatis, and
instead, warns that identification of the appropriate cause that one had to submit to him tamquam Deo.82 Francis of
does not exclude the existence of hidden and concurrent Meyronnes gave to Aristotle the title pessimus metaphisicus
causes. Reading’s third type of science is not limited to without mincing his words. Durand of Saint Pourçain recalls
establishing mere causal connections, but presses on to Aristotle’s human nature and consequently his possible
understand the property of the subject that presides over fallibility. Many commentators83, like Ockham and Oresme,
such a connection. detected point by point Aristotle’s inaccuracies.84 Gregory
of Rimini thought that Aristotle was wrong with regard
Nevertheless, starting with Ockham, the inevitable to the indeterminate logical value of statements de futuro
application of generalising mental or extrinsic rules assures contingente, and that he made other serious errors, while
the supposition of Nature’s constancy, but at the price of the Wodeham asserts that such a value is so absurd that it may
hypothetical and probabilistic character of inductive science. not have been authentically held by Aristotle.85
For Wodeham, while God guarantees such constancy in the
ordinary course of Nature, what man knows scientifically For Jurgen Sarnowsky, medieval thinkers used the
is a mental state with which only the logical possibility 78 Grant, E., Planets, stars & orbs. The Medieval Cosmos,
of the existence of species can be discovered through a 1200-1687, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996,
hypothetical judgement; it remains permanently bound to pp. 675-679.
the inductive method, for Mirecourt and Ailly, who confine 79 Weisheipl, John, “The interpretation of Aristotle’s Physics
the most rigorous evidence to the purely logical sphere, with and the Science of Motion” in: Kretzmann, N., Kenny A. &
the serious compromise of Aristotelian physics and of the Pinborg J. (eds), The Cambridge History of Later Medieval
deterministic relations between cause and effect. Philosophy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982,
p. 523.
So why don’t the mathematisation and mechanisation 80 Alliney, Guido, “L’evoluzione scientifica nella filosofia
of Nature, on the one hand, and the theologians’ inductive della natura medievale. Attualità dell’inattuale” in: Martello,
method, on the other, merge to give rise to a scientific C. (ed.), Cosmogonie e cosmologie nel Medioevo. Atti del
revolution already in the 14th century? Convegno della Società Italiana per lo Studio del Pensiero
Indeed, while various mechanical instruments were Medievale (SISPM), Catania 22-24 September 2006,
invented in or imported to Europe, and while there was a Louvain la Neuve, FIDEM, 2008, pp. 1-18, in particular 11.
new trend in calculations of various kinds, the practice of 81 Cohen, B., J., La rivoluzione della scienza, Milan:
science was starkly disjointed from the theory of science. Longanesi, 1988, pp. 123-140.
The experiments described in the 14th century on falling 82 Bettini, Orazio, “Olivi di fronte ad Aristotele. Divergenze
rocks and relative motion remained purely mental, because e consonanze nella dottrina dei due pensatori” [Olivi in
there was a complete separation between the craftsman, who comparison to Aristotle. Divergences and consonances
built mechanical instruments through trial and error, and in the doctrine of the two thinkers], Studi francescani, 40
the university master, who imagined carrying out certain (1958): 176-197 (translation by author).
experiments without the minimum intention of going to a 83 Durandus de S. Porciano, In Petri Lombardi Sententias
laboratory or observing Nature directly, like Leonardo da theologicas commentarium, liber II, quaestio 12, ed. Venetiis
Vinci; between the ‘engineer’ and the ‘epistemologist’ or 1571, ex Typographia Guerraea, vol. II, f. (=folium) 162v
‘philosopher of science’ (as we would call them today); 84 Bianchi, Luca, “Aristotele fu un uomo e poté errare.
between the surgeon, who learnt how to operate on the Sulle origini medievali della critica al principio di autorità”
human body by first imitating his master, and the doctor, in: Bianchi, L. (ed.), Filosofia e teologia nel Trecento. Studi
who commented on texts by Aristotle and Galen in a in memoria di Eugenio Randi, Louvain la Neuve: Fidem,
university context; between the alchemist and the natural 1994, pp. 509-533.
philosopher. Theory and practice remained separate without 85 Fiorentino, Francesco, “Adamo di Wodeham e Gregorio
generating any constructive knowledge as in Francis Bacon. da Rimini a confronto sulla prescienza divina e sui futuri
contingenti” [Adam of Wodeham and Gregory of Rimini in
In the theory proposed by Koyré77, the egg, represented comparison on divine foreknowledge and contingent futures],
77 Koyré, A., Dal mondo chiuso all’universo infinito, Analecta Augustiniana, 67 (2004): 53-84 (translation by
Milan: Feltrinelli, 1979, pp. 10-12. author).
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experimental method in a less orderly way than modern of late–medieval science from the modern one. There is not
researchers: just one science that develops slowly between the 14th and
17th centuries, but various sciences, amongst which we can
“Thus, they developed a new concept of nature, which find zones of contiguity, intersection and superimposition,
was an important step towards the abstraction from day–to– like Leonardo da Vinci and the Paduan School.
day experience in modern physics. Starting from the logical
possibilities, some elements of the natural phenomena were Instead of mechanism, in late–medieval science we find
singled out and discussed per se. But, as Amos Furkenstein the hypothesis, which requires at least three elements, as we
remarked, the medieval philosophers did not use this method know94: the arbitrary use of God’s absolute power, the study
systematically, as did the founders of modern science in the of imaginary cases that derive from this, and the inductive
17th century. Therefore the departure from Aristotle was at method. Indeed, given His omnipotence, one could ponder
first only taken with small steps. Nevertheless, these steps both the ordinary course and the extraordinary course
make up at least part of the special character of the “New of Nature, that is, the course God wants from eternity as
Physics” of the 14th century.”86 absolute sovereign, who institutes the laws of the universe,
and the course God can always overturn, violating the laws
So late–medieval scientists seem to have come close that govern the created but not the Creator. As a consequence,
to the ideal of modern science, but not in a very orderly on the one hand, Nature can be studied in an inductive way,
way, and only gradually. Nevertheless, it is as difficult deriving laws, which nevertheless must remain probable
to identify the correct level of orderliness in superstring in order to safeguard divine omnipotence; on the other, it
theory today, as it was in the mechanism of eccentrics and becomes possible to suspend the laws of Nature temporarily
epicycles yesterday.87 The validation of experience is not de potentia Dei absoluta, without any rational motive, and
assured in many theories of contemporary science. For image whole counter–factual scenes, which nevertheless do
example: the theory of the potential existence of electrons not have the pretence of reality, and are destined [always] to
before they are observed (J. Wheeler); pilot wave theory and be considered hypothetically.
quantum decoherence theory (D. Bohm); the wormhole as
a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime (H. Weyl); This double face of late–medieval science was not
the baby universe (L. Smolin); warp drive (M.A. Moya); obstructed, but favoured, by the religious or theological
black holes (S. Hawking); cosmic inflation (A. Guth and A. factor, to which a just weight must be assigned, as
Linde); fractal cosmology (A. Linde); steady state theory (F. Duhem has done, unlike Grant and Lindberg. Indeed, the
Hoyle)88; punctuated equilibrium (S.J. Gould)89; the theory ecclesiastical condemnations of 1277 caused a crisis in
of neuronal group selection (G. Edelman); neural dualism Græco–Arabic natural determinism and opened the way for
(J. Eccles); consciousness as the result of quantum gravity the enhancement of contingency and omnipotence. Instead,
effects in microtubules (R. Penrose)90; catastrophe theory the thematisation and mechanism of modern science leads
(R. Thom)91; and omega point theory (F. Tipler)92. to the exaltation of the determinism of natural laws, which
inspired Galileo to study in a realistic, and not hypothetical
As Tullio Regge writes: “Without an experimental or probabilistic, way the Book of Nature, as created by God.
validation, Physics, like all the natural sciences, is destined A theological conception of creation persists in Galileo and
to hole up in a sterile and exasperated introspection that Newton, but the extraordinary course of Nature is cancelled
could last for centuries.93 and God himself becomes a kind of constitutional monarch,
This evidence demonstrates that the answer to the above that is, He must recognise the laws that He himself has
question cannot reside in a mere question of the quantity instituted for the created. Creator and created obey the
of experimentation, as if late–medieval scientists should be same normative constitution of the universe in a sort of
considered beginners with respect to the masters of modern egalitarianism.
science. We must recognise, along with Cunningham, that Galileo’s naturalistic realism can be contrasted with
14th century authors were not forerunners or precursors to Bellarmino’s scriptural realism, which conceded nothing
Bacon, Galileo and Newton. Late–medieval theologians to the individual liberty to interpret Sacred Scripture, after
were also philosophers – as they are described by Grant the Tridentine reforms. The sacred text must be held to
and Sylla – and possessed their own refined epistemology,
which was structurally incompatible with the mechanism 94 Bottin, F., La scienza degli occamisti, Rimini: Maggioli,
typical of modern science. So we must separate the plane 1982; Caroti, Stefano “Nuovi linguaggi e filosofia della
natura: i limiti delle potenze attive in alcuni commenti
86 Sarnowsky, John, “God’s Absolute Power, Thought parigini ad Aristotele” in Caroti, S. (ed.), Studies in Medieval
Experiments, and the Concept of Nature in the “New Natural Philosophy, Florence: Olschki, 1989, pp. 177-226;
Physics” of the XIVth Century” in: Caroti, S. & Souffrin, Hugonnard Roche, Henri, “Analyse sémantique et analyse
P. (eds), La nouvelle physique du XIVe siècle, Florence: secundum imaginationem dans la physique parisienne au
Olschki, 1997, p. 179. XIVe siècle” in: Caroti, S. (ed.), Studies in Medieval Natural
87 Horgan, J., La fine della scienza, Milan: Adelphi, 1998, Philosophy, Florence: Olschki, 1989, pp. 133-157; Idem,
pp. 101-147. “L’hypothétique et la nature dans la physique parisienne du
88 Ibidem, pp. 149-180. XIVe siècle” in: Caroti, S. & Souffrin, P. (eds), La nouvelle
89 Ibidem, pp. 191-222 physique du XIVe siècle, Florence: Olschki, 1997, pp. 161-
90 Ibidem, pp. 247-292. 177; Randi, Eugenio, , “Talpe ed extraterrestri: un inedito
91 Ibidem, pp. 293-394. di Agostino Trionfo sulla pluralità dei mondi” [Moles and
92 Ibidem, pp. 373-392. extra–terrestrials: an unpublished work by Agostino Trionfo
93 Regge, T., Infinito: Viaggio ai limiti dell’universo, on the plurality of worlds], Rivista di Storia della Filosofia,
Milan: Mondadori, 1994, p. 295. 44/2 (1989): 311-326 (translation by author).
- 24 -

be absolutely true in every aspect, to the detriment of the and Mirecourt. But already with Mirecourt, man discovers,
truth of science, of which Bellarmino’s conception remains on a methodological level, that the recourse to experience
late–medieval, that is, hypothetical and probabilistic. What limits the human claim to know the truth, by doubting the
man knows scientifically is not absolutely true, but changes principle itself of causality, as in David Hume.
continually, depending on philosophical hypotheses; these,
unlike Sacred Scripture, are subjected to hermeneutical A sort of ‘Galileo Case’ did not explode in the 14th
criteria. century, since the theologians’ scientific probabilism – and
not realism – was accompanied by the free interpretation
So the conflict between Galileo and Bellarmino is not of the Bible, according to the criterion of accomodatio. For
merely scientific, but primarily ideological and cultural: example, Augustine explains that the terminology of the
each, in his own social role, adheres to different cultural sacred text which indicates visible things is adequate to
options, which are incompatible because of their shared the comprehension of the dim–witted person (tardiores);
realism. Galileo is realistic on a scientific level and the material writers of Sacred Scripture knew the truth of
reductionist on a scriptural level, in the sense that he reduces the representation in the sky, but the Holy Spirit did not
the authority of Sacred Scripture to the sphere of faith and want to teach men this knowledge, which was not useful
morality, while Bellarmino is realistic on a scriptural level for their salvation. In the Summa theologiae, Thomas
and probabilistic on a scientific level.95 Aquinas observes that Scripture speaks in conformity with
popular opinion and that Moses proposed to his people
In a scientific context, Galilean realism runs counter to only what they could understand with their senses. In De
the probabilism of late–medieval science, which instead caelo et mundo, Nicholas Oresme confirms that the biblical
Bellarmino shares. But even Galileo seeks to justify his passages which exclude terrestrial movement, do so in order
theories in the light of the theology of creation. to support the common language of men96.
In this sense, the case of Galileo is a paradigm of the clash
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How Does God Act in the World?

Modern Science and the Problem of Divine Causation
Juuso Loikkanen
School of Theology
University of Eastern Finland
Joensuu, Finland
Abstract: The belief that God actively acts in the world has Also today, Christian churches all over the world declare
been fundamental to orthodox Christian theology throughout that God is present, moment by moment, in all of our
the history of Christianity. Since the rise of modern science, lives. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, for example,
however, this traditional understanding of God’s actions has teaches as follows: “God does not abandon his creatures to
attracted more and more critique. Firstly, it has been argued themselves. He not only gives them being and existence,
God cannot act in the world without violating the allegedly but also, and at every moment, upholds and sustains them
in being, enables them to act and brings them to their final
all-encompassing laws of nature, and, consequently, because
end.” [1] The catechism of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
the laws of nature cannot presumably ever be broken, it is of Finland, in turn, puts it like this: “God is not merely some
considered totally impossible for God to influence the physical remote initial cause or non-personal force, but he works in
world in any way. Secondly, it is claimed that even if breaking creation and history, encountering us personally.” [2]
the laws of nature was not, in theory, impossible, it would still
be, in practice, impossible for an immaterial entity such as Indeed, worshipping some deistic God who would
choose not to – or, in the worst case, was not even able to –
God to influence the material world.
interact with the creation and with humans would certainly
be a distortion of real Christianity. It would merely be
In this article, I argue that the first objection, i.e., that God “watered-down theism”, as Richard Dawkins has fittingly
cannot act in the world, holds partly true. I maintain that described. [3] But how exactly does God act in the world?
God cannot act without interfering with the processes of What is the mechanism through which God influences the
nature (although some recent attempts of building non- events occurring in the universe?
interventionist theories of God’ actions have been made).
Nevertheless, I do not see how God’s intervention would
II. Divine Action
constitute a problem for modern physics, as has often been
proposed. Moreover, the second claim, i.e., that immaterial
A. Divine Action and the Laws of Nature
entities cannot affect material entities, is not based on evidence
but on an unfounded assumption that because we do not know In the discussion between science and theology, it has
been long customary to assume that in order for God to
the mechanism of causation between immaterial and material
affect what happens in the world and to make “miracles”
entities, this causation is not possible. (or any non-natural events) happen, he needs to be able
to interfere with the processes of nature. Already in the
Keywords- God; causality; divine action; divine intervention; eighteenth century, David Hume declared that “a miracle is
divine causation a violation of the laws of nature” [4], and this still appears
to be the consensus view. If God wishes to act in the world,
I. Introduction he needs to intervene, to override the existing natural laws
in some supernatural way. This understanding is largely
The belief that God actively acts in the world, “sustaining based on the widely held perception of modern physicists
all things by his powerful word” (Heb. 1:3), has been and philosophers of science that the laws of physics provide
fundamental to orthodox Christian theology throughout all-encompassing deterministic rules for what goes on in
the entire 2000-year history of Christianity. Christians of the universe. The course of nature is seen to be completely
all denominations have regarded their God as a loving and regular and exceptions to the natural order are regarded as
caring being who engages in personal relationships with impossible without an intervention of a supernatural agent.
his creatures, a being who answers petitionary prayers This supernatural agent is, of course, usually identified as
and brings about miracles in order to steer our lives to the God.
direction he decides to.
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In fact, many philosophers (and even many theologians) which one of the possible states gets actualized.
have come to an even stronger conclusion – the conclusion
that exceptions to the natural order are not only impossible C. Plausibility of the Non-interventionist Theories of
in an absence of a supernatural interventionist being, but that
they are altogether impossible. Consequently, they maintain Divine Action
that it is simply not possible that God would be able to act Nicholas Saunders (who, just like Polkingthorne and
in the world. Some go even further, deducing that since God Russell, is a physicist and a theologian), has questioned
cannot act in the world, there is no reason to entertain the both chaotic systems and quantum events of their ability to
idea that God even exists. Instead, all that we should be actually produce the alleged large-scale effects. According
concerned with is the physical universe. Many agree with to Saunders, in the real world, phenomena are not as chaotic
astronomer Carl Sagan’s opinion that “the Cosmos is all that as they are thought to be in mathematical models. Chaos is
is or ever was or ever will be”. [5] merely “a minor background phenomenon and in no way
implies whole-scale disorder.” In the case of quantum theory,
Of course, if we take for granted the claim that “breaking” the situation is even more problematic. Saunders notes that
or overriding the laws of nature is completely impossible, it “on the terms of our current understanding of quantum
is a natural conclusion that it is impossible also for God. But theory, incompatibilist non-interventionist quantum SDA
are there really good reasons for accepting such a claim – [special divine action] is not theoretically possible.” [9]
from the point of view of Christian theology, at least? If we So, in practice – to cite philosopher Jeffrey Koperski – it
base our worldview on the Christian understanding of the appears that “God can alter the arrangement of bubbles in
world, why should we think that God, who – allegedly – is the crest of a tsunami but not redirect its course.” [10]
omnipotent and the creator of the whole cosmos, could not
intervene with his creation and the natural order in any way I find Saunders’ arguments extremely convincing – or,
he wishes to? I argue that that the belief that God actively in any case, much more credible than the opposing views.
acts in the universe does not need to contradict the current The randomness and indeterminacy present in chaos
theories of physics. I will return to this question later. Before theory and quantum physics just seem not to be enough
that, I will briefly examine another modern strategy of to accommodate the actions of God. In addition to the
reconciling God’s actions with the laws of nature. two approaches mentioned above, no other credible non-
interventionist theories of combining divine action with the
theories of modern science have been presented. (Of course,
B. Non-interventionist Theories of Divine Action if the progress of science in the future offered new theories
Not all scholars (especially those who are trained in that could be reconciled better with non-interventionist
both physics and theology) are willing to accept the idea actions of God, such theories should be considered
that God has no room to act in the world. Instead, they carefully.) Therefore, it must be deduced that in order to
have made some serious attempts of accommodating God’s make room for God’s actions in the world – actions that can
actions with the theories of science in a non-interventionist really make a difference and change the course of history
way. In my opinion, two of the most credible contemporary – we need to accept the view that God is able to intervene
approaches are concerned with chaos theory and quantum with the processes of nature. In other words, divine action
physics. Both of these theories deal with random events necessarily requires divine intervention.
and suggest that the laws of nature might not be completely
deterministic after all. It is claimed that, at the fundamental But how could this happen in practice? If God is the
level, nature is indeterministic, thus offering God “gaps” in cause and some particular event occurring in the world is
which he can act without violating the laws of physics. the effect, what is actual the mechanism of causation?
In chaos theory, certain physical systems (non-linear
dynamical systems) are described by functions that are III. Divine Causation
extremely sensitive to initial conditions, which usually
makes the behaviour of these systems impossible to predict. A. Material and Immaterial Entities and the Problem of
It has been proposed, however, that although it is impossible Causation
for human observes to perceive any predictability in chaotic One of the most convincing (and, historically, certainly
systems, God still holds all strings in his hands, adjusting the one of the most enduring) arguments against divine
initial conditions appropriately to yield significant effects on intervention is based on the deep-rooted perception that the
a wider scale. This line of thinking has been promoted most material world and the immaterial world are completely
famously by John Polkingthorne. [6] different and completely separate and cannot affect each
Robert Russell [7] and Nancey Murphy [8], among other in any way. This, of course, can be seen as one of
others, have advocated the so-called quantum divine action the various versions of the classical problem of substance
theory, according to which God controls a multitude of dualism (or, mind-body dualism). As David Corner writes,
seemingly insignificant and indeterministic quantum events “if the realm of supernatural becomes radically different
and this way brings about desired large-scale effects. This from that of nature, the supernaturalist encounters a
theory is based on the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum problem similar to that encountered by substance dualism;
mechanics, which asserts that the state of a physical system it becomes difficult to say how there can be any causal
cannot be predicted in advance by humans; there exists interaction between nature and the supernatural.” [11]
numerous possible physical states of which only one, an One of the most prominent figures in twentieth century
arbitrary one, actualizes. God, however, might be able to dialogue between science and religion, Arthur Peacocke,
steer the course of history through deciding in a hidden way formulates the problem as follows: “It is indeed difficult to
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imagine how God might be an agent in a world conceived distort the course of nature. It is argued that the laws of
of as ruled by deterministic laws at all levels when the nature need to be all-encompassing and unbreakable, or else
only analogy for such agency has itself been formulated we would lose all predictability in science, and in everyday
in dualistic terms that involve a gap dividing action in the life, too. No “divine” or other kinds of interventions can
‘body’, and so in the natural world, from intentions and be allowed. But why, I ask again, should we accept such
other acts of the ‘mind’. This is an ontological gap between a picture of nature? In my opinion, there is no compelling
two kinds of entities across which it is difficult to see how in logical reason why we could not adopt the opposing view.
principle a bridge could be constructed.” [12]
Indeed, I am inclined to regard the theory of God’s
miraculous actions proposed by C. S. Lewis as far more
B. Mechanism of Causation appealing. Lewis states the matter rather eloquently as
To be sure, it is quite difficult to imagine the exact follows: “If God annihilates or creates or deflects a unit
mechanism through which immaterial entities could affect of matter, He has created a new situation at that point.
material entities. However, when one comes to really think Immediately all Nature domiciles this new situation, makes
about it, is it not just as difficult to imagine the mechanism it at home with in her realm, adapts all other events to it. It
through which a material entity could affect another finds itself conforming to all the laws. (…) If events ever
material entity (or, how an immaterial entity could affect come from beyond Nature altogether, she will be no more
another immaterial entity; this seems even more difficult incommoded by them. Be sure she will rush to the point
to grasp)? Logically speaking, if we deny the possibility where she is invaded, as the defensive forces rush to a cut in
of divine causation because we cannot see the mechanism our finger, and there hasten to accommodate the newcomer.
behind this causation, we should also deny the possibility The moment it enters her realm it obeys all her laws.” [14]
of “natural” (material) causation because we cannot see the Regardless whether we choose the option that God
underlying mechanism there, either. Surely, not many of us cannot act in the world because the laws of nature cannot
are willing to go that far and abandon the entire concept of be broken, or the option that he can “create new events” in
causation. I think that this issue has not received nearly as the universe which are then immediately accommodated by
much attention in the literature as it deserves. the laws of nature, we cannot prove our view to be correct
Naturally, we can – and do, with good reason – talk all (or the opposing view to be incorrect) by scientific means.
the time about the causality present in the world at many It is always a metaphysical stance that we have to take. As
levels. We do know, for instance, that the strong nuclear far as Christian theology is concerned, I hold that the view
force causes quarks to hold together so that hadrons are of God’s actions proposed by Lewis, is much more credible
formed. Still, at the most fundamental level, we do not than the (naturalistic) alternative.
really know what constitutes this or any other form of
causality. There is always something that is so elementary V. Conclusion
that it cannot be characterized by its being a part of a causal
structure. Of course, regarding the previous example, it has In this article, I have examined how it is possible for God
been established that the strong nuclear force is “carried” by to act in the world. I have argued, firstly, that if we take the
gluons, but it is unclear what actually initiates or terminates theories of modern science seriously, we necessarily come
this process of “carrying”. The deepest core of causation to the conclusion that God cannot act to any significant
always remains out of our reach. extent in the world without interfering with the processes of
nature. The most promising non-interventionist theories of
Brian Ellis notes, rightly, that “sooner or later, in divine actions, based on quantum physics and chaos theory,
the process of ontological reduction, we must come to are, in their current form, not quite convincing enough.
events and processes that are not themselves structures of They can only lead to a conception of a God who “can alter
constituent causal processes.” Ellis goes on explaining that the arrangement of bubbles in the crest of a tsunami but not
“the identities of the basic causal interactions that initiate redirect its course.”
and terminate elementary causal processes, and the energy
transmission processes that connect them, cannot depend in Secondly, I have argued that it is quite possible to
turn on their causal structures. For, by hypothesis, they have develop a credible theory of divine action based on
no causal structures.” [13] divine intervention. This is possible because the idea of
divine causation is no more problematic than the idea of
To sum up, the mechanism of causation is no more “ordinary” causation, and because the view that God can
a problem for divine causation than it is for “natural” act in the world by “creating new situations” which are then
causation. In both cases, the fundamental mechanism of instantly accommodated by the processes of nature is at
causation is unknown, and we are willing to accept that least plausible as the view that cannot act at all – at least in
causal relations exist, we simply have to accept this without the context of Christian theology. I think that this kind of
knowing all the details. perspective might offer a fruitful ground to more balanced
theories of divine action in the future.
IV. Divine Intervention
Based on what I have discussed above, it is rather References
obvious that I am heading towards an interventionist view [1] Catechism of the Catholic Church. Citta del Vaticano:
of God’s actions. This view, however, has been rejected by Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1993. English Translation
the majority of contemporary scientists and philosophers, available at http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_
mainly because God’s interventionist acts would allegedly INDEX.HTM, at October 7th, 2014.
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[2] Catechism. Christian Doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran [8] N. C. Murphy, “Divine Action in the Natural Order:
Church of Finland. Helsinki: Evangelical Lutheran Church Buridan’s Ass and Schrödinger’s Cat”. In: F. L. Shults & N.
of Finland, Church Council, 2000. English Translation C. Murphy & R. J. Russell (eds.), Philosophy, Science and
available at http://www.evl.fi/english/catechism.pdf, at Divine Action, Leiden: Brill, 2009, pp. 325 –357.
October 7th, 2014. [9] N. Saunders, Divine Action and Modern Science. Cambridge:
[3] R. Dawkins, God Delusion, London: Bantam Press, 2006. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
[4] D. Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, [10] J. Koperski, “God, Chaos and the Quantum Dice”. In: Zygon
ed. T. L. Beauchamp. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000 35 (3), 2000, pp. 545–559.
[1748]. [11] D. Corner, Acts of God: An Essay on Miracles. Dissertation,
[5] C. Sagan, Cosmos. New York: Random House, 1980. University of California, Santa Barbara. 2006.
[6] J. Polkingthorne, Reason and Reality. The Relationship [12] A. Peacocke, Theology for a Scientific Age: Being and
Between Science and Theology Philadelphia, Trinity Press Becoming – Natural, Divine and Human. London: SCM
International, 1991. Press, 1990.
[7] R. J. Russell, “Divine Action and Quantum Mechanics: A [13] B. Ellis, Scientific Essentialism. Cambridge: Cambridge
Fresh Assessment”. In: R. J. Russell, P. Clayton, K. Wegter- University Press, 2001.
McNelly & J. Polkinghorne, J. (eds.), Quantum Mechanics. [14] C. S. Lewis, Miracles: A Preliminary Study. London:
Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action. Vatican City & Geoffrey Bles, 1947.
Berkeley: Vatican Observatory & The Center for Theology
and the Natural Sciences, 2001.
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The Anthropic Principle from a

Theological Perspective
Fr. Lect. Adrian Vasile, PhD

Department of Theology
Ovidius University
900527 Constanta, Romania
preotadrian@yahoo.com
Abstract: Through its initiative to make thought efficient for scientific debate. Thus, biochemistry has fully contributed
a more secure investigation of nature, modernity will mark to the later formulation of the principle. Since 1952 when
a methodology revolutionary step, leading among others to the American Stanley Miller did his experiment, we have
defining and pointing out the coordinates of scientific research, known that the main components of the primitive terrestrial
more than any other form of knowledge. This is how the atmosphere (methane, ammonia, hydrogen and water)
scientific method of knowledge comes into brining. Modernity are susceptible, under the action of the storms, to give
birth to complex chemical compounds. The very recent
is what makes an obvious separation of science and theology,
“exo-biology”, in its turn, proved the existence of organic
as two specific fields of human knowledge. A new paradigm molecules in the interstellar atmosphere and, all of a sudden,
of knowledge is fundamental, as well as the double quality of the examination of micro-meteorites became extremely
the philosopher – theologian and scientific, valid today and in interesting.
the Middle Ages, they are as outdated. Science and theology,
as different fields of human knowledge have in their being
II. THE THEOLOGICAL DIMENSION OF THE
different objects and methodologies. The object of knowledge
in science is the world, whereas in theology it is God, and then ANTHROPIC PRINCIPLE
world. So that in modern science the anthropic principle was The contemporary theological environment knows little
adopted. about the anthropic principle and the theological vision
on this principle is even less known. It is Saint Maximus
Keywords- anthropic principle, science, theology, Universe, the Confessor and his great commentator Father Dumitru
creation, anthropogeny, God, Revelation Stăniloae who introduced this principle which was later
formulated to the theological world. Saint Maximus the
Confessor valued both the man’s position in the universe
I. Introduction and the man’s relation to the whole creation. They showed
The anthropic principle states that the organization, the orthodox point of view as a result of inter and trans-
the configuration and the phenomena in the Universe disciplinary study and the consequences of this approach
must meet certain requirements so that life (and implicitly both for the orthodox theology and for its dialogue with
its intelligence) can develop in such a way as to have at a contemporary science.
certain point certain structures to ask questions about the According to Father Răzvan Ionescu and to Professor
composition of the Universe they belong to. Among the Adrian Lemeni, a theological interpretation of the anthropic
many conditions postulated by the anthropic principle there principle shows that the connection between the theological
is that according to which real physical space has got three and the scientific perspectives does not end at the borders of
dimensions since otherwise in it the array of phenomena, exclusively natural order:
starting with the first moments of the Big Bang that led to the
apparition of human intelligence could not have occurred. „The theological connection between the universe and
humanity as an event is not entirely natural. When we speak
The supporters of this idea claim the fact that, initially, about the plan of saving mankind, we assume that this plan is
it is possible for the Universe to have had more dimensions made for contingent creation [...] The challenge for science
but they came down to three – at a certain point – thus is to identify the presence of contingency in scientific theory
accomplishing one of the conditions that had to coincide to that cannot be exclusively explained by science.
make man’s apparition possible.
Further on, theological methodology can offer an
We must say that the inter-disciplinary effort within approach able to have a dialogue with science [...] The
science made it possible for the anthropic principle not presence of the human phenomenon in the universe, seen
only to be formulated, but also to impose a different type of in the context of anthropic arguments in cosmology, is in
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fact contingent and limited, being able to explain only by seems they go again to the ancient confusion between divine
appealing to the theology of creation. The assertions on essence and the last layers of microcosmic (subatomic)
the weak of strong forms of the anthropic principle can be reality. In this case as well, the patristic solution of the
interpreted as indications of the fundamental contingency distinction between ineffable transcendental essence and
existing in cosmological theories open towards a fuller godly energies imposes itself as superior and balanced, by
understanding from theological perspective”[1]. claiming at the same time the difference and the relations
between the uncreated and creation (through this it appears
Or, the anthropic principle puts forward an image of in the infrastructure of the synergy principle).
the world which is surprisingly familiar to Eastern Church
theology. The history of the universe, just as it is conditioned Secondly, theorists and supporters of the cosmologic
by human existence, is an open history, a becoming into anthropic principle often limit themselves to the perspective
something, not just movement: a transparent history towards that the principle opens for the understanding of the universe
the future and the cautious language of the cosmologists and discuss little on the active role that the human person
must be more boldly translated – towards God, a way can have in the universe. No other form of the principle
from “heaven and earth” to “new heaven and new earth”. takes into account the enrichment, the multiplication of the
According to A. Kastler, if the organ reveals the function at universe through human deed, an implication of the action,
the biological level, here arises the question on the function of the human deed for now and for the future, by studying
of the evolution at the universal level (a cosmological only the impact of the fact that we exist and only for the
extension of Lamark’s idea on selection). Anthropology and initial conditions and the parameters of the universe. In this
cosmology explain each other. [2] context, no discussion is possible on the cosmic consequences
of man’s fall, of the salvation in and by Christ, and even
From the conjugated perspective of patristic conception less on the divinity into Christ. St. Maximus’ perspective
and anthropic principle, the biblical reference to creation offers the most important arguments to describe the physical
(Genesis, 1 and 2) becomes amazingly clear to contemporary relation between man and the universe, and, contrary to the
man’s consciousness. The premises for those seen and superstitions of last century’s positivist science, even of the
those unseen is the fact that they are created by God, so implications of the human existence for the area of the initial
that nothing can be contemplated without the theological conditions and of the current parameters of the world. Yet,
dimension. Nothing occurs except through the synergy of it is extremely obvious that St. Maximus’ perspective on the
the Holy Spirit with the “waters” of cosmic nature: only cosmos engaged in becoming what is called the anthropo-
in this way creation follows its path, entirely revealed in cosmic way is difficult (if not impossible) to support based
the first (textually the unique) day / phase of the world, on the anthropic principle. The only opening towards St.
towards the eighth “day”, the ultimate form, the path from Maximus’ perspective registers only in the idea of a local
possibility (darkness) to reality (light). But this only means microcosm limited to the circum-terrestrial space. We shall
that the current state of the world is nothing but an aspect get back to this point later.
in the life of the universe, whose mystery is still hidden –
to paraphrase Saint Paul – with Christ, in God – the Holy Thirdly, the principle does not seem able to take into
Trinity. [3] account the implications of the fact that humanity is a group
of people, interpersonal relations being in fact the space
Translated at human level, it is in fact a dynamic, not where the relations between mankind and the surrounding
an evolutional, anthropogenesis whose steps and landmarks world take place. P. Teilhard de Chardin’s conception is an
are given as a pre-temporal divine project, as rationality exception to this. He believes that interpersonal relations
or sense (“let us make man according to our image, for and the relations between humanity and God generate the
resemblance”), aiming farther than the current state – to “phychic” condition (relational, community aspect) that he
transfiguration, spiritual metabolism. We must say that, calls “the Omega Point”; he says that mankind reaches the
maybe to some people’s discontent, the biblical text never point when thought is through mankind, by waiting “for us
truly speaks about what we call the physical beginning of to re-think to complete Nature’s instinctive endeavors. [6]
the human species. [4]
The anthropic principle allows to envisage, on the one
Anselm of Canterbury claims that God created perfect hand, a theological anthropology able to lead scientific
people to replace the fallen angels. This opinion goes beyond (biological) anthropology towards a familiar vision for the
the biblical Cosmo-anthropogenesis context, by considering religious conscience, and, on the other hand, by reciprocity,
that man was not part of the creation plan forever. In this the possibility of a theological cosmology. But, since it does
way, the anthropic principle of cosmology and especially not appeal to the experience of the saints, it cannot make
the possibility of the creation to take part in and through any serious supposition on the ultimate implications of the
the human body to the mystery of divinity are difficult to convergence between man and the world; in other words, it
support. Anyway, imposing itself as a long term mentality, cannot describe a transfigured form of the world (especially
the anselmian theme can be looked upon as the cause of since the idea of an entropic universe ready to dissolve itself,
the later separation between human beings and “natural” threatened, according to certain cosmological patterns,
beings. [5] by a great final implosion still lingers on). According the
With all its openings, the anthropic principle also allows Eastern theology (this image has a lot in common with the
interpretations that do not take God into account, by giving anthropomorphic conception of the Vedic philosophy for
the universe a certain conscience or intelligence, going which the ideal man expands in the form of the universe),
back to animist or pantheist images in the context of many man is a mystic prototype of the whole creation , a pattern to
cosmologists being fond of oriental mysticism. In this way, be found in every part of the universe. Also, a hologram of
from the idea of a God who was absent for his creation it the whole history of the universe from one end to the other,
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revealing in its own existence destiny, the ultimate form of life, even on earth, if they are overcome by reasoning and
faith and acting towards accomplishing it. virtue”. [8]
Science helps us today to seize the fundamental unity An idea about the “humanization” of the world in
of the cosmos but it does not allow us to understand its traditional Christian mysticism (clear in Pateric and
meaning. The saint, through his divine power of love is the Filocalie testimonies of the saints’ experience) is given by
one who experiences not only the unity, but also the sense of Father Jean Kovalevsky: man is called upon to humanize
the whole seen creation. This means that, before any cosmic animals, humanized animals are called upon to animalize
exploration into theology, the saint has already unified the plants, animalized plants are called upon to make minerals
earth and the starry sky managing to train its senses to look vegetal, minerals are called upon to pacify fundamental
at and saintly depict the seen world and everything in it elements, so that minerals can become vegetal, plants can
and to reveal the greatness of the reasons in it to the soul. become animal, animals can become human (by acquiring
He gracefully discovered (κατα χάριν: together with God, human language as a reflex at Adams’ settling of numbers)
theologically) “the wisdom within beings”, by understanding and people can become divine. “the inferior regnum is
through contemplation (δια της φυσικης θεωρίας) the way determined by the superior one. God becomes human so that
of being of the unseen things (την φυσιν των ορατων). the human can become God. The evolution of the universe
depends entirely on the human. Only the divine human can
Saint Maximus has perfectly sensed man’s symmetry make beast human”. [9]
with the world, their unity of being and sense. We present
here an excerpt of his ecclesiological treaty, Mystagogia, The image is similar to the areopagitic one of the
which is relevant in this respect: “the entire cosmos of the processes in the unseen world – the solidarity of angelic
things that are seen and unseen, is man. And man, which is hierarchies as a pressing of the superior upon the inferior
body and soul, is cosmos. For the unseen have [at cosmic ones through which the latter participate in the former’s
level] the role of the soul, just as the soul has [at human experience – though transposed to the seen world; at the
level] a similar role to the intangibles. And the seen things same time, an interesting suggestion for what the anthropic
are [cosmologically speaking] the image of the body, just principle means in the end. The description of a world
as the body [anthropologically speaking] is to the sensitive dedicated to intensifying the human being.
things. [At a cosmic level] the intangible things are the
soul of the tangible ones, whereas the tangibles are the Human love or human unification are the earthly paradise
body of the intangibles. Just as the soul exist within the we have been looking for. It has been set up by Christ and
body. It is similar when it comes to tangible and intangible is actually created within Christ’s Church (vide infra). This
cosmos. Also, tangible cosmos is kept in coherence with the love ids the principle of the second mediation that man was
intangible one, just as the body is kept by the soul, the two called into Christ: between the terrestrial paradise (divine
of them generating a single cosmos, just as man is generated mankind) and οικουμενη (the whole inhabited and civilized
by body and soul […]”.[7] planet) otr the unity of the earth.
Dense and rich, the text emphasizes the divine plan and Saint Maximus discusses this second phase starting with
the holy power to make possible the conformity between man the cosmic consequences of man’s fall. If God’s life creating
and the cosmos, their correlation. Well defined alterities, power was meant to expand in the οικουμενηin the entire
man and cosmos indicate each other, man discovers at high creation through the human body, this world down here, the
speed the nature and the sense of the cosmos, and the cosmos state in which the first human beings fell into from paradise
exemplifies at low speed what goes on at the human level. has become the cause of sin in the world of death and decay.
The image corresponds to a contemporary mathematical Thus, instead of expanding paradise, man closed it for
pattern: man is within the universe the face of fractal, himself as well, and separated it from the inhabited world
that structure that is endlessly replicated in everything, to (one of his own accomplishments; artificial) since he moved
be searched for and found in everything and efficient (as into this as a result of his unsteadiness. He killed the world
selective principle) in everything. At divine level, man is the just as he died in sin. Now Christ has got to resurrect himself
paradigm, the model and the energy of the ultimate form of through virtue and contemplation, restoring paradise itself,
the world, through which God himself takes action. to extend it into οικουμενη, and to transform the world
(the given one and the artificial one) into a revival paradise
Panayotis Christou points out that the theme of man’s through transfiguration. The destiny of the world always
infinitization is depicted by Saint Maximus both from the goes along man’s destiny; the world is metamorphic, its
perspective of the divine becoming (by participating in God, structure is rational and the anthropic pattern allows it to
man endows himself with uncreated qualities) and from the always be like man.
tropic perspective (by living like God, man surpasses time
and is therefore without a beginning and without an end). Saint Maximus uses the αρχη – μεσότης – τέλος
The choice for the timeless things brings the infusion of scheme, a trilogy that describes the aspects and the phases
another life, whose content is God, and this experience is of the beings’ existence. Having their origin in God, more
possible hic et nunc; in this way, Maximus’ eschatology does precisely in his pre-elaborated pattern, the being exists as
not belong to the future first of all, but to the participation an expression of divine love. In λόγος, it is postulated the
of the created one in the uncreated, a participation that goes “tropic” modality of its being and the sense of this being both
beyond time and space: “the transition to eternity is not as direction (towards God) and as result (the perfect form).
just an eschatological issue, it depends on the sphere of the Epistemologically speaking, any limitation to μεσότης and
spiritual action, which is independent of the time conditions. any investigation of the μεσότης from the perspective of the
Time and space can be abolished at any point in human natural-supernatural separation mean missing the chance
to really know the being. At human level, the “tropic”
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possibilities require that the μεσότης not just be becoming, being, thus permanent.
but good becoming so that τέλος could be perfectly and
forever in shape to become by ascesis, contemplation and The eschatological perspective in the theology of creation
divinity, perceiving man as the true accelerator of cosmic rooted in the orthodox tradition shows that the destiny of the
becoming”. The saint sees in the success of a godly man a cosmos is fulfilled in Christ. Humanity is simply a purpose
step forward for creation towards its ultimate form. of the universe, as suggested by the anthropic principle. This
can only be understood in the context of God’s promise to
From Saint Maximus’ perspective, man has got a transfigure the entire creation. This means that the purpose
central place – as long as he keeps the community with of the universe is not man in his natural state, but godly
the divine Logos and presents itself as a different logo – logos in which the entire creation and God become one.
as the accelerator of divine creation. The saint shows that
man has got the physical possibility to be in a relationship The anthropic principle leads to an intensification of
that includes all reality’s aspects, the power / possibility to the dialogue between theology and science, a dialogue that
unify all the dimensions of the world. Moreover, through means opening, knowledge and mutual respect, it leads
this vocation it is completed the way different beings are to a convergence between this two fields. Moreover, the
differently created. Man has the duty to manifest in advance anthropic principle can be used as an argument against
in himself and in his way of life the perfect / eternal form, all ideologies that have been living like a parasite on
“the great mystery of the divine aim”: the harmonious science. The convergence between the anthropic principle
unification of creatures, an ascendant and successive formulated by science and the theological discourse is also
unification whose last step in God, the generalization of the important from the perspective of man’s valorization – in
theandric way established by Christ. relation with the universe, but also with God – despite
ideologically reducing it to a mere “cosmic accident”, to a
As opposed to the origenized attitude of many mere “outcome of hazard” or to a creature adapted to the fight
theologians today, who do not accept to discuss human for survival. This valorization does not mean autonomy or
success in cosmological key, Saint Maximus’ perspective self-sufficiency, but on the contrary, it opens the perspective
is strictly based in the incarnation realism of the primary of a new responsible and competent approach both of the
Christianity, that did not suffer from the complex of the theologians and of the scientists.
world though it delineated itself from “this world”. Using
Saint Maximus’ perspective, the orthodox theologian Jean- The anthropic principle is extremely important to the
Claude Larchet shows that since the world is integrated dialogue between science and theology, for it presents man
within man, the whole creation becomes divine in and – especially with the help of theology – as in a direct link to
through man. [10] the rest of creation; also it presents man as called upon – by
God, of course – to be not just responsible with the universe
Actually, this is Father Stăniloae’s main thesis (on (God’s creation), but more as the one who must transfigure
the stated topic), also supported by references to the new and redeem it. Man’s self-sufficiency – by God’s will – can
scientific cosmology. be fought by means of the anthropic principle and this can
lead to a real change of mentalities in man’s dealing with
creation.
III. CONCLUSIONS
Living in a civilization of transformations, in a time The anthropic principle brings not only convergence in
and rhythm of crisis, of reassessing all premises, we notice the science-theology dialogue but also complementarity.
today how most of our previous ideas, of the beginnings Though they are different fields, the theological and the
of modernity, tend to be replaced by new thoughts and scientific discourses complete one other, starting from
perceptions. Even the terrible conflict between secular the anthropic principle. This relation between the two
conscience and theological one seems to become dull, at discourses should by no means translate into confusion,
least in a certain mental zone of the contemporary world to into interpreting the specific plans of the two fields or
which the cosmologic anthropic principle belongs as well. into scientific and theological syncretism; the two coming
together and completing one another must translate into
By drawing a new face of the universe and a new reducing and eliminating divergences or the existing (and
anthropology, the anthropic principle makes it possible fueled) antagonism between them.
to surpass the gap between the human and the cosmic
domains, and correlatively between natural science and The scientific and religious observation and reasoning
mystic theology, discovering the fact that the problems of – extremely seriously used – to which is added the
the beginning and of morphology are no longer essential fundamentally theological element that is divine revelation
except as revelation of the road to something, a higher state lead to a complementarity, to a common approach, to
that makes the things that exist now to be mere shadows. a common aim; the relation between Revelation and
As states by theology, it is a state lived by man and cosmos reasoning must enlighten man and enrich him by the things
in the context of divine ambiance, a state we decipher, now he discovers up and around him.
and here, in Christ, the one transfigured on Tabor and the The anthropic principle is without any doubt one of
one resurrected as well as in the saints, who – according to the important convergence points between the orthodox
God’s word – shine like the sun in the Father’s kingdom. theological perspective and the secular scientific one. Yet,
From this point onward, the discussion ceases to be orthodox theology, beyond this “revelation” of science
accessible for somebody, just like me, who describes the that it can only appreciate, must remain cautious not only
experiences of the others related to man’s life in Christ and when formulating the principle itself, but especially in the
the world of the values that become one with the human context of its occurrence. Orthodox theology must carefully
- 35 -

analyze the axiological system of different scientists who References

enunciate the principle. Even though their endeavor is [1] R. Ionescu and A. Lemeni, Teologie ortodoxă şi ştiinţă,
laudable and really seems to be a major change of paradigm Bucureşti: Editura Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al BOR,
within postmodern scientific approach, the Church must 2006, pp. 395-396
take into account the danger of the exclusively naturalistic
education of such innovators (for example, Michael Denton [2] A. Kastler, Această stranie materie, Bucuresti: Editura
is a naturalist, a status that is against the status of being a Politică, 1982, pp. 147-151
Christian theorist and practitioner). [3] D. Costache, „Paradigma taborică. Implicaţii ale principiului
antropic pentru abordarea ştiinţifică şi teologică a sensului
The Church must take into account these nuances for it creaţiei”, în Ştiinţă şi teologie, Bucureşti” Editura XXI:
knows very well the major differences between Revelation Eonul dogmatic, 2001, pp. 149-150
and reasoning; these differences exist even when it comes
to reasoning enlightened by faith, not to mention the one [4] D. Popescu and D.Costache, Introducere în dogmatica
ortodoxă, Editura Libra, Bucureşti, 1997, p. 116
darkened by lack of faith.
[5] Anselm of Canterbury, Complete Philosophical and
For the Church, the anthropic principle can be turned into Theological Treatises, Pleasant Hill: Arthur J. Banning
a “theological” argument by the fact that it shows the reality Press, 2000, p. 327
of creation which has man at its center. It is an argument [6] P.T. Chardin, Le phenomene humain, Paris: Editions du
against impersonal and disintegrative emanationism, be Seuil, 1970, p. 285
it humanist, pantheist or panentheist, all of them having
their roots in the pseudo-religious pagan Orient. This is an [7] St. Maximus the Confessor, The Mystagogia, Shimla: St
important thing for the theology, the life and the mission of Bede’s Publications. 1982, p. 156
the contemporary Orthodox Church. [8] P. Christou, “Maximos Confessor on the infînity of man”,
în Maxinus Confessor. Actes du Symposium sur Maxime
As far as the contribution of the authors is concerned, we Confessor, Fribourg (2 – 5 septembre 1980), edites par Felix
must admit, on the one hand, the obvious challenge of such Heinzer et Christoph Schonborn, Editions Universitaires
a topic, and, on the other hand, we must admit the limits of Fribourg Suisse, 1982, pp.269-271
our inter and trans-disciplinary research. For theologians,
the anthropic principle is the fulfillment of the millenary [9] Jean Kovalevski, Taina originilor,Bucureşti, Anastasia,
theological and religious intuition, a highlight upon the 1996, p. 57
revealed teachings on man and the universe; for the scientist, [10]J.C. Larchet, La divinisation de l ‘homme selon Saint Maxime
the anthropic principle can mean an explanation, the base of le Confesseur, Paris: Cert, 1996, p 107
the scientific approach, he cannot be insensitive when faced
with the “amazing coincidences”. The inter-disciplinary
approach within science is felt through extraordinary results,
multiple scientific disciplines playing an extraordinary
role in the enunciation of the anthropic principle through
dialogue. We talk about astro-physics, biochemistry,
chemistry-physics and the more recent exo-biology. All
these must be put to work towards our education, our
accomplishment and our delivery, regardless of the fact that
we are theologians or scientists.
- 36 -

Golden Root Geometry Structuring the Polyhedra

and Other Forms Via Plato’s Triangles
Quadrature of Circle
Eur Ing Panagiotis Chr. Stefanides BSc(Eng)Lon(Hons) MSc(Eng)NTUA TCG CEng MIET
Hellenic Aerospace Industry [ex] R&D, Aircraft Engines’ Manufacturing Engineering Methods,
Engineering Quality and Reliability, EMC
Kifissia, Athens-GR 14562
e-mail:panamars@otenet.gr
URL: http://www.stefanides.gr
Abstract: Under Golden Root Geometry Structuring the sides 1, sqrt(Φ), and Φ] a Tetrahedron [dicta Form 1- F4,
Polyhedra and other Forms Via Plato’s Triangles, we refer Somatoides] is obtained, by appropriately joining the
to the basic geometric configurations which, as this theory edges of the four triangles [ F4], with coordinates: [0,0,0,],
contemplates, are necessary for the progressive mode of [0,0,T^2], [T,0,0] and [0, 1/T, 1/T^2]
formation of the five polyhedral and the geometries involved
in their sections and related circles and further to logarithms,
via lines, areas and volumes. Basis of all these structures is
a very special Scalene Orthogonal Triangle “Plato’s Most
Beautiful” [F25], together with his Orthogonal Isosceles one. F1 [Lines]
Structural Forms are identified bearing in common these
triangular identities. The particular angle of the Scalene
Orthogonal is that whose ArcTan[Θ]=Τ and T = SQR ((SQR.
(5) + 1)/2).
F2 [Areas- Triangles]
Keywords: The Most Beautiful Triangle, Orthogonal Scalene
Triangle, Orthogonal Isosceles Triangle, Somatoides
tetrahedral Structure, Great Pyramid Model, Polyhedra, Circles
Quadrature, Spirals, Sprialogarithm.
F3 [Volume-3D Space]
I. Introduction
By “Golden Root Geometry” we refer to two
configurations of triangles. A Special one, the Quadrature
Scalene Orthogonal Triangle [Author’s interpretation of the F4 [Form 1- red]
Timaeic “Most Beautiful Triangle”] with sides [T^3], [T^2]
and [T^1] in geometric ratio T, which is the square root of
the golden ratio[ Φ], and the Isosceles Orthogonal Triangle,
with its equal sides [T]. The surface areas of these triangles
are taken perpendicular to each other and in such, naturally,
defining an X, Y, and Z system of coordinate axes. In so, F5 [Form 2 - blue]
the coordinates of the first are [0,0,0,], [0,0,T^2], [T,0,0] in
the X-Z plane, and those of the second are [0,0,0,], [T,0,0],
[0,T,0] in the X-Y plane. A line from [0,T,0] to [0,0,T^2],
creates the same Scalene Triangle in the Y, Z plane. ArcTan
[T] is the Scalene angle [Θ] of the Special Triangle with the
property that the product of its small side by its hypotenuse is
equal to the square of its bigger side: [T^1]*[T^3] equal [T^2]^2 F6 [Form 3 - yellow]
[Quadrature].
Using a pair of the Special Scalene Triangle, and a pair
of a Similar Kind of Triangle [Constituent of the Special] By joining, a line, from point [0,T,0] to point [T,0,0], a
with sides 1,T and T^2 [Kepler/(Magirus) Triangle with Second Tetrahedron [dicta Form 2 – F5] is obtained [ as a
natural extension of Form 1], with co-ordinates: [0,0,0,],
- 37 -

[T,0,0],[0,T,0] and [0,1/T, 1/T^2], having as base, on the

X-Y plane, the Isosceles Orthogonal Triangle mentioned
above, with coordinates[0,0,0], [T,0,0] and [0,T,0].
Doubling this triangle, in the X-Y plane, a square is F8
obtained of side [T], with coordinates [T,T,0], [T,0,0],
[0,0,0], and [0,T,0].
By connecting a line from point [T,T,0] to point [0,0,T^2]
a third Tetrahedron [dicta Form 3 – F6] is obtained with
coordinates:[T,T,0],[T,0,0], [0,T,0] and [0,0,T^2], having F9
also as base, the Isosceles Orthogonal Triangle with same
dimensions [mirror image] as that of [Form 2 – F5]. The
three Forms are wedged firmly together, leaving no empty
space between them. Their volume ratios F10 [Back of F10]
Form 3: Form 1: Form 2 equal to [1/6]*[T*T*T^2]:
[1/6]*[1*T*T]: [1/6]*[T*T*(1/T^2)] is the golden ratio
[T^2], and the sum of volumes of Form 1 and Form 2
equals to [1/6]*[1*T*T ] + [1/6]*[T*T*(1/T^2)] equals
to [1/6]*[T^2+1] equal [1/6]*T^4[SINCE T^4-T^2-1=0],
the volume of Form 3.The volumes of the three Forms F11 [ Back of F9]
sum up to [(2/6)T^4 equal to (1/3)T^4].
Two of the four bases of Form 3, are symmetrical
orthogonal triangles, with coordinates [T,0,0], [T,T,0],
[0,0,T^2] and [T,T,0], [0,T,0], [0,0,T^2], each of which has
an angle [ φ], equal to arctan[T^2]. F12 [Icosahedron]
Two such triangles joined in a coplanar manner, and
symmetrically along their bigger vertical sides, create one
of the four triangular faces of a great pyramid model with
coordinates [T,T,0], [0,0,T^2] and [T,(-T),0].
The Structure of the Three Forms bound together [dicta F13 [Dodecahedron]
Form 4 –F7] with Volume [1/3]*T^4 is one quarter of the
volume of a great pyramid model [F8], which has a square
base of side 2T, height T^2 and Volume [4/3]*T^4.
Splitting one of this model’s triangular face into two
orthogonal coplanar triangles to form a parallelogramme F14 [Polyhedra]
[with sides T^1 and T^3], we have constructed the basic
skeleton of the Icosahedron [F12], since three such
parallgrammes, orthogonal to each other, determine its
twenty equilateral triangle bases, by joining adjacent
corners in groups of three, by lines.
F15 [Water Section]
Similarly, we proceed to the construction of the
dodecahedron, the tetrahedron, the octahedron and the cube,
together with their related forms such as squares, circles,
triangles, circumscribed circles to the parallelogrammes
of the polyhedra skeletons, circumscribed spheres and
logarithmic spirals[F14 ], [ F15].[F16],[F17], [F20]. F16 [Nautilus]
Reversing the whole process, the volumes decompose to
the areas of the triangle surfaces structuring them which,
in turn, resolve to four line traces harmonically codified
in space [F19].
F17 [Spiralogarithms]
F7 [F4+F5+F6]
F18 [Volume 3D Space]
- 38 -

B. Proposed New Interpretation:
F19 One of these two is the “Isosceles” Orthogonal

Triangle, the other is the “Scalene” Orthogonal Triangle, its
II. Platonic Timaeus Triangles hypotenuse having a value equal to the “Cube” of the value
of its horizontal smaller side and having its vertical bigger
The work as described above follows, according to my side the value of the “Square” of its smaller horizontal side.
interpretation of Plato’s Timaeus description of “The Most The value of the smaller horizontal side is equal to the
Beautiful Triangle” and further, basing on this, the structure square root of the Golden Number, the ratio of the sides
of his “world” of his Polyhedra. Lines of triangles represent is equal, again, to the Square Root of the Golden Number
elements [combinations of the 4 philosophical ones: Fire, (geometrical ratio) and the Tangent of the angle between the
Air, Earth and Water].Solods created bear the same names, hypotenuse and the smaller horizontal side is also equal to
but include a further solid the “Fifth Consistency” according the Square Root of the Golden Number (Θ =51 49-38-15-9-
to Plato’s word, for the Dodecahedron [ Aether]. 17-19-54-37-26-24-0 degrees). The product of the smaller
horizontal side and that of the hypotenuse is equal to the
“SQUARE” of the bigger vertical side, and the following
equation holds: T^4-T^2-1=0 , T = SQRT [(SQRT(5) + 1)/2].
A. Sections 53-54 of Timaeus The Kepler [ Magirus] Triangle is a similar one but not the
same. By “THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TRIANGLE”, Plato
According to Plato’s Timaeus, correlates the four elements (UNIFIED THEORY) through
the General Analogies of their sides (Fire, Air, Earth and
….The conditions prevailed before the world was Water), i.e. Fire/Air is equal to Air/Water is equal to Water/
created, while all elements [FIRE, AIR, EARTH and Earth, to T, where T is equal to the SQUARE ROOT of the
WATER] were “WITHOUT PROPORTION” [alogos] GOLDEN NUMBER: T = SQR ((SQR.(5) + 1)/2)
and “WITHOUT MEASURE” [ametros], and only
“TRACES” of them existed, as all things, naturally exist in (ό τι περ πύρ προς αέρα, τούτο αέρα προς ύδωρ, και ό
God’s absence. God, under these conditions, transformed τι αήρ προς ύδωρ, ύδωρ προς γήν, ξυνέδησε...............
them via “IDEAS” and “NUMBERS”, for them to become ουρανόν, Plato’s Timaeus section 32).
“MOST BEAUTIFUL” and “BEST” as possible, contrary
to their previous state...
C. Section 37 - 39 of Timaeus
…Πρώτον μεν δη πυρ και γη και ύδωρ και αήρ,
ότι σώματά εστί... τρίγωνα πάντα εκ δυοίν άρχεται According to Plato [Timaeus 37 -39] :
τριγώνοιν... προαιρετέον ούν αύ των απείρων
...He planned to make a movable image of Eternity,
το καλλιστον... τριπλην κατα δυναμιν εχον της He made an eternal image, moving according to number,
ελαττονος την μειζω πλευραν αεi»... even that which we have named Time.... He contrived
the production of days and nights and months and years
In sections 53-54, of Plato’s “Timaeus”, Plato speaks ...And these are all portions of Time; as “Was” and “Shall
about the triangular shapes of the Four Elements [ traces be” are generated forms of Time...Time, then, came into
existed in disorder –matter- before their harmonization existence along with Heaven, to the end that having been
by God], of their kinds and their combinations: generated together they might also be dissolved together...
These Bodies are the Fire (Tetrahedron) the Earth (Cube), this reasoning and design...with a view to the generation of
the Water (Icosahedron), and the Air (Octahedron). These Time, the sun and moon....and the other stars,....”planets”,
are bodies and have depth. The depth necessarily, contains came into existence for the determining and preserving of
the flat surface and the perpendicular to this surface is a the numbers of Time..... [Loeb].
side of a triangle and all the triangles are generated by two
kinds of orthogonal triangles: the “Isosceles” Orthogonal Trying to understand the way possible for elements
and the “Scalene” Orthogonal. From the two kinds of [according to Plato: traces - i.e. matter] to be joined together
triangles the “Isosceles” Orthogonal has one nature. (i.e. so that they compose matter, according to the geometry
one rectangular angle and two acute angles of 45 degrees), presented in this paper, we come to the following, possible,
whereas the “scalene” has infinite (i.e. it has one rectangular scenario:
angle and two acute angles of variable values having, In a static, but vibrating, field [Aether- Plato’s
these two acute angles, the sum of 90 degrees). From reference to a Fifth Consistency, which God used up
these infinite natures we choose one triangle “The Most entirely to “colorfully paint“ everything i.e. means
Beautiful”. Thus, from the many triangles, we accept that by which matter is illuminated reflecting light from
there is one of them “The Most Beautiful”. Let us choose source ( Fire) - electromagnetic medium], conductive
then, two triangles, which are the basis of constructing the [ massive - “ traces” of] elemental lines with alternating
Fire and the other Bodies : “Το μεν ισοσκελές,το δε τριπλήν bipolar charges moving in it by the action of the field ,
κατά δύναμιν έχον της ελάττονος την μείζω πλευράν αεί.”
- 39 -

should result into alternating currents running within them.

Two such lines could be contacted electrically at the
ends of each line, via their + and - charges, and similarly
three lines [in the harmonically correct lengths] could
form triangles [ orthogonal according to my theory],
and in such forming a surface. Similarly by joining
two pairs of such triangular forms [elecromagnetically
attracted by the currents running within them] could
create materialistic volumes [ tetrahedra]. Continuing,
by these similar actions of electromagnetic forces,
the joining of these materialistic volumes [tetrahedra]
could result into further building blocks of matter.
According to my geometric theory [pure classical geometry,
based on the Square Root of the Golden Section] such
materialistic volumes [tetrahedra] build a Great Pyramid
Model via which the structure of the world of the 5 Platonic
[or Eucleidean] solids.
We note that Plato states that everything that is born, it
is born by necessity due to a cause, because it is impossible
for it to be born without a cause.
With respect to world’s creation, Plato states that,
according to his thinking after having performed some
assumptions, that three things exist before Heaven’s coming
into creation: Being, Place and Becoming.
F20
III. Circle’s Quadrature [F19, F20, F21]
Structures built upon the form of the two

Orthogonal Triangles, as described in this paper, have
common relationships i.e. triangles, parallelograms,
spirals,logarithms, squares, circles.
The main classical problem concerning circle
relationships with the other geometric figures was that of its
quadrature [conditions finding for its area to be equal to that
of a square and its circumference equal to the perimeter of
another square].
Plato’s Scalene Orthogonal Triangle after lengthy
elaboration, worked catalytically for forming a novel
concept, for achieving the challenge of solving the “
insoluble” problem of “quadrature of circle” [F21, F22,
F23, ], proving that the value of Pi should be quantized : Pi
=4/[SQRT(Phi)], i.e Pi equals 4 divided by the Square Root
of the Golden Section [ = 3.14460551…..].
Further a [ PCST] Point on the Circle, the Square ,the
Triangle - Maximum Symmetry Point [F24 ], was conceived
for demonstration that the value of Pi should be quantized to
the value of : 4/[SQRT(Phi)], as achieved ,also, by ruler and
compass [ F21, F22 ]. This serves as a gauge for estimating
errors [shifts from PCST] of Pi values, used diachronically.
{ [F26] is the ruler and compass construction of angle
Θ, via φ and Φ}.
F21
- 40 -

F23
F24
F22
- 41 -

F26
IV. Conclusions
Via the Golden Root Geometry we get relationships of

F25 Geometric structures, Logarithms and Spirals.It is concluded
that by “THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TRIANGLE”, Plato
correlates the elements (Unified Theory) through the general
analogies of their sides i.e. Fire/Air is equal to Air/Water is
equal to Water/Earth, is equal to T the Golden Root.
Finally, we realize Plato’s statement that all triangles
----------------------------------------------------------------- derive from two Orthogonal Triangles the Isosceles and the
[F21 , F22, F23, F24] AutoCAD Drawings Scalene - “The Most Beautiful”.
Vector Definition and Geometry
Design by Panagiotis Stefanides, References
Computerized AutoCAD by Dr. John Candylas [1] Panagiotis Stefanides “ The Most Beautiful Triangle”[Greek],
---------------------------------------------------------------- Mathematical Society 2-4 Mart 1989,National Research
Institution of Greece, Athens. Conference “ History and
Philosophy of the Classical Greek Mathematics.
[2] Paper Presentation and Proceedings Publication, “Golden
Root Symmetries of Geometric Forms” The journal of
the Symmetry: Culture and Science,Volume 17,Numbers
1-2, 2006, pp 97-111. Editor: Gyorgy Darvas. Conference:
Symmetry Festival 2006, Budapest Hungary.
- 42 -

The Unique Hoyle State of the Carbon Atom
Steinar THORVALDSEN
Dept. of Education
University of Tromsø, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway
steinar.thorvaldsen@uit.no
Abstract: The famous astronomer Fred Hoyle (1915-2001) in stars on the basis of hydrogen and helium. Crucial in his
started his research career as an atheist. Hoyle’s most prediction was the existence of a new state in the carbon
important contribution to astrophysics is the theory of atom with a specific energy that is precisely adapted to the
nucleosynthesis, i.e. the idea that chemical elements such as basic fusion processes of the nuclei. This process is essential
carbon can form in stars on the basis of hydrogen and helium. because it links to the carbon in the universe, which is a
Essentially here was his prediction that the carbon core has prerequisite for the existence of all carbon based life. Hoyle
predicted that the nuclear reactions that could produce
a state with a specific energy which is precisely adapted to
carbon in sufficient quantities required a specific and
the basic fusion process. This result was one of the most statistically improbable energy level in the carbon nucleus.
important breakthroughs in modern astrophysics, and the He inferred that the so-called triple-alpha reaction had to
so called Hoyle state has become a cornerstone for state-of- work through an unknown process.
the-art nuclear theory. The calculations he made, eventually
revealed a fine-tuning of the universe. Hoyle’s work in this
area supported the anthropic principle that the universe was
fine-tuned so that intelligent life would be possible. It is said
that what really made him conclude that creation demanded
intelligence, were his calculations of the special properties of
the carbon atom. This shook his atheism fundamentally [1, p.
57]. In this paper we describe this discovery.
Keywords: Nucleosynthesis; Anthropic principle

Figure 1. First part of the periodic table of the chemical elements.
I. Introduction
II. Tripple- Alpha
The universe is made up of a variety of chemical
elements such as hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and The common carbon consists of 6 protons and 6
iron (Fig. 1). A chemical element is a substance in which all neutrons, and helium has two of each. One might imagine
atoms have the same number of protons in the nucleus. In that three helium nuclei could collide simultaneously, and
addition, any neutrons determine the isotope of the element form a carbon core. But this is impossible in practice, the
we are dealing with. If we change the number of protons, probability that three helium nuclei would be in exactly the
we get a completely different chemical element, but if we same place at the same time, while moving in exactly the
change the neutrons we obtain another variant (isotope) of right speed to merge, is vanishingly small.
the same element. The classical Big-Bang model explained Another possibility is that two helium particles at very
prevalence of the light elements hydrogen and helium in the high temperatures melt into one beryllium atom, which in
universe, but not the incidence of heavier atoms. turn merges with a third helium nucleus to form carbon
In this context helium cores are often called alpha (see Fig. 2). This will give a total of 12 core particles. The
particles (α). For a long time science lacked a mechanism first problem here is that beryllium core will be extremely
that could form anything but the very light chemical unstable and typically cleave again almost instantly. It
elements. This was one of cosmology’s puzzles. Hoyle’s would barely be conceivable that a new helium nucleus
important contribution to astrophysics was achieved in may be combined with beryllium during its brief existence.
this area, and it is often called the nucleosynthesis, i.e. the Moreover, there is another major obstacle:
theory of how chemical elements such as carbon can form The sum of the masses of helium and beryllium nucleus
- 43 -

is in fact larger than the mass of the carbon nucleus. The Hoyle’s theoretical predictions were later confirmed
total energy of the whole particle would be higher than the by laboratory tests. This is considered one of the greatest
ground state of carbon. So if helium and beryllium merged scientific triumphs of the 1950s, and the paper which he
together and formed carbon, the mass difference has to be wrote together with Geoffrey & Margaret Burbidge and
emitted in the form of energy, because energy and mass are Fowler is just called the B2FH article by the authors’ initials
equivalent (E = mc2). This takes extra time, precisely what [3; 4].
initially was lacking. Consequently, it is highly unlikely that
a new particle is formed in this way, in the same way as two In practice, the Hoyle state nuclei almost always decay
plus two does not make three. back into beryllium and a helium particle. But in around
0.04 percent of the cases, these inflated carbons relax into
In physics a system (atom, molecule, core) is called their stable, ground state configuration, giving off the extra
excited if it interacts with other particles or electromagnetic energy as an emission of gamma rays as shown in Fig. 3. The
radiation (photons) and is brought from its usual lowest new carbon-12 nuclei that are formed subsequently populate
energy state (ground state) into a state with higher energy. the periodic table. Some stay as they are, while others merge
The excited system will return to the ground state by emitting with another helium particle to become oxygen. A fraction
energy in the form of photons. If the system is supplied with of the oxygen nuclei are stripped of a proton, transforming
enough energy, it may also be broken to pieces. into nitrogen, and so on.
The internal energy levels that exist for carbon nuclei
are very interesting. The excited state is what we call a
resonance, and it is precisely so that it supports the process
that gives ordinary carbon as its result! A resonance means
that the particles vibrate in phase towards and out from the
center of the nucleus. When beryllium and helium then
collide, they will hang together a while before they fly
apart again. While hanging together they will with a certain
probability emit energy in the form of radiation, while the
carbon goes down to the stable ground state. If the excited
state had not been like this, the reaction Be + He => C +
energy had to be made in one step, without the ability to
“rest” in the resonance condition. This would have made
production of carbon highly unlikely. In order to achieve
the stable ground state, there must be such a resonance. The
probabilities for these conditions to be so that stable carbon
was not possible are infinitely greater.
Figure 2. The triple-alpha reaction, where three helium nuclei (He)

forms carbon (C), is hiding a big secret. Gamma (γ) means emission of
energy. Illustration from Epelbaum, et al. [6].
III. Triple- marvel

At this point Hoyle made a bold prediction. To solve the
problem he assumed that carbon can exist in a new energy
state (excited state), which until then was unknown. His Figure 3. The triple-alpha process. Two helium nuclei (α-particles)
prediction was that there had to be an energy state with mass fuse together and form a beryllium atom, and then a third α-particle merge
exactly equal to the sum of the masses of beryllium and rapidly to create what equals the Hoyle state of the carbon nucleus, where
helium. This condition would be a new carbon state making a certain amount is proceeding to stable carbon in its ground state. In the
it possible to form carbon within the short time window. The right part of the figure the three states of the carbon atom are represented,
carbon could then transform to its normal ground state. The where the Hoyle state and the ground state has spin 0. The spin is conserved
energy sent out by the internal transition was estimated at in this type of reactions, so the state in the middle does not matter as it has
7.65 million electron volts (MeV). From this he calculated spin 2. This process marks the start of the generation of the basic atoms
the required values for the energy levels of the carbon necessary in biology.
nucleus. Hoyle described his ideas like this:
Salpeter’s publication [in 1952] of the 3α process freed IV. Bent arm formation
me to take a fresh look at the carbon production problem. I The unstable state of the carbon atom is now called the
found difficulty in generating enough carbon, because the Hoyle state, and proved to be a natural so called eigenstate
carbon kept slipping away into oxygen as it was produced. A of the carbon atom, with virtually the exactly same energy
theoretically possible way around this difficulty was greatly as the combined mass of beryllium and helium. The special
to speed-up the carbon synthesis by a rather precisely tuned properties of the Hoyle state (both its energy level and
resonance which would need to be about 7.65MeV above resonance) allow it to function as a helping hand in the
ground-level in the carbon-12 nucleus. [2, p. 449] production of stable carbon. The process works through this
- 44 -

gateway. V. Hoyle’s design inference

Several research groups are currently at work to The unique energy levels required to produce carbon and
determine the detailed picture of the carbon nucleus. oxygen, are, as we have seen, statistically highly unlikely.
Both the ground state of carbon, and the excited Hoyle In 1959 Hoyle addressed the remarkable discovery in the
state, are highly complex 12-body problems to determine University Church, Cambridge:
the motion of these 12 core particles that mutually affect I do not believe that any scientist who examined the
each other. This is difficult to calculate even with today’s evidence would fail to draw the inference that the laws
supercomputers. Recently a German/American research of nuclear physics have been deliberately designed with
team has announced calculations revealing the configuration regard to the consequences they produce inside the
of these two important conditions, as shown in Fig. 4 [5; stars. If this is so, then my apparently random quirks
6]. The ground state has a compact triangular formation of have become part of a deep-laid scheme. If not then we
the helium nuclei, while the Hoyle state shows the three are back again at a monstrous sequence of accidents
helium nuclei in the form of a “bent arm”. The results are [10, p.57-58].
still uncertain, and others [7] have found solutions similar
to an oblate (flattened sphere). The calculations which the Some years later Hoyle restated and fortified the conclusion:
supercomputers had to perform, would typically have taken
more than 200 years on a regular laptop. Would you not say to yourself, “Some super-calculating
intellect must have designed the properties of the carbon
Next to carbon, oxygen plays a vital role for life on atom, otherwise the chance of my finding such an atom
earth, and similar internal details of the oxygen nucleus through the blind forces of nature would be utterly
play a critical role. Oxygen has 16 core particles and may minuscule… The numbers one calculates from the facts
be formed by combining carbon and helium nuclei. If the seem to me to so overwhelming as to put this conclusion
resonance level of the carbon atom was 4 percent lower (a almost beyond question” [11, p.16].
few hundred keV) [8], there would be essentially no carbon.
Was that level in the oxygen atom only 0.5 percent higher, He estimated the chance of things coming out appropriately
virtually all of the carbon would have been converted to at about 1 part in 1000 [12, p. 140], and compared it with
oxygen. These are quite small margins, as also pointed out tuning a radio:
by Hoyle in 1965 [9, p. 160]. Oxygen and carbon are like two radio receivers, each
Moreover, some of the oxygen nuclei may be stripped of tuned to a particular wavelength. Unless the receivers
a proton and converted to nitrogen. Without carbon, oxygen are right, with the two dials set at the appropriate
and nitrogen, the carbon based life characterizing our planet wavelengths, far more oxygen are produced than carbon.
was not possible. The Hoyle state is the bridge that opens But, as it happens, the tunings are indeed correct, so that
up the way to life giving chemical elements, and the carbon oxygen and carbon atoms are produced in the Universe
atom is very special since it can form a variety of chemical in appropriate balanced amounts. The problem is to
compounds, particular within organic chemistry. decide whether these apparently coincidental tunings
are really accidental or not, and therefore whether or
The Hoyle state also enables the creation of matter in the not life is accidental. No scientist likes to ask such a
universe to take place in one initial act. This is well known question, but it has to be asked for all that. Could it be
from the biblical account of creation in which the creation of that the tunings are intelligently deliberate? [13, p. 218-
matter is described by one phrase. 219].
VI. Discussion and Conclusion

Carbon is the fourth most common atom in our
galaxy, after hydrogen, helium and oxygen. There are few
nuclei that have captured human imagination more than
carbon-12. Its synthesis is a key to the origins of organic
life and the organic chemistry. The gateway through which
carbon synthesis proceeds is dominated by the presence
of the excited Hoyle state at 7.65MeV. Hoyle’s argument
for the existence of a resonance state in carbon-12, at this
specific energy level, was a brilliant prediction based on
astrophysical reasoning, and one that deserves a prominent
Figure 4. The Hoyle state (left) of carbon shows three helium clusters place in the history of astrophysics [14, 15]. In a bright
distributed as a “bent arm” [6]. It is energetic with about 7.65 million moment he saw that carbon production was just possible
electron volts extra energy, but emits energy in the form of radiation because there was an enhancement effect in the form of a
when it goes to the ground state. The ground state (right) of carbon shows resonance at just the right energy level to permit what would
a configuration with three helium clusters distributed on the vertices of otherwise have been a forbidden process. If the nuclear
a compact triangle shape. The isosceles right triangle, rather than an forces had been only a little different, there would have been
equilateral triangle, is just an artifact of the lattice spacing used in the no proper resonance and no carbon-based life.
paper. The protons are blue and neutrons are yellow. Research is still going
on how the carbon nuclei may be configured. Hoyle described the energy levels of both carbon-12 and
oxygen-16 as a “put-up job” apparently designed to produce
the two elements in the right ratio:
- 45 -

A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that [9] Fred Hoyle, Galaxies, nuclei, and quasars. New York:
a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as Harper & Row, 1965.
chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces [10] Arthur Mervyn Stockwood (ed.), Religion and the Scientists.
worth speaking about in nature. [11, p. 16] Addresses Delivered in the University Church, Cambridge.
The overall configuration of quantitative properties of London: SCM Press, 1959.
these elements is so unlikely that it made Hoyle to expect “a [11] Fred Hoyle, “The universe: Past and present reflections”.
supercalculating Intellect.” For Hoyle the figures spoke so Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 20: 1–35,
clear that this conclusion was virtually self-evident. 1982.
[12] Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe, Evolution from
His work in this area supported what in the 1970s was Space. London: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1981.
called the “anthropic principle” [16] that our universe was
and is finely tuned to make intelligent life possible. Hoyle [13] Fred Hoyle, The Intelligent Universe. London: Michael
also spoke of the prediction as “an early application of what Joseph, 1983.
is known nowadays as the anthropic principle” [17, p. 266]. [14] John Polkinghorne, “The Universe as Creation”, pp. 166–
While Hoyle did not think anthropically when he made his 178 in Robert B. Stewart, ed., Intelligent Design. Fortress
discovery in the 1950s, his writings 30 years later showed Press, 2007.
him looking in the rear-view mirror to understand it as an [15] Helge Kragh, “An anthropic myth: Fred Hoyle’s carbon-12
anticipation of the anthropic principle. resonance level”. Arch. Hist. Exact Sci. Vol 64:721–751,
The question as to if Hoyle in any way applied the 2010
anthropic principle or not in relation to his original prediction, [16] Brandon Carter, “Large number coincidences and the
has been the subject of some recent study [15]. Some anthropic principle in cosmology”, pp. 291–298 in Malcolm
measurements published in 1940 indicated the existence S. Longair, ed., Confrontation of Cosmological Theories
of an exited state of the carbon atom, although subsequent with Observational Data. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1974.
measurements had failed to confirm its existence. However, [17] Fred Hoyle, Home is where the wind blows: Chapters from
nothing indicates that Hoyle was aware of these earlier a cosmologist’s life. Mill Valley: University Science Books,
measurements when making his prediction and discovery. 1994.
And even if the existence of the Hoyle-state was not
predicted anthropically, the existence of such a state at the
right energy (within a few hundred keV), and with the right
properties, is really amazing. This fact may just be a happy
accident of nature, or it may carry a deeper meaning of
intelligence and design. Hoyle himself was clearly in favor
of the second position.
Acknowledgment
A special thanks to my son Andreas J. Thorvaldsen for
valuable discussion and input in connection with this paper.
References
[1] Owen Gingerich. God’s Univers. Harvard University Press,
2006.
[2] Fred Hoyle, “Personal comments on the history of nuclear
astrophysics”. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical
Society, 27: 445–453, 1986.
[3] E. M. Burbidge, G. R. Burbidge, W. A. Fowler, and F. Hoyle,
“Synthesis of the Elements in Stars”. Reviews of Modern
Physics 29 (4): 547-650, 1957.
[4] G. R. Burbidge, “Hoyle’s role in B2FH”. Science 319: 1484,
2008.
[5] Evgeny Epelbaum et. al. “Ab Initio Calculation of the Hoyle
State”. Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 192501, 2011.
[6] Evgeny Epelbaum et al. “Structure and rotations of the Hoyle
state”. Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 252501, 2012.
[7] W. R. Zimmerman et al. “Unambiguous Identification of
the Second 2+ State in 12C and the Structure of the Hoyle
State”. Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 152502, 2013.
[8] M. Freera and H.O.U. Fynbo, “The Hoyle state in 12C”.
Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics. 78, 1–23, 2014
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Mathematical Language / Scientific

Interpretation / Theological Interpretation
Marcel Bodea
Department of Philosophy, ”Babeș-Bolyai” University
”Babeș-Bolyai” University
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
bodeamarcel@hotmail.com
Abstract. The specific languages referred to in this presentation I. The Transcendental Dimension Of Mathematical
are: scientific language, mathematical language, theological Propositions: Possibility Conditions Of Scientific
language and philosophical language. Cosmological, scientific Propositions
or theological models understood as distinct interpretations of
a common symbolic language do not ensure, by such a common
basis, a possible or legitimate correspondence of certain units On the one hand, mathematical propositions are
necessary conditions for the description of the world of
of meaning. Mathematics understood as a symbolic language
facts, but on the other hand, these propositions are not at
used in scientific and theological interpretation does not the same time also sufficient conditions to describe this
bridge between science and theology. Instead, it only allows world of facts. For instance, a mathematical proposition is
the assertion of a rational-mathematical unity in expression. purely formal, but by “loading” mathematical symbols with
In this perspective, theology is nothing less rational than empirical (physical, biological, economic) significance,
science. The activity of interpretation has an interdisciplinary the proposition becomes such that only ”speaks” about
character, it is a necessary condition of dialogue. We cannot facts in this way. The possibility of factual significance
speak about dialogue without communication between of mathematical symbols makes possible for a formal
various fields, without passing from one specialized language mathematical proposition to become a scientific proposition
to another specialized language. The present paper proposes about facts. This way mathematics is a necessary condition,
but not also a sufficient condition of scientific propositions.
to suggest this aspect.
Scientific propositions are those which speak about facts.
Their truth or falseness depends on their correspondence
Keywords: mathematical propositions; propositions with reality.
of empirical sciences; theological propositions; scientific
interpretation; theological interpretation; necessary condition;
factual necessity; mathematical necessity; theological necessity.
II. How Can Mathematical Propositions Become
Propositions Of Empirical Sciences?
”In life it is never a mathematical proposition which we
need, but we use mathematical propositions only in order to How can science speak about the world with the help of
infer from propositions which do not belong to mathematics mathematical propositions? Mathematical modelling means,
to others which equally do not belong to mathematics.”1 in principle, the construction of a model of reality with
(Wittgenstein) scientific significance, based on a skeleton of mathematical
propositions. The examination of this model shows how
things are from a mathematical perspective if the scientific
In the analytical context of this paper, “interpretation” propositions are “true on a factual level” (epistemologically
will be the term used, conventionally, for the loading of speaking, it is a “correspondence truth”). The transcendental
various symbols (signs) of mathematical propositions with character of the logical-mathematical construction of the
scientific (empirical, factual) and theological significances world must be emphasized.
or senses. The scientific propositions treated here belong to
empirical sciences. Interpreting the form of an equation, for instance, in the
sense of a mathematical description of facts represents the
1 Wittgenstein, Ludwig, ”Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus”, possibility that things in reality may relate to each other
Project Gutenberg, 2010 [EBook #5740], http://www. the same way as symbols correlate mathematically in an
gutenberg.org, P. 6.211. equation. Thus one or another mathematical formalism, in
other words: mathematics may offer alternative scientific
- 47 -

descriptions of the same facts. The mathematical relation the symbols have the following physical significance: s
of representation lies in the mathematical correlation of -space, v - velocity (constant), t -time, means as a scientific
symbols that project correlations of facts in a transcendental proposition: ”the low of uniformly rectilinear motion
sense. It is a transcendental form, a “net” thrown to catch (uniform linear motion with constant velocity)”.2 The use of
a certain scientific reality. It must be mentioned that it is the mathematical proposition y = kx in electricity, rewritten
not an “ontological” projection on the existence of the fact as U = RI, where the physical significance of the symbols
as such, as it cannot be done from inside mathematics, but is: U -electrical voltage; R - electrical resistance of the
one taken in a transcendental sense. Mathematics precedes conductor (constant); I -the intensity of the current flowing
any experience of facts, of a “something” that is in a way through the conductor, means as a scientific proposition
or another. Mathematical modelling is only applied to the Ohm’s law in a ideal conductor.3 The thermodynamic use
realities that can be modelled mathematically. of the mathematical proposition y = kx rewritten as p = kT,
where the symbols mean in physics: p -pressure of a gas,
Take physics as an example of empirical science for T -temperature of the gas; k -a physical constant, means as
the clarity of exposition. A “physical equation” can or a scientific proposition: the pressure of a gas rises or falls
cannot be concordant with a certain physical reality, can with the rise or fall of temperature.4 These examples from
or cannot be adequate to the description of reality, can various fields illustrate the following important aspect: the
be true or false in relation to the state of fact of reality. A factual meaning of mathematical propositions can be said to
physical equation represents a physical fact by its specific be situated outside them. From the point of view of factual
form of representation, and this form does not depend on relevance, all mathematical propositions have equal value.
the truth or falseness of the physical equation placed in
correspondence with the represented fact. For example, The conclusions of the illustration of how mathematical
a physical equation can be linear (with the form y = ax) propositions, neuter to factual meanings, can be loaded
and be false in relation to the physical reality of reference. with exterior factual meanings that are alien to their formal
Its “empirical” falseness can be due to multiple causes. content is also relevant for the analysis of how, in their turn,
One cause may be incorrect empirical measurement. scientific propositions with a factual meaning, neuter to
Another cause may be that the physical phenomenon is value meanings (ethical, aesthetic, existential-theological)
not (mathematically) linear and in this case the equation y can be loaded with such kinds of meanings, alien to their
= ax is not adequate with its representation (for instance, proper factual content. This latter aspect, which is important
it could be y = ax2 corresponding to a non-linear physical for the analysis of the relationship of science and theology,
phenomenon.) Physical equation represents for physics its is not discussed here, it has only been signalled. In what
physical sense. The correspondence theory of truth is what follows, by analogy of mathematical propositions and
makes in physics the correspondence between the physical scientific propositions, the relationship of mathematical
equation and the physical facts. The truth or falseness of propositions and theological propositions will be discussed,
a physical equation is established by scientific protocols, with reference to a case study: Cantor and the community of
consisting in its comparison with reality. In physics, Catholic theologians of the time of Pope Leo XIII.5
and empirical sciences in general, there are no physical
equations which can be true through a meaning independent
of any correspondence with facts. The application of
mathematics decides what kind of physical-mathematical IV. Scientific Propositions / Theological Propositions
equations and what kind of propositions of physics can be
formulated. Mathematics cannot anticipate a relationship ”We feel that even if all possible scientific questions be
between certain of its results and the physical realities to answered, the problems of life have still not been touched at
which they are adequate. It is necessary that mathematics all. [...]”6 (Wittgenstein)
must not get in conflict with its application in physics, in
science. Mathematics must be a necessary condition for
the description of facts by equation, but mathematics and The scientific languages are those which try to
its application, in other words mathematics and physics, speak about facts as neutre as possible, charged with no
must not overlap. From inside mathematics, nothing can be 2 A simple formulation, in natural language, of this law is: “A
asserted about the ontology of the world, the existence or
inexistence of certain facts, or their properties. body in rectilinear motion with constant velocity passes equal
space in equal time intervals”.
3 A simple formulation of this law: ”Ohm's Law deals with the
III. Mathematical Propositions / Scientific relationship between voltage and current in an ideal conductor.
Interpretation This relationship states that: The potential difference (voltage)
across an ideal conductor is proportional to the current flowing
Mathematics in themselves say nothing about facts. through it. The constant of proportionality is called: the
They say nothing about the object of sciences. resistance R.”
4 ”For a fixed mass of gas, at a constant volume V, the pressure p is
Example. directly proportional to the absolute temperature T.” (Amontons'
Take the mathematical proposition y = kx, where k is Law of Pressure-Temperature)
a constant. This proposition says nothing about anything 5 As a mathematician, in his dialogue with the community of
in the world of empirical facts, sends to no fact of, for mathematicians on the subject of infinity, Cantor never made
instance, the physical world. Its use in mechanics, rewritten reference to theology..
for the sake of familiarity of notation as s = vt, where 6 Wittgenstein, ”Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus”, P 6.52.
- 48 -

subjectivity, and without value significance on the human V. Mathematical Propositions / Theological
level of facts, without the attribution of existential sense etc. Interpretation
The discourses over and not about the facts of the world are
external to scientific ones. There are languages on the sense
of the facts of the world, such as theological language. Mathematics in themselves say nothing about senses
and values. They say nothing about faith, about God, about
Compared to propositions about facts (particularly the good, the beautiful.
scientific), there is a “meaning” in theological propositions
which goes beyond facts, beyond their factual-empirical How can religious subjects be expressed in
significance. In other words, the moral values, existential mathematical language? How do mathematical problems
values, or generally speaking the senses of facts placed and mathematical solutions get to be formulated and become
in a theological horizon cannot be found as such in the religiously significant through the mediation of language?
scientific fact. Thus, in a theological horizon the presence This is a philosophical-analytical context of passage
and intervention of God in the world, for instance, cannot from mathematical language to religious language. The
be reduced to the strict level of facts. It is an intervention explication and the interpretation of mathematical symbols
revealed on the level of specific theological meanings, the play an important role. The philosophical interpretation
transcendent-divine meanings of the facts that theology cannot be so free as to be arbitrary about the theological
expresses through its propositions. significance of the ”mathematical object” of explication and
interpretation.
In what regards the formal propositions of mathematics,
the -scientific or theological interpretation- is situated in both There is, as it will be illustrated below, the possibility
cases in an environment which is exterior to mathematics. It to find some suggestive analogies of language between
must be emphasized, as it was shown in the example above, theology and mathematics, which, on the one hand, do not
that the same mathematical proposition can have multiple break ”the laws of rationality”, and on the other hand, exploit
scientific interpretations, without any correspondence by interpretation purely mathematical results. In other
between the scientific significance of the symbols. What words, mathematics can be a point of reference on language
kind of relation is there between space and electrical level, a source of analogy in theological expression.
tension, between velocity and electrical resistance, between
time and electrical intensity? This observation suggests that The sketch of a painting.
any connection of scientific significance and theological The painting attempts at grasping a historical instance at
significance through the “common denominator” of the the end of the 19th century with regard to the image of God
same mathematical proposition is all the more arbitrary, and (theological proposition) as the theological significance of
any attempt to this end must, if not rejected, then at least mathematical propositions. The protagonist of this painting
seen with much reservation, and a great dose of scepticism. is German mathematician Georg Cantor. “He [Cantor] was
also keenly aware of the ways in which his work might in turn
In a theological background, the presence and aid and improve both philosophy and theology. Prompted by
intervention of God in the world, for example, cannot be a strong belief in the role set theory could play in helping the
reduced to the strict level of facts. It is an intervention Roman Catholic Church to avoid misinterpreting the nature
revealed on the level of specific theological meanings, the of infinity, he undertook an extensive correspondence with
transcendent-divine meanings of the facts that theology Catholic theologians, and even addressed one letter and a
expresses through its propositions. number of his pamphlets directly to Pope Leo XIII.”7 The
cantorian perspective means in this context that it starts
From the point of view of analytical philosophy from mathematics – here, from the mathematical existence
discussed here, a summarizing and clarifying reference of the infinite in the form of “infinite numbers” (transfinite)
will be made to the philosophical concept of “necessity” in – towards the transcendent world of God. In the case of
order to differentiate between scientific, mathematical and theological propositions with mathematical form, as are
theological propositions: factual necessity is problematic, the theological propositions about God suggested here,
everything that is external, contingent, or variable mathematics is used in a relation of theological projection;
pertains to the facts of the world which are described by that is, a mathematical theory is projected on God. This
scientific propositions; mathematical necessity is internal- is obviously done without the violation of correctness,
transcendental, of a logical nature, present in the form of rationality, and mathematical language. The characteristics
mathematical propositions; theological necessity is external- of the image lie mainly in the “loading with theological
transcendental, absolute, ensured by Divinity. On the level significance” of infinite sets and some of their properties,
of mathematical language and scientific / theological for example their association with God or attributes of
interpretation, one can say: mathematical language is a God: “[…] Cantor believed that the real existence of the
necessary condition of scientific language (the great book of Transfinitum further reflected the infinite nature of God’s
nature is written in a mathematical language [Galilei]), but existence.”8 Philosophically speaking, however, it must be
it is only an optional alternative for theological language. emphasized that the existence of infinite mathematical sets
is not an ontological argument, it does not mean that God
exists, that God is infinite, that God’s attributes are infinite,
etc. A mathematical proposition is not in itself the image of
7 Joseph W. Dauben, ”Georg Cantor and Pope Leo XIII:
Mathematics, Theology and the Infinite”, Journal of the History
of Ideas, vol 38, No. 1, 1977, p. 85.
8 Dauben, ”Georg Cantor and Pope Leo XIII”, p. 103.
- 49 -

anything theological (as also it is not the image of anything

scientific).9 Nevertheless, the language of mathematical The article is only an analytical view on the level of
signs understood as theologically significant symbols can languages. The mathematical language can be correlated
send to a theological image, to a theological meaning that with the world of facts. The theological propositions
these symbols might suggest. Any such assertion about God are rational propositions of theology because they show
does not pertain to mathematics proper. The fact that God something about theological world on the basis of
is infinite in one way or another, that he has no beginning mathematical propositions with theological significance.
and no end, etc. is not legitimated by mathematics. What The analogies of mathematical and theological language are
pertains to mathematics is only a matter of language, the the interpretations of mathematical language in theological
interpretation of a language in the meaning horizon of language. Both mathematical language and religious
another language. When we speak about God in this way, language are, beyond their linguistic form, autonomous on
we project mathematical forms [infinite set, for instance] their significant level and they remain independent in their
into a theological language. The resulting propositions mutual relationship. This is particularly important: there is a
are theological propositions, but they are mathematically possibility to speak about the world of science and about the
rational. Mathematics may project through interpretation world of theology in a rationally identical way.
its own symbolic forms into another language – of science,
of theology, of art –, arriving thus to scientific, theological The discourses over and not about the facts of the world
or artistic propositions which are mathematically rational. are external to scientific ones. The discourses about and
A mathematically “articulated” horizon of faith opens a not over the facts of the world are external to theologic
rationally founded way to the theological “perception” of ones. It must be accepted that the life of man in his world
the being of God, his absoluteness, his infinity, etc. Once is not divided this way, there is no perception of a hardly
again, the content, significance and meaning of any such surmountable abyss between facts and values. We accept
propositions (theological; scientific) do not originate in that mathematics does not have for theology the importance
mathematics, but are only based on a logical-mathematical it has for science. The question is: ”Can mathematical
form of bringing into language. Such mathematical objects language be a useful instrument for rational theological
and forms are not foundations neither for the existence discourse?”. From a philosophical-analytical point of view,
of God, or for the faith in God, nor for any images or the answer is clear: mathematical language (and logical
theological attributes of God. These are nothing more language) is not a necessary condition for theological
than forms of language, only forms that make possible a language. This article has tried to suggest a complementary
rational discourse about God. Mathematics does not prove answer: there is a rational theological language for which
anything from a theological point of view. It is only a set the mathematical language is a ”possible condition” for new
of forms of language which allow for a rational theological theological interpretations.
discourse. The sketch of this painting has illustrated, in How is it possible in this philosophical-analytical
completion of those presented above, an attempt of the end context -chosen as a point of reference- to speak about
of the 19th century for the theological interpretation of a scientific reality? The bridge connecting scientific language
mathematical theory, in an age when science thrived with and scientific reality is the mathematical form. The
such interpretations: for example, Maxwell’s equations of philosophical presuposition is: the structure of the scientific
electromagnetism. world and the structure of the scientific language share a
common mathematical form which allows one to speak
Conclusions on the philosophical significations of the
about the scientific facts of the world. But if the world is
created for man and man is created in the image and likeness
relation: mathematical language /
of God, it can be assumed (a theological assumption) that
human language shares a common rational form not only
Scientific interpretation / theological interpretation”10 with the facts of the world, with this world, but with any
possible world, real or transcendent (for example: ”the
9 Let me illustrate in this context, in the modern spirit of analytical scientific world” and ”the theological world: The Kingdom
philosophy referred to in this paper, Cantor’s position on “the of God”).
propositions of mathematics”: “Because of this extraordinary
position which distinguishes mathematics from all other Even if the world of theology is not a scientific world,
sciences, and which produces an explanation for the relatively we can still speak about it, starting from our own world,
by applying the same logical/mathematical form. Certainly,
free and easy way of pursuing it, it especially deserves the
this is the case of rational theological discourses, the ones
name of free mathematics, a designation which I, if I had the in which the bridge between theological language and
choice, would prefer to the now customary "pure" mathematics.” transcendent reality is build of rationals forms. In science,
Mathematics was therefore absolutely free in its development, these rational forms determine the form that the facts of
and bound only to the requirement that its concepts permit no the world take on in scientific language. This is not an
internal contradiction, but that they follow in definite relation to ”ontological form”, but a form of language for the subject
previously given definitions, axioms, and theorems.” - Dauben, that describes the facts. Similarly, in a rational theological
”Georg Cantor and Pope Leo XIII”, pp. 92-93. language the theological interpretations project logical and
mathematical forms on the discourses of theology.
10 Marcel S. Bodea, The explication of religious Knowledge
From religious Language to secular Language, pp. 531-544 Congress 2013 Brixen/Bressanone], Verlang A. Weger, Brixen/
in vol. Lintner M. Martin (Ed.), God in Question -Religious Bressanone, 2014
Language and Secular Languages [Proceedings of the ESCT
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References
[1] Wittgenstein, Ludwig, ”Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus”,

Project Gutenberg, 2010 [EBook #5740], http://www.
gutenberg.org
[2] J. W. Dauben, ”Georg Cantor and Pope Leo XIII:
Mathematics, Theology and the Infinite”, in Journal of the
History of Ideas, vol 38, No. 1, 1977, pp. 85-108.
[3] Galilei, Galileo, ”Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del
mondo tolemaico e copernicano”,http://www.liberliber.
it;http://dialogoconf.com/uploads/artfiles/1392156303-
Dialogo_di_Galileo_Galilei_.pdf
[4] Westman, Robert, God and Nature: Historical Essays on the
Encounter between Christianity and Science, University of
California Press, Los Angeles, 1986.
[5] Stanley L. Jaki, The Road of Science and the Ways of God,
University of Chicago Press, 1978.
[6] Wright, Larry, Theological Explanation, Berkeley and Los
Angeles, University of California Press, 1976.
[7] Crisp D. Oliver, Rea C. Michael (Edited by), Analytic
Theology -New Essays in the Phlosophy of Theology, Oxford
University Press Inc., New York, 2009
- 51 -

Consciousness, Free Will, and Transformation

Science and Ancient Samkhya
Pratibha Gramann Ph.D.

Takshila University
Santa Clara, CA USA
contactdrpratibha@gmail.com
Abstract: The existence of free will has been discovered by He finds philosophical roots to affirm the human free will
neurological studies. However there is a lack of research in in psychologist William James and in Charles Darwin [6].
what initiates the firing of free will within the nerve endings.
If free will exists, what is the root of the free will
This paper addresses that issue using ancient knowledge about that is observed in the brain? What enlivens the firing of the
consciousness, three energies that characterize matter, prana, nerve endings?
and transformation. The premise made is that regular pranayam
breath practices are a key-method to initiate the firing of nerve
synapse in the brain to develop free will and transformation III. Consciousness, Matter, and Breath
Two separate, eternal principles characterize Samkhya.
Keywords-- consciousness; matter; Samkhya; free will; These are consciousness purusha and matter prakriti, also
energetics; transformation) referred to as nature. The two principles are described as
ever existing in proximity of each other, though they do
not interact. Each is eternal and separate and they have a
I. Introduction relationship. Matter works because it is in the proximity of
consciousness. Consciousness enlivens the otherwise inert
Some people claim that there is no free will in life. matter. Consciousness is like an inspiration that ignites
For those persons, there probably is no free will, choice, matter to express its potential. Relative to the premise of
opportunity, or transformation. It can be a depressing this paper, nerve endings are enlivened by the consciousness
situation. Samkhya philosophy offers a new opportunity of within prana and pranayam breath practices [4].
investigation for the modern mind. Samkhya was written by
Kapila more than 2500 hundred years ago, prior to the era Consciousness is transported within human form and
of Buddha. It is atheistic and dualistic. It gives a complete all organisms by way of prana. Breath plus consciousness
explanation of creation, the life principle, the principle equals prana. Breath is related to air and wind, and these
of matter composed of three energies, the makeup and carry what is in their vicinity [4].
functioning of the mind, the factors that lead to a person’s
transformation away from mental suffering and painfulness, This is the path by which consciousness pervades the
and the concept of a final liberation [2]. body and the mind. It is carried to every corner and space
from large to small, including minute tissues and unseen
nerve endings where synapse occurs.
The relationship between consciousness and matter is
II. Debate: Science and Consciousness the same as the relationship between a living and dead body.
Science has yet to solve the mystery of consciousness. At the time of death, the breath and consciousness leave the
By that is meant: Is consciousness a separate principle or body.
an integrated component of matter or nature. Neuroscience
seems to be closing in on discovering the type of relationship Consciousness: The characteristic of consciousness is
that links consciousness and matter. Studies that track the to pervade, and it is the principle of illumination, unseen.
brain’s neural activity and the synaptic jump between nerve Perhaps it is like the unseen principle of electricity that
endings suggest clues. Studies about the brain conducted is behind light. Consciousness remains an undivided
by Peter Tse at Dartmouth opens up the question about principle of oneness, no matter how many forms it enters.
the root of the firing of neurons. What is the process that Consciousness within is no different than the consciousness
initiates the firing, or synaptic jump between nerve endings? of the macrocosm. Consciousness within is like a magnet
Professor Tse argues that free will can be pinpointed by the around which matter accumulates [5].
microscopic workings, the firings found within the nerves. Internally, consciousness brings awareness to the mind,
- 52 -

to the intellect, thought, feeling, and sense of self. It acts like relationships [3].
a mirror, reflecting what is presented to it. The mirror never
changes, though one might experience a change as a result Nine subjects working in different professions were
of observing one’s reflection. Reflections bring an increase interviewed. Then they responded to twelve statements
in awareness. using Likert Scales. The interview data was analyzed for
themes, while the mean, median, and mode was calculated
The sun could be compared to consciousness because for the Likert Scale data. The qualitative and quantitative
its light brings objects into awareness. However the sun has data were then compared to each other.
form, and consciousness has no form. Rather, consciousness
is the illumination that enlivens the sun’s characteristic of The analysis of the interview transcripts revealed 7
light. themes: pranayam procedures, focus and concentration,
influence on work performance, influence on relationships,
Matter, Tangible and Subtle: The principle of matter health and diet, spiritual views, and the single most salient
prakriti is the opposite of consciousness. It is composed of influence of pranayam on everyday life. The analysis of
innumerable combinations of three energies gunas: light the Likert Scale showed high levels of agreement with
sattwa motion rajas, and dullness tamas. In Samkhya, these the interview data in the areas of focus and attention span;
three energies do all the work and activity in everything, clarity; ability to overcome feelings of suffering and grief;
even the unseen [7]. Working consciously with these physical and mental stamina; ability to experience kindness
energies, a person can bring about change and free will. and compassion; discipline or self-regulation; quality of
Breath falls within the domain of matter. In this situation, relationships; preparation for deeper levels of meditation;
consciousness and breath are attached as the breath carries enhanced performance for the rest of the day; ability to
consciousness throughout the organism. Every tissue, space experience deeper insights; ability to make changes; and
and barely discernible nerve ending is enlivened. agreement that sitting in quiet meditation after pranayam
increased its influence.
Light and knowledge in combination contain the largest
amount of consciousness. It is the energy of light combined Q U E S T I O N
with intelligence that brings the will to desire change. The 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
thoughts of having more choices and freedom from mental
pain become the desire for free will. The question then Resp A 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 4 4 5
becomes how to develop free will. Resp B 5 4 4 4 3 4 3 5 4 4 4 4
Resp C 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 5 3 4 3 4
Resp D 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 4
IV. BRAIN, ENERGETICS, AND PRANAYAMA Resp E 5 5 5 3 4 3 4 5 4 3 4 5
Resp F 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 4 5 5 5 5
Science is confirming a location of free will in the Resp G 5 5 5 5 4 5 5 5 4 4 4 5
brain, and the firing of synapse demonstrates this process Resp H 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Resp I 5 4 5 5 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 4
[6]. Could the actions of light, motion, and dullness be
responsible for the firing? Can the movement of prana MEAN 4.78 4.56 4.56 4.44 4.11 4.22 4.44 4.78 4.22 4.22 4.00 4.56
influence the movement in the brain of these three energies? MEDIAN 5 5 5 5 4 4 5 5 4 4 4 5
MODE 5 5 5 5 4 4 5 5 4 4 4 5
Ancient breath practices pranayam are a key method to
activate the flow of prana. Pranayam knits the breath with Table 1. Likert Scale: Graph of Mean, Median, Mode
the nerves. In turn the processes of the body and mind are
initiated. This includes activation of brain cells. It is entirely
possible that pranayam helps the nervous system and brain
to develop qualities. Will power is a quality associated with Quantitative Findings of the Likert Scale
one-pointedness and firmness. If free will develops, choice,
and opportunities are natural outcomes.
Below is a description of the essential themes that were
Pranayam is a two-part word. In Sanskrit, prana means assessed in the 12-statement Likert Scale, Table 1. Nearly
life, and yama means death. Together pranayam means all the responses were in the range of Strongly Agree or
giving life to protect from death. This includes prevention Agree at the top of the five-point scale. There were a few
of decay of the physical and mental. At different stages responses of Neither Agree or Disagree. There were no
of life, there is a gradual change that lessens the mind’s responses at all in the lowest two categories of Disagree
concentration power [5]. Regular pranayam can keep this or Strongly Disagree. A description of the 12 themes on
force intact. It also reduces the need for physical exercise. which the participants marked their degree of agreement or
disagreement follows:
V. EFFECTS OF REGULAR PRANAYAM 1) increase of attention and concentration
A study was carried out to investigate the effects of 1) increase of clarity
pranayam on long time regular practitioners of pranayam. 1) helps to overcome feelings of suffering and sorrow
The mixed-methods study examined the perspectives 1) stamina to work longer without tiring
and experiences of long time practitioners regarding their 1) enables increased ability for kindness and
daily pranayam breath practice. The aim was to explore compassion
the influence of pranaayam on focus and attention, and 1) helps increased discipline or self-regulation
its collateral effects on everyday life, especially work and
1) improves quality of relationships
- 53 -

1) prepares one for deeper levels of meditation feelings about self and life, a transformation.
1) influences performance for the rest of the day Summary of Results: It is a novel result to come up with
1) leads to deeper insights about life parallel findings between science and ancient knowledge.
1) helpful to make a change in one’s life If both describe a similar or same situation, then it a
1) silent sitting meditation enhances the influence of breakthrough for knowledge. It is entirely plausible that
breath practices. regular pranayam breath practice affects the nervous system
The Likert Scale in Table 1 is read from a vertical position and influences the firing of neurons, giving rise to more
starting with the statements at the top. The value assigned to consciousness, free will, and transformation. In future
each response is: Strongly agree, 5; Agree, 4; Neither agree studies, it would be interesting to investigate whether the
nor disagree, 3; Disagree, 2; Strongly disagree, 1. character of firing neurons differs in states of free will and
in states of addiction. Additional studies that investigate the
The statistical result of each statement’s mean, median, triple operation of light, motion, and dullness would also be
and mode fell in the range between 5 and 4. interesting.
MEAN = Arithmetic average of set. Author’s Bio: Dr. Pratibha Gramann received her
MEDIAN = Middle number in set arranged from lowest doctorate in psychology, consciousness and spirituality from
Saybrook University, a transpersonal psychology graduate
value to highest. school in San Francisco. Dr. Gramann is a consultant. Dr.
MODE = Number that occurs most frequently in a set. Gramann gives trainings in pranayam breath practices,
Results of 5 and 4 indicate a high correspondence of mindfulness, and lifestyle. She is a lecturer in psychology,
agreement that a regular pranayam breath practice ancient philosophy, and Ayurvedic medicine.
influences the participant’s mental, psychological, and
other aspects of daily life. REFERENCES
The main implication of this study is that a regular practice
of pranayam breath procedures can be beneficial. The most
provocative result was the influence of pranayam on the [1] Aranya, Hariharananda Sw., Samkhya-yogacharya.,
ability to direct attention. Examples included enhancement Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali. (4th ed.) New York: State
of focus on a work task, improved interactions, holding a University of New York, 1983.
conversation without interruption of extraneous thoughts, [2] Chakravarti, Pulinbihari, Origin and Development of
a good sense of self, less reactive irritable responses, the Samkhya System of Thought. (2nd ed.) New Delhi:
mindfulness and increased awareness, the state of presence, Munishiram Manoharlal, 1975
and peacefulness in everyday life [3]. [3] Gramann, Pratibha, An exploration of the effects of
pranayam breath procedures on work, relationships, health,
and spirituality. United States, California: Ann Arbor;
VI. MIND, ADDICTIONS, FREE WILL Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center, 2013.
Online document. [dissertation]. http://gradworks.umi.
Free will is a mental quality that operates in the psycho- com/35/63/3563528.html
physiological. Consider the mind as an operation of the [4] Larson, G. James and Bhattacharya, Ram Shankar,
senses, the intellect, and the ego [1]. This is a general view Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, vol.4, Samkhya A
of the mind both in western psychology and in ancient Dualist Tradition in Indian Philosophy. Delhi: Motilal
Samkhya. Banarsidass, 1987.
Imagine the addictions of excessive alcohol, sex, [5] Rao, K. Ramakrishna, Consciousness Studies: Cross
overeating, drugs, also post trauma stress disorders. The Cultural Perspectives. North Carolina: McFarland, 2002.
senses collect data from the environment and from memory. [6] Tse, Peter, The Neural Basis of Free Will: Criterial
This data travels to the intellect where it is identified and Causation. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2013.
analyzed. The ego performs the role of acceptance or [7] Virupakshananda, Swami, Samkhya Karika of Isvara Krsna.
rejection, and it forms a relationship toward the object of Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 2006.
addiction. If the mind feels that it has no choice or options,
it submits to the object of addiction. In turn, grasping desires
overtake the psycho-physiological.
What is carrying the data, the analysis, and the emotional
grasping? It is the breath that carries everything within the
psycho-physiological [4]. If the breath is not under ones’
control, then it is difficult to have options. One feels more
like a victim.
On the other hand, if the prana is directed to unite with
the nervous system, an inner strength develops that stabilizes
the nerves and the emotions. Grasping falls away. Free
will increases, and choice and options become forefront.
The mind becomes sattvic, more focused, intelligent, self-
regulated and interested in a lifestyle that leads to wholesome
- 54 -

1) prepares one for deeper levels of meditation feelings about self and life, a transformation.
1) influences performance for the rest of the day Summary of Results: It is a novel result to come up with
1) leads to deeper insights about life parallel findings between science and ancient knowledge.
1) helpful to make a change in one’s life If both describe a similar or same situation, then it a
1) silent sitting meditation enhances the influence of breakthrough for knowledge. It is entirely plausible that
breath practices. regular pranayam breath practice affects the nervous system
The Likert Scale in Table 1 is read from a vertical position and influences the firing of neurons, giving rise to more
starting with the statements at the top. The value assigned to consciousness, free will, and transformation. In future
each response is: Strongly agree, 5; Agree, 4; Neither agree studies, it would be interesting to investigate whether the
nor disagree, 3; Disagree, 2; Strongly disagree, 1. character of firing neurons differs in states of free will and
in states of addiction. Additional studies that investigate the
The statistical result of each statement’s mean, median, triple operation of light, motion, and dullness would also be
and mode fell in the range between 5 and 4. interesting.
MEAN = Arithmetic average of set. Author’s Bio: Dr. Pratibha Gramann received her
MEDIAN = Middle number in set arranged from lowest doctorate in psychology, consciousness and spirituality from
Saybrook University, a transpersonal psychology graduate
value to highest. school in San Francisco. Dr. Gramann is a consultant. Dr.
MODE = Number that occurs most frequently in a set. Gramann gives trainings in pranayam breath practices,
Results of 5 and 4 indicate a high correspondence of mindfulness, and lifestyle. She is a lecturer in psychology,
agreement that a regular pranayam breath practice ancient philosophy, and Ayurvedic medicine.
influences the participant’s mental, psychological, and
other aspects of daily life. REFERENCES
The main implication of this study is that a regular practice
of pranayam breath procedures can be beneficial. The most
provocative result was the influence of pranayam on the [1] Aranya, Hariharananda Sw., Samkhya-yogacharya.,
ability to direct attention. Examples included enhancement Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali. (4th ed.) New York: State
of focus on a work task, improved interactions, holding a University of New York, 1983.
conversation without interruption of extraneous thoughts, [2] Chakravarti, Pulinbihari, Origin and Development of
a good sense of self, less reactive irritable responses, the Samkhya System of Thought. (2nd ed.) New Delhi:
mindfulness and increased awareness, the state of presence, Munishiram Manoharlal, 1975
and peacefulness in everyday life [3]. [3] Gramann, Pratibha, An exploration of the effects of
pranayam breath procedures on work, relationships, health,
and spirituality. United States, California: Ann Arbor;
I. MIND, ADDICTIONS, FREE WILL Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center, 2013.
Online document. [dissertation]. http://gradworks.umi.
Free will is a mental quality that operates in the psycho- com/35/63/3563528.html
physiological. Consider the mind as an operation of the [4] Larson, G. James and Bhattacharya, Ram Shankar,
senses, the intellect, and the ego [1]. This is a general view Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, vol.4, Samkhya A
of the mind both in western psychology and in ancient Dualist Tradition in Indian Philosophy. Delhi: Motilal
Samkhya. Banarsidass, 1987.
Imagine the addictions of excessive alcohol, sex, [5] Rao, K. Ramakrishna, Consciousness Studies: Cross
overeating, drugs, also post trauma stress disorders. The Cultural Perspectives. North Carolina: McFarland, 2002.
senses collect data from the environment and from memory. [6] Tse, Peter, The Neural Basis of Free Will: Criterial
This data travels to the intellect where it is identified and Causation. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2013.
analyzed. The ego performs the role of acceptance or [7] Virupakshananda, Swami, Samkhya Karika of Isvara Krsna.
rejection, and it forms a relationship toward the object of Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 2006.
addiction. If the mind feels that it has no choice or options,
it submits to the object of addiction. In turn, grasping desires
overtake the psycho-physiological.
What is carrying the data, the analysis, and the emotional
grasping? It is the breath that carries everything within the
psycho-physiological [4]. If the breath is not under ones’
control, then it is difficult to have options. One feels more
like a victim.
On the other hand, if the prana is directed to unite with
the nervous system, an inner strength develops that stabilizes
the nerves and the emotions. Grasping falls away. Free
will increases, and choice and options become forefront.
The mind becomes sattvic, more focused, intelligent, self-
regulated and interested in a lifestyle that leads to wholesome
- 55 -

Life
An Aristotelian Account of Evolution

and the Contemporary Philosophy of Biology
Mariusz Tabaczek, O.P.

Graduate Theological Union
Berkeley, California, USA
mtabaczek@gmail.com
Abstract: The anti-reductionist character of the recent Manicheanism in which intelligence, dragging finality
philosophy of biology and the dynamic development of the with it, is condemned to dwell in the house of geometry
science of emergent properties prove that the time is ripe and evil. (Étienne Gilson, From Aristotle to Darwin and
to reintroduce the thought of Aristotle, the first advocate Back Again)
of a “top-down” approach in life-sciences, back into the
science/philosophy debate. His philosophy of nature I. Introduction
provides profound insights particularly in the context of the
contemporary science of evolution, which is still struggling Any attempt at a reliable dialogue between theology
with the questions of form (species), teleology, and the role of
and science requires from us, at first, a careful analysis of
the philosophical aspects concerning scientific theories,
chance in evolutionary processes. However, although Aristotle as well as the philosophical presuppositions and language
is referenced in the evolutionary debate, a thorough analysis grounding theological reflection. Thus, philosophy of
of his theory of hylomorphism and the classical principle of science, philosophy of nature, and metaphysics become a
causality which he proposes is still needed in this exchange. bridge between science and theology, protecting both sides
Such is the main concern of the first part of the present from misunderstanding and confusion. The aim of this
article which shows Aristotle’s metaphysics of substance article is to bring the contemporary philosophy of biological
as an open system, ready to incorporate new hypothesis of evolution and Aristotle’s theory of hylomorphism, teleology
modern and contemporary science. The second part begins and chance, into a conversation, which may further serve as
with the historical exploration of the trajectory from Darwin a background for a theological reflection on divine action in
to Darwinism regarded as a metaphysical position. This
evolution, rooted in Aristotelian/Thomistic tradition.
exploration leads to an inquiry into the central topics of the One of the major advances of the contemporary
present debate in the philosophy of evolutionary biology. It philosophy of biology is its criticism of the predominant
shows that Aristotle’s understanding of species, teleology, and reductionist dogma and the “bottom-up” approach in life-
chance – in the context of his fourfold notion of causality – sciences. In the context of this methodological change,
has a considerable explanatory power which may enhance our Aristotle – the first and one of the greatest philosophers of
understanding of the nature of evolutionary processes. This
biology – reenters science/philosophy debate, presenting a
position which cannot be neglected. While the predecessors
fact may inspire, in turn, a retrieval of the classical theology of his philosophical reflection on nature found it necessary to
of divine action, based on Aristotelian metaphysics, in the specify the most basic and enduring entities, and define the
science/theology dialogue. The aim of the present article is to principles of the compositional explanation of everything
prepare a philosophical ground for such project. else, Aristotle opted for a “top-down” approach in life-
sciences. As the first anti-reductionist, he argued that natural
Keywords: Aristotle; Darwin; evolution; natural selection; objects owe their characteristic modes of being and acting
hylomorphism; principle of causation; teleology; chance; to their formal natures. Aristotle’s way of doing biology
essentialism reflected the basic principles of his substance metaphysics,
founded on the concepts of hylomorphism (material
Motto: Everything is mechanical in a machine, except and formal composition of entities), teleology, essence,
the idea to construct it, which has dictated the plan of chance and necessity, and thus remained in opposition to
it. One hardly dares to touch the luminous, translucent materialistic and reductionist explanations found among
page wherein Creative Evolution develops perfectly Pre-Socratics.
self-assured views, nourished by truths of every sort, Although some of the affinities between Aristotle’s
and nevertheless dominated by a kind of metaphysical biology and the contemporary anti-reductionism of the science
- 57 -
http://dialogo-conf.com LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

of emergent properties seem to be apparent and undeniable Aristotle with Darwin seems like an oxymoron in the
for certain participants of the science/philosophy debate,1 context of the general opinion that the latter ultimately
other scientists and philosophers do not hesitate to notice proved the inadequacy of the biology of the former. A
and emphasize deep and far-reaching differences between radical discrepancy between the evolution of species and
these two traditions. Aristotle is accused of presenting a metaphysics of substances that excludes any notion of
too static an explanation of nature. His metaphysics of change or transformation of species seems evident and
substances is opposed to the process understanding of the undeniable. However, although Aristotle seems to explicitly
most basic levels of the fabric of the cosmos. His definition reject evolution, a careful study of his thought shows that
of species as fixed and enduring essences seems to remain he was concerned with the dynamics of change in nature,
in radical opposition to evolutionary theory, and his concept and that the basic categories of his metaphysics, such as
of teleology (final causation) appears to many as based on hylomorphism, principles of causation, account of chance,
an unacceptable idea of backward causality of future goals and even the problem of species, do not rule out the concept
on the present state of affairs.2 of evolution. Quite the opposite, Aristotle’s metaphysics
proves to be an open system, ready to incorporate new
Nevertheless, I believe that many of these difficulties hypothesis of modern and contemporary science. I will now
can be resolved as the basic assumptions of the Aristotle’s discuss to a greater extent a possible response of Aristotle to
philosophical system prove flexible enough to respond the theory of evolution.
to current issues debated in science and philosophy of
science. I claim that we find a particular example of this
actuality of Aristotle’s natural philosophy in the context A. The Concept of Hylomorphism and Evolution
of the contemporary science of evolution, which returns In order to understand better the process of generation,
to the questions of understanding of forms (species), change, corruption, and decay, and give a proper description
teleology, and the role of chance in evolutionary processes. of both changing and persistent aspects of nature, Aristotle
Moreover, I think that the Aristotelian tradition successfully introduces the categories of mater and form. The first one
refutes the metaphysical claims of naïve mechanicism, and refers not only to the stuff out of which things are made.3
reductionism, presented in the past by some radical Neo- The idea of ‘primary matter’ (prōtē hulē) is the principle
Darwinists. of potentiality, something that persists through all changes
that a given substance can be exposed to, something that
In the first part of this article I will discuss metaphysical constitutes the very possibility of being a substance at all:
aspects of the theory of evolution in its encounter with
hylomorphism and the classical principle of causation The matter comes to be and ceases to be in one sense,
which says that higher effects cannot have lower causes. while in another it does not. As that which contains the
This consideration will serve as a necessary background privation, it ceases to be in its own nature, for what
for the second section. This second section will first begin ceases to be – the privation – is contained within it. But
with a historical inquiry exploring the transition from
Darwin to Darwinism as a metaphysical position. Next, I as potentiality it does not cease to be in its own nature, but
will concentrate on philosophical aspects of species, natural is necessarily outside the sphere of becoming and ceasing
selection, teleology, and chance in the theory of evolution. I to be. (…) For my definition of matter is just this – the
will try to show that the Aristotelian philosophical tradition primary substratum of each thing, from which it comes to
remains relevant with regard to some issues discussed be without qualification, and which persists in the result.4
recently among philosophers of biology.
Form, on the other hand, is not only an organizing
Metaphysics of Evolution principle arranging the geometrical structure and shape
of the constituent parts of an entity (substance).5 It is an
If there exists a metaphysical foundation for the theory
of evolution one would not expect to find it in the substance 3 “[T]hat out of which a thing comes to be and which persists, is called
metaphysics of Aristotle and his followers. Juxtaposing ‘cause’, e.g. the bronze of the statue, the silver of the bowl, and the
1 See for instance Philip Clayton, “Conceptual Foundations of Emergence genera of which the bronze and the silver are species” (Aristotle, Physics
Theory,” in The Re-Emergence of Emergence, edited by Philip Clayton, in The Basic Works of Aristotle, edited by Richard McKeon [New York:
and Paul Davies (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), The Modern Library, 2001], II, 3 [194b 24-25], from now on Phys.). See
4-5; Terrence Deacon, Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from also Aristotle, Metaphysics, in The Basic Works of Aristotle, edited by
Matter (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011), 34-7, 230- Richard McKeon (New York: The Modern Library, 2001), V, 2 (1013a
4; Claus Emmeche, Simo Køppe, and Frederic Stjernfeld, “Levels, 24-25), from now on Meta.
Emergence, and Three Versions of Downward Causation,” in Downward 4 Aristotle, Phys. I, 9 (192a 25-33). See also Phys. I, 7 (191a 8-12); II, 7
Causation. Mind, Bodies and Matter, edited by Peter Bøgh Andersen, (198a 21-22); Meta. VII, 3 (1029a 20-21); VIII, 4 (1044a 15-23); IX, 7
Claus Emmeche, Niels O. Finnemann, and Peder Voetmann Christiansen (1049a 19-22, 24).
(Aarhus, Oxford: Aarhus University Press, 2000), 13-34; Alvaro 5 “’Cause’ means (…) (2) The form or pattern, i.e. the definition of
Moreno, and Jon Umerez, “Downward Causation at the Core of Living the essence, and the classes which include this (e.g. the ratio 2:1 and
Organization,” in Downward Causation. Mind, Bodies and Matter, number in general are causes of the octave), and the parts included in
edited by Peter Bøgh Andersen, Claus Emmeche, Niels O. Finnemann, the definition” (Aristotle, Meta. V, 2 [1013a 27-28]). See also Phys. II, 3
and Peder Voetmann Christiansen (Aarhus, Oxford: Aarhus University (194b 26-27). In both definitions of formal causation Aristotle uses the
Press, 2000), 99-116. term “ὁ λόγος τοῦ τί ἦν εἶναι,” which Gaye translates as “the statement
2 See for instance Mark H. Bickhard and Donald T. Campbell, Emergence, of the essence,” and Ross as “the definition of the essence.” However,
http://www.lehigh.edu/~mhb0/emergence.html (accessed 26 September, Aristotle uses also two other terms: μορφή and εἴδος which translate as
2014); Menno Hulswit, “How Causal is Downward Causation?,” Journal “shape” or “appearance.” These may bring a confusion and a reduction
for General Philosophy of Science vol. 36, no. 2, p. 276, 2005. of form to a geometrical shape, which flattens out Aristotle’s original
- 58 -

informing principle of actuality, that, by which a thing is This hylomorphic doctrine of Aristotle’s metaphysics
what it is; an intrinsic, determining principle that actualizes proves to be of special importance for the theory of evolution.
primary matter and thus constitutes an individual being. Both matter and form, refer to the principles of persistence
The meaning of form is easier to grasp in the context of and change. Aristotle claims, “The matter comes to be and
Aristotle’s account of accidental and substantial change: ceases to be in one sense, while in another it does not.” By
saying this, he emphasizes that, when in-formed, primary
[T]here is ‘alteration’ when the substratum is perceptible matter as the subject of the privation of form, somehow
and persists, but changes in its own properties, the “ceases to be.” But on the other hand, its potentiality is
properties in question being opposed to one another never lost. Because of this, primary matter is “outside the
either as contraries or as intermediates. The body, e.g. sphere of becoming and ceasing to be”, and “persists in the
although persisting as the same body, is now healthy and result.”8 When speaking about form, Aristotle argues that
now ill; and the bronze is now spherical and at another although the substantial forms of living and non-living
time angular, and yet remains the same bronze. But when beings are fixed, nevertheless, substances may be altered
nothing perceptible persists in its identity as a substratum, with respect to their accidental forms (e.g. green apple
changing its color from green to red when ripe). What is
and the thing changes as a whole (when e.g. the seed as
more, when the primary matter of an already existing being
a whole is converted into blood, or water into air, or air is properly disposed, it may receive a new substantial form
as a whole into water), such an occurrence is no longer in a process of the coming-to-be of a new substance, that is
‘alteration’. It is a coming-to-be of one substance and ‘generation’ or ‘corruption.’9
a passing-away of the other-especially if the change
proceeds from an imperceptible something to something The idea of the disposition of matter is related to a natural
tendency of matter to be in-formed by more perfect forms.
perceptible (either to touch or to all the senses). 6
Aristotle recognizes an ascent of perfection of the beings
The form of an entity body is therefore more than in nature. On his scala naturae we can observe a gradual
just a shape. As an intrinsic and constitutive principle of crescendo from non-living, through plant and animal, to
the essence of its being, substantial form persists through human forms:
accidental changes. However, Aristotle notes that a thing
can change as a whole in a way which brings not only an Nature proceeds little by little from things lifeless to
alteration of an existent being, but the coming-to-be of a animal life in such a way that it is impossible to determine
new substance. the exact line of demarcation, nor on which side thereof an
intermediate form should lie.10
Matter and form are intrinsically related for Aristotle.
They cannot exist separately. In other words, we know form the body are one: it is as meaningless as to ask whether the wax and the
only as realized in primary matter, and we know primary shape given to it by the stamp are one, or generally the matter of a thing
matter only as in-formed; there is no place for Platonic and that of which it is the matter. Unity has many senses (as many as ‘is’
dualism here. Aristotle observes a substantial unity of being has), but the most proper and fundamental sense of both is the relation of
at first, and introduces a distinction between primary matter an actuality to that of which it is the actuality” (Aristotle, On the Soul, in
and substantial form to explain this unity and the fact that The Basic Works of Aristotle, edited by Richard McKeon [New York: The
things can change. In the book VIII of the Metaphysics we Modern Library, 2001], II, 1 [412a 6-9]). See also Aristotle, On the Parts
read: of Animals, in The Basic Works of Aristotle, vol. 5, edited by J. A. Smith
and W. D. Ross (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1912), I, 1 (640b 22-29), from
What then, is it that makes man one; why is he one and now on Part. An.
not many? (...) [I]f, as we say, one element is matter
8 Aristotle, Phys. I, 9 (192a 25-33).
and another is form, and one is potentially and the other
actually, the question will no longer be thought a difficulty. 9 The need for proportion between form and matter (act and
potency) is emphasized by Aristotle in Meta. VIII, 4 (1044a 15-23), and
(...) The difficulty disappears, because the one is matter,
even more explicitly by Aquinas in his Commentary on Metaphysics:
the other form. (...) [T]he proximate matter and the form “From the things which are said here then it is evident that there is one
are one and the same thing, the one potentially, and the first matter for all generable and corruptible things, but different proper
other actually. (...) Therefore there is no other cause here matters for different things” (Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on The
unless there is something which caused the movement Metaphysics of Aristotle. 2 Vols. Translated by John Rowan [Chicago:
from potency into actuality.7 Regnery Press, 1961], VIII, lect. 4 [§1730], from now on In meta.). In
Summa contra gentiles he adds: “Thus, form and matter must always
idea. Aristotle uses one more term: ἐντελέχεια, which relates formal be mutually proportioned and, as it were, naturally adapted, because the
to final causation and denotes form as actualized in the final state of a proper act is produced in its proper matter. That is why matter and form
being. must always agree with one another in respect to multiplicity and unity”
(Thomas Aquinas, On the Truth of the Catholic Faith: Summa Contra
6 Aristotle, On the Generation of Animals, in The Basic Works of Gentiles. 4 Vols., translated by Anton C. Pegis et al. [Garden City, New
Aristotle, vol. 5, edited by J. A. Smith and W. D. Ross (Oxford: Clarendon York: Image Books, 1955-1957], II, 81, no. 7, from now on SCG).
Press, 1912), I, 4 (319b 10-18), from now on On Gen. See also Aristotle
10 Aristotle, The History of Animals, in The Basic Works of
On Generation and Corruption, in The Basic Works of Aristotle, edited by
Aristotle, vol. 4, edited by J. A. Smith and W. D. Ross (Oxford: Clarendon
Richard McKeon (New York: The Modern Library, 2001), I, 4 (319b 10-
Press, 1910), VIII, 1 (588b 4-6), from now on Hist. An. Aristotle gives
18).
at this point an example of the ascent of nature from plants to animals:
7 Aristotle, Meta. VIII, 4 (1045a 14, 21-25, 29-30; 1045b 18- “[T]here is observed in plants a continuous scale of ascent towards the
19, 21-2). We find a similar argumentation in On the Soul: “That is why animal. So, in the sea, there are certain objects concerning which one
we can wholly dismiss as unnecessary the question whether the soul and would be at a loss to determine whether they be animal or vegetable”
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[N]ature passes from lifeless objects to animals in such to be in-formed by more perfect forms, helps us to think
unbroken sequence, interposing between them beings about metaphysical aspects of the mechanism of evolution.
which live and yet are not animals, that scarcely any Evolution can be understood, according to Moreno and
difference seems to exist between two neighbouring O’Rourke, as a series of accidental changes in the structure
groups owing to their close proximity.11 of genetic material (DNA), effecting the disposition of
primary matter, and leading to a precise instant at which the
There is a good deal of overlapping between the various primary matter of the egg and sperm, when joined, is not
classes.12 disposed to the old substantial form (F1) of the parents, but
to a new substantial form (F2), constituting a new species. It
Similar is the position of Aquinas, one of the most takes many mutations (outcomes of which are regulated by
prominent commentators of Aristotle, who also notices a natural selection) to produce such an effect, and its actual
tendency of nature towards superior forms in the process of occurrence may be extremely difficult to capture. But this
generation and corruption. In his Summa contra gentiles we does not exclude the possibility of its occurring, especially
find an important reflection on the hierarchy of degrees in in a situation where members of a species migrate to a new
substantial transformation, which I should quote extensively: environment and can be modified gradually in subsequent
[T]he more posterior and more perfect an act is, the more generations, to the point where they cannot mate with the
descendants of their ancestors any more. Thus it becomes
fundamentally is the inclination of matter directed toward
clear that, even if Aristotle’s biological research was far from
it. Hence in regard to the last and most perfect act that discovering the possibility of the transformation of species,
matter can attain, the inclination of matter whereby it his metaphysics left much room for such a possibility.14
desires form must be inclined as toward the ultimate end
of generation. Now, among the acts pertaining to forms,
B. Causation Principle and Evolution
certain gradations are found. Thus, primary matter is in
potency, first of all, to the form of an element. When it is An Aristotelian response to the theory of evolution faces
another important metaphysical problem. It seems to violate
existing under the form of an element it is in potency to
the basic philosophical principle of causation, which says
the form of a mixed body; that is why the elements are that the higher cannot come from the lower.15 To deal with
matter for the mixed body. Considered under the form of this difficulty we should first notice a fundamental difference
a mixed body, it is in potency to a vegetative soul, for this between the metaphysical order of various degrees of
sort of soul is the act of a body. In turn, the vegetative perfection of different ‘essences,’ and the biological order
soul is in potency to a sensitive soul, and a sensitive one of different forms of life which is based on a historical and
to an intellectual one. (...) So, elements exist for the sake phenomenological analysis. Metaphysical categories of
of mixed bodies; these latter exist for the sake of living ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ should not be equated with biological
bodies, among which plants exist for animals, and animals concepts describing organisms as ‘more complex’ and
for men. Therefore, man is the end of the whole order of ‘better adapted.’ In other words, ‘more complex’ and ‘better
adapted’ do not presuppose a higher perfection of ‘essence.’
generation.13
Insects, for instance, are certainly not the highest organisms
Our reflection on hylomorphism, substantial and in terms of the metaphysical perfection of their ‘essence,’
accidental change, the disposition of matter and its tendency but they can be regarded as a culmination of an evolutionary
(Hist. An. 588b 11-13). With the advance of modern science we find it line in terms of adaptation to their environmental niche.
easier to define taxon-specific characteristics. That is why, when biology speaks of different species, it
11 Aristotle, On the Parts of Animals, in The Basic Works of does not mean to speak of different ‘essences,’ as it is not
Aristotle, vol. 5, edited by J. A. Smith and W. D. Ross (Oxford: Clarendon interested in levels of ontological perfection.
Press, 1912), IV, 5 (681a 12-15), from now on Par. An. Aristotle gives
Moreover, the mechanism of biological evolution does
an example of the sponge which here he classifies as a plant: “A sponge,
then, as already said, in these respects completely resembles a plant,
not coincide with the philosophical notion of efficient
that throughout its life it is attached to a rock, and that when separated
causality. To ‘descend from,’ or to ‘be produced out of’
from this it dies” (Par. An. 681a 15-17), whereas in History of Animals
differs in meaning from the philosophical notion of being
he compares it to animals, due to its sensation: “Stationary animals are ‘caused’ or ‘produced by.’ In addition, the emphasis on the
found in water, but no such creature is found on dry land. In the water are historical aspect of the development of various species helps
many creatures that live in close adhesion to an external object, as is the us to see it as a complex result of many causal influences.
case with several kinds of oyster. And, by the way, the sponge appears to The mechanism of evolution would then seem to involve
be endowed with a certain sensibility” (Hist. An. I, 1 [487b 9-10]). 14 Moreno, “Some Philosophical Considerations,” 429-31;
12 Aristotle, Gen. An. II, 1 (732b 15). See also Fran O’Rourke, O’Rourke, “Aristotle,” 26-7: “If Aristotle’s metaphysical analysis of
“Aristotle and the Metaphysics of Evolution,” The Review of Metaphysics growth and change is correct, the principles of form and the affirmation
no. 58, pp. 39-40, Sept., 2004. He claims that “Without exaggerating its of potency will hold a fortiori for the evolutionary process” (O’Rourke,
importance, Aristotle recognizes man’s link to the primates: the ape, the “Aristotle,” 27).
monkey, and the baboon, he states, dualize in their nature with man and 15 “[T]he begetter is of the same kind as the begotten” (Meta.
the quadrupeds” (Hist. An. II, 8 [502a 16-18], transl. A. L. Peck). In VII, 8 [1033b 30]). “[N]o effect exceeds its cause” (Thomas Aquinas,
Par. An. IV, 10 (689b 31-33) Aristotle adds that: “The ape is, in form, Summa Theologica. 5 Vols., translated by the Fathers of the English
intermediate between man and quadruped, and belongs to neither, or to Dominican Province [Scotts Valley, CA: NovAntiqua, 2008], II-II, 32,
both.” 4, obj. 1, from now on ST). “[E]very agent produces its like” (SCG II,
13 SCG, III, 22, 7. See also Antonio Moreno, “Some Philosophical 21, no. 9). “[T]he order of causes necessarily corresponds to the order of
Considerations on Biological Evolution,” The Thomist no. 37, pp. 440- effects, since effects are commensurate with their causes” (SCG II, 15,
41, July, 1973. no. 4). “[E]very agent acts according as it is in act” (SCG II, 6, no. 4).
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a matrix of various causes. But can this matrix of causes themselves. For Darwin the principle of change was natural
or any one of them individually be considered the efficient selection. For this reason he did not want to be associated
cause of the eventual product of evolution? As Aristotle with the position of Spencer.18
conceives, an efficient cause always acts for a particular
end. But none of the factors involved in evolution is The capital truth of Darwin’s position was trifold: 1)
understood as intending its eventual product. That is why That species are groups of individuals that vary slightly from
we may conclude by emphasizing one more time that the one another, and have a tendency to increase their number
proportionate cause of the emergence of the new species is over generations in a process which is constrained by a
not a single law or force, but a concurrence of many causal struggle for existence, due to limited resources, diseases,
influences constitutive for an evolutionary event, or rather a and predators.19 2) That favorable variations in species are
history of evolutionary changes.16 preferred in virtue of a general phenomenon which Darwin
called ‘natural selection.’ 3) That over time this process
brings changes in descendant populations of an ancestor
II. Philosophical Problems of Darwin and Darwinism species that differentiate them enough so that they can be
The fact that the Aristotelian tradition is ready to classified as different species.20 Darwin wanted to stay away
accommodate the principles of evolution does not mean that from the philosophical baggage of the term ‘evolution’ used
it will do so uncritically. This tradition’s careful analysis by Spencer. He referred rather to the idea of ‘transmutation
allows us to distinguish between evolutionary science and of species’ or ‘change of species by descent,’ which better
the philosophical conclusions drawn from it. It also proves described his position. Knowing that his theory was in
to be an important voice in the discussion of species, natural opposition to the literal reading of the Bible, he argued
selection, teleology, and the role of chance in nature. I will against a naïve creationism and the notion of miraculous
refer to all of these problems in what follows. divine intervention in the coming-to-be of new species,
which he thought was incompatible with the scientific
spirit.21 But other than this, Darwin did not want to engage
A. Darwin Was Not an Evolutionist himself in philosophical or theological debates. He was and
As Étienne Gilson shows in his excellent study From wanted to remain a scientist. However, that history wrote
Aristotle to Darwin and Back Again, in Charles Darwin’s its own scenario which made Darwin a herald of the new
On the Origin of Species the word “evolution” appears only science and philosophy of evolution, is now undeniable.
once, in the last of the six editions of the book published Reflecting on this fact Gilson says:
during his lifetime. We can name at least two reasons
for which Darwin wanted to avoid using this term in his It is popularly asked who, Lamarck or Darwin, is the first
synthesis. First of all, it was already in use by a tradition inventor of the doctrine of evolution, although neither of
which had assigned to it a meaning radically opposite to them may have claimed the paternity of the discovery,
what he himself discovered. St. Augustine, St. Bonaventure, 18 In his Autobiography Darwin says: “I am not conscious of
and Malebranche, wanting to emphasize that after creation having profited in my work by Spencer’s writings. His deductive manner
nothing has been added to the world, claimed that everything of treating every subject is wholly opposed to my frame of mind. (…) His
originally contained in nature in the form of seminal notions fundamental generalizations (…) which I daresay may be very valuable
(rationes seminales) gradually ‘e-volves,’ ‘un-folds,’ or under a philosophical point of view, are of such a nature that they do not
‘en-velops’ in time. The most representative advocate of seem to me to be of any strictly scientific use” (The Autobiography of
this position in the 18th century was Charles Bonnet of Charles Darwin, 1809-1882, ed. Nora Barlow [London: Collins, 1958],
Geneva, who would place his own ideas of preformation 108-9). Spencer, on the other hand, defending his position says that “[J]
and evolution in opposition to the doctrine of epigenesis ust as the theory of the Solar System, held up to the time of Newton,
(growth by the successive acquisition and formation of new would have continued outstanding had Newton’s generalization been
parts). It is clear that this definition of evolution remained in disproved, so, were the theory of natural selection disproved, the theory
radical opposition to what Darwin was suggesting in his On of organic evolution would remain. (…) The theory of natural selection
the Origin of Species.17 is wrongly supposed to be identical with the theory of organic evolution;
and the theory of organic evolution is wrongly supposed to be identical
Darwin was also familiar with the work of Herbert with the theory of evolution et large” (Herbert Spencer, “Lord Salisbury
Spencer, a philosopher who regarded himself as a father of on Evolution, Inaugural Address to the British Association, 1894,” in
the doctrine of evolution, which he defined as “an integration The Nineteenth Century [November 1895], 740-1, 757).
of matter and dissipation of motion”. For a biologist such 19 Darwin adopted the idea of struggle for existence from Rev.
as Darwin, assertions of this kind were simply pointless. T. Malthus, who was concerned with social and political issues. Coming
But he must have been familiar with Spencer’s biological from a naturalist point of view he claimed that nature necessarily
views supporting Lamarckism, which he radically rejected, eliminates most of what she produces, due to the limited resources
after he had developed his idea of natural selection. sustaining populations. He applied this rule to human population as well
Spencer would agree with Lamarck saying that variations suggesting that the Poor Law should be abolished because it perpetuates
in the surrounding environment force organisms to modify and multiplies the ill-adapted. Darwin used political and economic views
16 Benedict Ashley, “Causality and Evolution,” The Thomist no. of Malthus in his biological explanation of nature. See Gilson, From
36, p. 215, Apr., 1972; Norbert Luyten, “Philosophical Implications of Aristotle, 88-95.
Evolution,” New Scholasticism vol. 25, pp. 300-302, July, 1951; Leo 20 James G. Lennox, “Darwinism and Neo-Darwinism,” in A
J. Elders, “The Philosophical and Religious Background of Charles Companion to the Philosophy of Biology, ed. Sahotra Sarkar and Anya
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution,” Doctor Communis vol. 37, p. 56, 1984. Plutynski (Oxford: Blackwell, 2011), 80.
17 Étienne Gilson, From Aristotle to Darwin and Back Again. 21 Darwin’s view of philosophical theology and his image of
A Journey in Final Causality, Species, and Evolution (San Francisco: God were rather superficial, which triggered criticism of his work in
Ignatius Press, 2009), 59-61. theological circles.
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while no one would dream of attributing it to Spencer, B. The Problem of Species

who claims it with good reason. This new unicorn, The fact that the very term ‘evolution’ is not found in
evolutionismus darwinianus, gives proof of a remarkable the book heralded as the foundation of the theory named
vitality. It owes this, no doubt, to its peculiar nature as after it, is itself a striking paradox; yet this paradox is
a hybrid of a philosophic doctrine and a scientific law. followed by another. The title of Darwin’s work is, On the
Having the generality of the one and the demonstrative Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the
certitude of the other, it is virtually indestructible.22 Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.
However, as Gilson notices, similar to Buffon and Lamarck,
Despite Spencer’s protests, the doctrine of evolution Darwin actually criticizes the very idea of species, taking a
was attributed to Darwin, who had changed his mind nominalist position in the dispute over universals. In the oft-
noticeably with the publication of the Descent of Man, in cited passage from the Origin Darwin states:
which he spoke of evolution as a ‘great principle.’ This must
have been a surprise for those who knew that thirteen years I look at the term species as one arbitrarily given, for
before he had written the Origin without even mentioning the sake of convenience, to a set of individuals closely
such a term. Nevertheless, Darwin was already regarded as resembling each other, (…) [I]t does not essentially differ
an apostle of evolution. Moreover, the term itself, which from the term variety, which is given to less distinct
had had philosophical roots and connotations in Spencer, and more fluctuating forms. The term variety, again, in
remained a philosophical doctrine in Darwin as well. The comparison with mere individual differences, is also
popular understanding of the Neo-Darwinian synthesis, applied arbitrarily, for convenience’s sake.25
which has been developed on the basis of Darwinism,
laboratory genetics, and the mathematical theory of Of course, the question remains of whether Darwin is
population genetics, is praised by many as a purely scientific truly denying the objective reality of species. Some say
theory: that he is merely pointing towards the problem that goes
back to Aristotle, who, as we have seen, also had difficulties
[T]here is a profound truth in the claim that ‘the distinguishing between non-living and living beings, plants
Evolutionary Synthesis’ is, at its core, a brilliant and animals, and neighbouring groups of animals, and saw
integration. Experimental and mathematical genetics are “a good deal of overlapping between the various classes.”26
wedded to those subjects that dominate On the Origin But I think that it is undeniable that Darwin, even if he does
of Species: natural selection acting on chance variation not reject the concept of species as such, dissolves it into
as the principal mechanism of evolutionary change; the an endless variety of individuals. Even if he cannot help
fossil record as the principal historical evidence of the using the term ‘species’ from time to time, his transformism
evolutionary process; and biogeographic distribution happens rather on the level of individuals.
providing overwhelming evidence that current populations And here comes the problem. If species are only
are the products of an evolutionary process.23 constructs of our mind, then evolution also exists merely on
the level of the abstraction of human reason. But this then
However, this optimism seems to be somewhat questions the very credibility of evolution as an empirical
exaggerated if not unjustified. Experimental and scientific theory. That is why in the Neo-Darwinian synthesis
mathematical genetics do not answer all the questions species are making their comeback. Ernst Mayer, one of the
concerning concrete examples of species and their leading evolutionary biologists of the 20th century, says that:
evolutionary traits. The fossil record, although much more
advanced and complete than in the times of Darwin, still [W]hoever, like Darwin, denies that species are non-
has many substantial gaps.24 But most importantly, the arbitrarily defined units of nature not only evades the issue
theory of evolution is by no means purely scientific, which but fails to find and solve the most interesting problems
is sometimes neglected in scientific circles. In its Neo- of biology.”27
Darwinian version it introduces significant philosophical
claims and raises many philosophical questions concerning Without speciation there would be no diversification of
species, the nature of selection, the problem of teleology, the organic world, no adaptive radiation, and very little
and the nature and role of chance as a factor in evolutionary evolutionary progress. The species, then, is the keystone
changes. Some of these problems are a subject of an of evolution.28
intriguing discussion among philosophers of biology. I
shall now try to introduce the Aristotelian tradition into this But the debate and search for a precise definition of a
debate species based on objective scientific facts has not brought a
satisfactory solution to the problem yet. At the foundation of
22 Gilson, From Aristotle, 83. the Neo-Darwinist approach, both Mayer and Dobzhansky
23 Lennox, Darwinism, 84. were looking for a middle way between essentialism and
24 It seems that what Darwin says in the Origin is still relevant: nominalism. Mayer proposed the Biological Species
“Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely graduated organic Concept (BSC), which was based on the observation of the
chain; and this, perhaps, is the most obvious and gravest objection which reproductive processes operating at the base of generation
can be urged against my theory. The explanation lies, as I believe, in the
extreme imperfection of the geological record” (Charles Darwin, On the 25 Darwin, On the Origin, 52.
Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of 26 See above, point I A.
Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life [London: John Murray, 1859], 27 Ernst Mayer, Animal Species and Evolution (Cambridge, MA:
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_Species_(1859) Harvard University Press, 1963), 29.
[accessed 26 September, 2014], 280). 28 Mayr, Animal, 621.
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and maintenance of species. He defines species in a beginnings and endings of species (cladistics, composite,
following way: intermodal, and phylogenetic species concepts).33 Others
opt for the idea of species-as-individuals. Still others want
Species are groups of actually or potentially interbreeding to save essentialism by either conceiving species not in
natural populations which are reproductively isolated terms of intrinsic but rather extrinsic, relational properties
from other such groups. (…) Isolating mechanisms are (Grene and Depew), or by defining them as homeostatic
property cluster kinds with an ability of some of their
biological properties of individuals which prevent the properties to change, which will still save the idea that they
interbreeding of populations that are actually or potentially have essences in a weaker sense (Boy, Griffiths, Wilson).34
sympatric.29
Because this debate seems to multiply definitions of
This definition emphasizes the relational aspect of species, some thinkers suggest that instead of looking
members of a species which are related to one another for a consensus we should rather accept the plurality
by causal and historical situations, rather than a shared of species concepts. In its pragmatic version, pluralism
relation to a common type. However, although it seems simply approves the idea of choosing different species
to describe properly epistemological aspect of the concepts regarding the interests guiding the classification.
differentiation of species, I think that Mayer’s definition Ontological pluralism goes further and claims that there
is not quite successful in answering ontological questions. is no essence to the species concept and that the species
Applying the criterion of interbreeding we may conclude category is heterogeneous. The consilience position accepts
epistemologically that two populations are different pluralism but at the same time remains optimistic about the
species. But the question remains of what makes them to possibility of finding a single, monistic species concept in
be various kinds ontologically? Others criticize Mayer’s the future. The fourth, hierarchical pluralism distinguishes
proposition and the whole variety of other definitions which between theoretical and operational species concepts and
have it as their base, such as recognition, genetic, agamo, brings the idea of a division-of-labor solution (e.g. the
and ecological species concepts,30 pointing to the difficulty ESC serves as a primary, unifying theoretical concept,
in determining the potential for interbreeding in the case of while other concepts have an operational function in the
groups of organisms that do not overlap or interact due to identification and individuation of species).35 The whole
geographic separation? debate regarding the problem of species leaves no doubt
that contemporary evolutionary biology recognizes and
The critique of this commonly accepted Neo-Darwinist acknowledges the need for a definition of species. Various
theory of species brought a shift towards more operational attempts to formulate a single, objective definition of species
concepts based on morphological and genetic similarity. We based on the data of empirical science, such as reproductive
classify in this group morphological, phenetic, polythetic, processes or morphological and genetic similarities,
genotypic cluster, and genealogical concordance species prove that science is tending towards a realist position in
concepts.31 Although they refer mainly to some observable the dispute over universals. Strict scientific nominalism
traits, regardless of their phylogeny or evolutionary would question evolution, which is in fact observable at
relation, their proponents distance themselves from the the level of populations. However, our analysis shows
essentialist language of intrinsic properties and substantial that while science tends to provide an adequate account of
form. These theories were criticized for various reasons. individual organisms, it seems less capable of specifying
It is difficult to find a common similarity algorithm and universal traits, traits that are essential to a definition of
clustering approach. Some similarities seem to be more species. Given this difficulty it may be helpful to refer to
important than others. Moreover, similarity based concepts the philosophy of nature.
do not distinguish between polymorphisms in populations
and differences across genera, between similarities due to Here we find the classical Aristotelian concept of
common ancestry and homologies, and those due to parallel species as essences that is presented in his metaphysical and
evolution. biological works. Essentialism is generally associated with
Another attempt in defining species emphasized the Plato, Aristotle, and Christian creationism. It is oftentimes
historical dimension of an ancestral-descendent sequence misunderstood and dismissed for presenting the idea of
of populations evolving separately from the others, and species defined as eternal, immutable, determined by God,
having its own tendencies. This historical turn finds its and discrete.36 Essentialism is also rejected due to the fact that
expression in the evolutionary species concept (ESC), its definition of species is based on the idea of internal and
successional, paleospecies, and chronospecies concepts.32 intrinsic properties of organisms.37 However, what needs to
Because of the problem of drawing borders on the way of the
transformation of lineages, some evolutionists concentrate 33 See Appendix.
on phylogenetic branching as a way to demarcate the 34 See Richards, “Species,” 179-81.
35 See Richards, “Species,” 181-5. Richards himself believes in
29 Ernst Mayer, The Growth of Biological Thought (Cambridge, the possibility of finding “a single, primary concept that colligates facts
MA: Belknap, 1976), 273-4. via a set of correspondence rules (not concepts) that serve to bridge the
30 For definitions of all these species concepts see Appendix. theoretical concept to the observable data” (ibid., 185). He finds the ESC
See also Richard A. Richards, “Species and Taxonomy,” in The Oxford concept proposed by Mayden as promising as any other. The debate is
Handbook of Philosophy of Biology, ed. Michael Ruse (Oxford, New thus still open. On the problem of species see also Marc Ereshefsky,
York: Oxford University Press, 2008), 177-8. “Systematics and Taxonomy,” in A Companion to the Philosophy of
31 See Appendix; Richards, “Species,” 178-9. Biology, ed. Sahotra Sarkar and Anya Plutynski (Oxford: Blackwell,
32 See Appendix. ESC identifies species as a “single lineage 2011), 100-4; Marc Ereshefsky, “Species, Taxonomy, and Systematics,”
of ancestor-descendent populations which maintains its identity from in Philosophy of Biology. An Anthology, ed. Alex Rosenberg, and Robert
other such lineages and which has its own evolutionary tendencies and Arp (Oxford, Blackwell, 2010), 255-61.
historical fate” (Richard L. Mayden, “A Hierarchy of Species Concepts: 36 See for instance Richards, “Species,” 174-6.
The Denouement in the Saga of the Species Problem,” in Species: The 37 I have mentioned above about the attempt to save essentialism
Units of Biodiversity, ed. M. F. Claridge, H. A. Dawah, and M. R. Wilson at the cost of defining it in terms of external and relational, rather than
[London: Chapman and Hall, 1997], 419). intrinsic properties. It shows that the central idea of essentialism is still
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be emphasized is that the static Platonic concept of species C. Natural Selection, Teleology, and Chance
conceived as immutable forms, separated from matter and Among the philosophical aspects of evolution, there are
existing in the realm of eternal ideas, has little to do with the other important issues concerning natural selection (NS),
dynamic Aristotelian understanding of species which forges teleology, and chance. Yet, an attempt to analyze them brings
a middle path between the absolute realism of Plato and pure about another paradox. In his article on Darwin published
nominalism. For Aristotle, species are real, immutable and in 1874, Asa Gray said: “We recognize the great service
eternal in the sense that each one of them involves a form rendered by Darwin to natural science by restoring teleology
which causes a species to be what it is and to exhibit fixed to it, so that instead of having morphology against teleology,
and permanent traits. But at the same time, every species we shall have henceforth morphology married to teleology.”
exists only as realized in concrete, temporal, individual, To this Darwin replied saying: “What you say about
and contingent organisms. Thus the essential intrinsic teleology pleases me especially, and I do not think anyone
traits of the species are immutable, but not their existential else has ever noticed the point.” Similar was the opinion
realization in nature. Aristotle argues that all representatives of his son Francis, the editor of Darwin’s Autobiography:
of a species have a ‘common nature’ (substantial form), “One of the greatest services rendered by my father to the
which finds its expression in the variety of inter-actions and study of Natural History is the revival of Teleology. The
inter-relations between unique individuals. In other words, evolutionist studies the purpose or meaning of organs with
species are forms which cannot exist apart from realization the zeal of the older Teleologist, but with far wider and
in concrete substances. In the first part of this article I more coherent purpose.”40 But as I have mentioned above,
showed that the concept of evolution can be explained as a Darwin was first and foremost a scientist, not a philosopher.
series of existential realizations of forms in nature, carried In his correspondence with William Graham, the author of
out through the process in which primary matter becomes The Creed of Science, Darwin acknowledged that he had
properly disposed to be informed by new substantial forms. no practice in abstract reasoning. We find a proof for that in
Species can thus be said to gradually change (evolve) in the same letter to Graham in which he first denies that the
time, but not without a qualification. What needs to be existence of natural laws implies purpose, but then assures
clarified is the fact that what actually changes is accidental him that Graham’s belief that the universe is not the result
traits and properties of concrete organisms, which brings of chance is his inward conviction.41
in turn an alteration of the disposition of primary matter,
preparing it to receive the form of a new species. Therefore, This ambiguity makes it difficult to specify the exact
strictly speaking, what the complex nexus of evolutionary position of Darwin in the philosophical dispute between
processes brings about, from the Aristotelian point of view, Descartes, Bacon, and Spinoza, who rejected final causes
is an existential realization of species as forms, educed from calling them “barren virgins dedicated to God” (Bacon),42
the potency of primary matter. and Leibniz and Kant, who tried to defend the concept
of final causality arguing that we must acknowledge that
Such an understanding of species puts an emphasis on organisms are ‘natural purposes.’43 The course taken by
its historical dimension and thus resonates with the ESC. Its 2012. On a retrieval of essentialism in species concept see also Michael
main advantage is that it brings together both the individual Devitt, “Resurrecting Biological Essentialism,” Philosophy of Science
and universal traits of an organism. Its philosophical vol. 75, pp. 344-82, 2008.
character can be easily distinguished from its theological 40 Asa Gray, “Charles Darwin,” Nature, June 4, 1874; Darwin,
implications which renders the concept available to be used Autobiography, 308, 316. Huxley's opinion, which Francis Darwin
in the context of contemporary science.38 This is why I am used to support his thesis, was the same: “Perhaps the most remarkable
of the opinion that Aristotle’s concept of species understood service to the philosophy of biology rendered by Mr. Darwin is the
as an intrinsic substantial form individually possessed by reconciliation of Teleology and Morphology, and the explanation of the
the whole group of organisms (whether the group is defined facts of both, which his views offer” (Thomas Huxley, “Genealogy of
in terms of genotype, phenotype, morphogenetic field) Animals,” The Academy [1869]).
should be brought back into discussion as an important 41 Darwin, Autobiography, 68.
philosophical principle, complementary rather than 42 Francis Bacon, The Dignity and Advancement of Learning
competitive with scientific views. This opinion is all the (London/New York: The Colonial Press, 1900), 99. In his Letter to
more reasonable given the growing interest among natural Mersenne Descartes writes: “The number and the orderly arrangements
scientists in philosophy of nature and philosophical aspects of the nerves, veins, bones, and other parts of an animal do not show
of various scientific disciplines, including biology.39 that nature is insufficient to form them, provided you suppose that in
received with skepticism. everything nature acts in accordance with the laws of mechanics (quoted
38 See Ashley, “Causality,” 221-6; Elders, “Philosophical,” 50-3; in Denis Walsh, “Teleology,” in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy
Moreno, “Some Philosophical Considerations,” 425-7. of Biology, ed. Michael Ruse [Oxford, New York: Oxford University
39 I side here with Travis Dumsday, who, accepting the pluralism Press, 2008], 114). Spinoza in Appendix 1 to his Ethics says this about
of species concepts, in the conclusion to his article about the scholastic teleology: “That which is really a cause it considers as an effect, and
ontology of species says: “What I hope to have shown however is that vice versa: it makes that which is by nature to be the last, and that which
an essentialist mode of classification is just as legitimate as any other. is highest and most perfect to be most imperfect” (Benedict Spinoza,
Of course, from a Scholastic perspective there is a privileged goal in “Ethics,” in The Chief Works of Benedict de Spinoza. Vol. 2, tr. R. H. M.
taxonomy, namely, definition in accordance with real essence as opposed Elwes [New York: Dover Publications, 1951], 77).
to accidental division by relational or other criteria. If one’s chief concern 43 Leibniz defends the idea of final and formal cause. The internal
is fundamental ontology, this is clearly the way to go; but biologists are forces of his monads can be identified with substantial form (according
not necessarily concerned with fundamental ontology, and we should to the principle of the identity of indiscernibles). When conceived as
hardly be surprised that alternative modes of classification are employed appetites, they also have a teleological character. However, although in
by them.” See Travis Dumsday, “Is There Still Hope For a Scholastic his system efficient and final causality are complementary, Leibniz does
Ontology of Biological Species?,” The Thomist vol. 76, p. 394, July, not escape entirely the problem of determinism, which in his philosophy
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Neo-Darwinism, however, is clear and transparent. The This attempt to legitimize teleology was criticized
line of reasoning that had its foundation in 1869 in Von by Mayr, for whom teleology is equivalent to goal-
Helmholtz’s praise for Darwin for bringing the study directedness and implies a causal activity of a future goal
of biological form under the ambit mechanism (1869), on the present situation, which he thinks is not acceptable
found its culmination a hundred years later in 1969, in the in Neo-Darwinism. For this reason he suggests replacing
position of David Hull who declared: “From the point of ‘teleological’ with ‘teleonomic’ and ‘teleomatic.’ He
view of contemporary biology, both vitalism and teleology defines the first term as a process or behavior “that owes
are stone-cold dead.”44 Despite Quine’s philosophical its goal directedness to the operation of a program.” The
objections to this reductionist dogma,45 teleology retained other one refers in his view to “processes that reach an
its bad reputation in the second half the 20th century, among end-state caused by natural laws.”49 But this explanation
many philosophers and scientists, who are willing to replace is problematic and reveals Mayr’s misunderstanding of
with chance. Driven to the extreme, this position led Richard Aristotle and his definition of teleology. For who is the
Dawkins to formulate his famous metaphysical manifesto in author of a ‘program’ operating towards goal-directedness?
which he declares: “The universe we observe has precisely As Terrence Deacon notices “The major problem with the
the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no term teleonomy is its implicit agnosticism with respect to
design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind the nature of the mechanism that exhibits this property.”50
pitiless indifference.”46 The question of the source of teleology is simply replaced
by the one concerning the source of a ‘program.’ Moreover,
That this position is highly problematic, however, has Mayr’s objection about the alleged causal activity of future
become evident for many. The first signs of the rehabilitation goals with reference to the present is simply an outcome of a
of teleology in biology came with the work of three important flattened-out understanding of causality, that he accepts after
evolutionary biologists: Dobzhansky, Mayr, and Ayala. The Pittendrigh, who coined the term ‘teleonomy.’ In his letter to
first one simply notices that “mutation alone, uncontrolled Mayr, Pittendrigh says: “Teleology in its Aristotelian form
by natural selection, would result in the breakdown and has, of course, the end as immediate, ‘efficient,’ cause. And
eventual extinction of life, not in the adaptive or progressive this is precisely what the biologist (…) cannot accept.”51
evolution.”47 Similar is the position of Francisco Ayala, What we find here is an example of a reduction of multiple
who strives in addition to explain in more detail the nature kinds of causality to the efficient cause alone. If an end-
of NS. Defined as differential reproduction, dependent state operated simply as an efficient cause, we would have
on differential survival, mating success, fecundity, and no reason to speak about final causality at all. It seems that
survival of offspring, NS is determined by the environment. even Ayala succumbs to this type of reductionism at one
However, Ayala emphasizes that NS is not only a purely point, when following Nagel he says that “Teleological
negative mechanistic end-directed process that promotes explanations can be reformulated, without loss of explicit
the useful and gets rid of harmful mutants increasing thus content, to take the form of nonteleological ones.”52
reproductive efficiency, but also:
Nonetheless, among some philosophers of biology,
is able to generate novelty by increasing the probability there is a growing awareness of the limits of this kind of
of otherwise extremely improbable genetic combinations. reductionism. The budding interest in the classical plural
Natural selection is creative in a way. It does not account of causality, offered by Aristotle, brings about a
new understanding of teleology. We find an example of this
‘create’ the genetic entities upon which it operates, but turn in the article by Denis Walsh answering to the three
it produces adaptive genetic combinations which would
not have existed otherwise. (…) Natural selection is alternatives) teleology. See Ayala, “Theological,” 43; Francisco J. Ayala,
teleological in the sense that it produces and maintains “Teleological Explanations,” in Philosophy of Biology, ed. Michael Ruse
end-directed organs and processes, when the function or (New York, MacMillan Publishing Company, 1989), 190.
end-state served by the organ or process contributes to the 49 Ernst Mayr, “Teleological and Teleonomic: A New Analysis,”
in Evolution and the Diversity of Life. Selected Essays (Cambridge, MA/
reproductive fitness of the organisms.48
London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1976), 387-90,
takes the form of a pre-established harmony. 403. Mayr also compares his idea of operational program in nature with
44 David Hull, “What Philosophy of Biology Is Not,” Journal of a computer program: “The purposive action of an individual, insofar as
the History of Biology vol. 2, p. 249, 1969. it is based on the properties of its genetic code, therefore is no more nor
45 Willard van Orman Quine, “Two Dogmas of Empiricism,” less purposive than the actions of a computer that has been programmed
in From a Logical Point of View (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University to respond appropriately to various inputs. It is, if I may say so, a purely
Press, 1953), 20-46. mechanistic purposiveness.” Again, Mayr seems to forget about the fact
46 Richard Dawkins, River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of that the computer program has its conscious designer. His analogy begs
Life (New York: Basic books/Harper Collins, 1995), 132-3. a question of the source of the properties of the genetic code. Ernst Mayr,
47 Theodosius Dobzhansky, Genetics of the Evolutionary Toward a New Philosophy of Biology. Observations of an Evolutionist
Process (New York: Columbia University Press, 1970), 65. (Cambridge, MA/London: Harvard University Press, 1988), 31.
48 Francisco J. Ayala, “Teleological Explanations in 50 Deacon, Incomplete, 121.
Evolutionary Biology,” in Nature’s Purposes. Analyses of Function and 51 Mayr, “Teleological,” 392n1.
Design in Biology, ed. Colin Allen, Marc Bekoff, and George Lauder 52 Ayala, “Teleological,” 43. He follows Nagel who claims that
(Cambridge, MA/London: A Bradford Book/The MIT Press, 1998), 35, “teleological explanations are fully compatible with causal accounts.
41. Ayala distinguishes between ‘internal’ (natural end-directedness) and (…) Indeed, a teleological explanation can always be transformed into
‘external’ (product of purposeful activity) teleology. He also talks about a causal one.” By “causal explanation” he means an explanation in
‘determinate’ (end-state reached in spite of environmental fluctuations, terms of efficient causes. Ernst Nagel, “Types of Causal Explanation in
e.g. physiological or developmental homeostasis), and ‘indeterminate’ Science,” in Cause and Effect, ed. D. Lerner (New York: Free Press,
(end-state as a result of a selection of one from among several 1965), 24-5. See the criticism of Ayala in Walsh, “Teleology,” 123.
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standard objections concerning teleological explanations: to reduce teleology to a present, past, or future functional
analysis.57 Thus we can see that both authors acknowledge
1. To the argument of the backward causation of
nonfactual future states of affairs, he answers that the significance of the rehabilitation of the classical notion
it is goal-directedness, as an intrinsic property of a of teleology in science. As Walsh explains:
system, and not unactualized goals, that explains the
presence of traits in an organism. The ‘Aristotelian purge’ was seen as a pivotal achievement
of early modern science. As a consequence of the scientific
2. To the argument that all teleological explanation revolution, the natural sciences learned to live without
require intentionality, he answers that, for Aristotle,
teleology is present in both non-rational and rational teleology. Current evolutionary biology, I contend,
nature. Intentionality is not necessary to apply a demonstrates that quite the opposite lesson needs now to
teleological explanation: “It is absurd to suppose that be learned. The understanding of how evolution can be
purpose is not present because we do not observe the adaptive requires us to incorporate teleology – issuing
agent deliberating.”53 from the goal-directed, adaptive plasticity of organisms –
3. To the argument that all teleological explanation as a legitimate scientific form of explanation. The natural
appears to have normative import, he answers sciences must, once again, learn to live with teleology.58
that “Teleology does not require a category of
value-bearing goal states; it only requires goal- The question of teleology and the character of NS is
directedness.”54 usually accompanied by the further question concerning the
role and nature of chance in evolutionary processes. In the
Walsh recognizes the immanent character of Aristotle’s light of what I have already said about teleology and NS, it
teleology (in opposition to its transcendent Platonic version). becomes clear that evolution cannot be attributed to blind
He finds an irreducible example of this immanence in the chance, which is actually a pure absence of explanation.
adaptiveness and phenotypic plasticity of organisms which What chance tells us is that a referred-to event does not have
is manifested in their self-organizing goal-directedness a per se efficient cause. It does not occur for a purpose and
and capacity to make compensatory changes to form or is inherently unpredictable. But Aristotle reminds us that
physiology during their lifetime (e.g. acclimatization or chance, as an accidental cause, occurs always in reference to
immune response). On the level of evolutionary changes, a per se, or proper cause. It does not happen in a void. Quite
lineages undergo selection to thus become ever more suited the contrary: it takes place in the world of regularity and
to the conditions of their environment. Walsh shows that predictability. Thus although mutations, which are regarded
the Darwinian process of iterated mutations and selection as the necessary condition for the possibility of natural
does not provide a satisfactory explanation for adaptive selection, are truly unpredictable and occur by chance, they
evolution. A careful observer notices that the explanatory have an accidental character in reference to the per se cause
role of phenotypic plasticity brings back a genuine of living beings that strive to survive and produce offspring.
Aristotelian teleology.55 It gives a reason why organisms The acceptance of the plural notion of causality helps us
of the one species resemble one another, despite genetic understand that the absence of a direct efficient cause of
variations and environmental influences. It also illuminates mutations does not exclude other kinds of causality from
Aristotle’s idea of hypothetical necessity, by showing that being active. Aristotle’s philosophy of nature reminds us to
alterations to development are hypothetically necessary for take formal and final causality into account in our attempt to
the continued existence of an organism in its environment.56 explain the nature of an evolutionary change.59
Regarding this approach to teleology, Walsh is by no From what I have said in this section we can see that the
means an isolated thinker. Mark Perlman in his article contemporary philosophy of biology finds its way back to
entitled “The Modern Philosophical Resurrection of the Aristotelian philosophy of nature. Scientists have begun
Teleology,” presents a very clear and systematic description to slowly acknowledge that the well-established and highly
of the actual views on teleology in evolutionary biology, and effective method of empirical science does not provide
the philosophy of biology. He distinguishes between non- answers to all relevant questions. Moreover, they have
naturalistic, quasi-naturalistic, and naturalistic explanations begun to understand that an openness towards philosophy of
of finality in nature. He categorizes both Aristotle’s nature and metaphysics does not require that they abandon
teleological explanation and teleological explanations their science. Quite the contrary. Philosophical questions
proposed by the science of emergent properties as quasi-
naturalistic. In opposition to these quasi-naturalistic 57 Perlman ascribes to Aristotle’s teleology a quasi-naturalistic
theories, he classifies naturalistic theories as those that strive character due to some commentators (e.g. Aquinas, ST, I, 6, 1, ad 2)
53 Aristotle, Phys. II, 8 (199b 27). In his Modeling of Nature, who would say that acting for an end means achieving the ‘good.’ For
William Wallace distinguishes three meanings of teleology: terminus someone who does not acknowledge the existence of natural values, this
of an action, perfection of nature of a thing or being, and intention statement may seem to have a normative character. See Mark Perlman,
of cognitive agents. See, William A. Wallace, The Modeling of “The Modern Philosophical Resurrection of Teleology,” in Philosophy
Nature. Philosophy of Science and Philosophy of Nature in Synthesis. of Biology. An Anthology, ed. Alex Rosenberg and Robert Arp (Oxford:
Washington D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1996, 17. Blackwell, 2010), 149-63.
54 Wash, Teleology, 116-21. 58 Walsh, “Teleology,” 133. See also an interesting defense of
55 To find more about Aristotle’s final cause in the context of teleology which takes on account major skeptical arguments coming
other types of causality see Allan Gotthelf, “Aristotle’s Concept of Final from science in Robert M. Augros, “Nature Acts for an End,” The
Causality,” The Review of Metaphysics vol. 30, pp. 226-54, 1976. Thomist vol. 66, pp. 535-75, 2002.
56 Walsh, “Teleology,” 128-32. For Aristotle on hypothetical 59 See Aristotle, Phys. II, 4-6 (195b 31-198a 13); John Dudley,
necessity see Part. An., I, 1 (639b 23-6); IV, 2, (677a 15-19); Gen. An., Aristotle’s Concept of Chance. Accidents, Cause, Necessity, and
IV, 8 (776b 31-3). Determinism (New York: Sunny Press, 2012), 334-54.
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not only arise out of empirical observation of the universe, lineage (in which another character state becomes fixed)
but also remain thoroughly grounded in this observation. A emerges by cladogenesis.
plain fact of history that serves as a great testament to this Ecological Species Concept – Species is a lineage (or
truth is that so many prominent philosophers throughout closely related lineages) which occupies an adaptive zone
the ages were also engaged in rigorous observation of the minimally different from that of any other lineages in its
natural world. Without doubt, Aristotle and his followers range.
are among them. For these reasons, the recent revival of
Aristotle’s thought, in both the philosophical and scientific Evolutionary Species Concept – Species is a single lineage
of ancestor-descendent populations which maintains its
circles, bears potential to thrust both disciplines unto a new identity from other such lineages and which has its own
horizon of cooperation. evolutionary tendencies and historical fate.
Genealogical Concordance Concept – Population
III. Conclusion subdivisions concordantly identified by multiple
I hope to have proved, through the course of this article, independent genetic traits constitute the population units
that, despite a still present skepticism towards classical worthy of recognition as phylogenetic taxa.
philosophy, the longstanding legacy of the Aristotelian Genetic Species Concept – Species is the largest and most
tradition is all the more ready to enter into a fruitful inclusive reproductive community of sexual and cross-
conversation with contemporary science and philosophy of fertilizing individuals which share a common gene pool.
science. What we find in Aristotle’s natural philosophy and
metaphysics is a system of thought that is not only coherent Genotypic Cluster Concept – Species are clusters of
and consistent, but also flexible and open to the new data monotypic or polytypic biological entities, identified using
and current ways of understanding of the universe, its morphology or genetics, forming groups of individuals that
structures and processes. have few or no intermediates when in contact.
When introduced to the evolution debate in particular, Internodal Species Concept – Related to Cladistic
the Aristotelian tradition presents itself, not as an aged Species Concept, the notion that a species exists between
doctrine that is limited to humble listening and adjusting two branching points in a fossil lineage. It is based on a
of its principles to the new scientific theories, but, quite fictional presupposition, that a species ceases to exist as
to the contrary, as an interlocutor that has much to offer. soon as it branches into two daughter species.
In the debate on the concepts of species, natural selection,
teleology, and the role of chance in evolutionary processes, Morphological Species Concept – Organisms are
the Aristotelian tradition brings an essential contribution to classified in the same species if they appear identical by
the results achieved by science; a contribution that is highly morphological (anatomical) criteria.
influential, and has a considerable explanatory power which Paleospecies Concept – The term refers to temporally
must not be neglected. successive species in a single lineage. It is also identified
I believe that this conversation sets up a stage for a as Chronospecies, Successional Species, or Allochronic
Species Concept.
fruitful dialogue between science and theological account
of evolution rooted in Aristotelian/Thomistic tradition. Phenetic Species Concept – Also known as taximetrics, is
an attempt to classify organisms based on overall similarity,
usually in morphology or other observable traits, regardless
IV. Appendix: Definitions of Species Concepts60 of their phylogeny or evolutionary relation. It is closely
Agamospecies Concept – A variation of the Genetic related to numerical taxonomy which is concerned with the
Species Concept applied for all taxa that are uniparental use of numerical methods for taxonomic classification.
and asexual, represented typically as a collection of clones. Phylogenetic Species Concept – The concept of a species
Examples include many bacteria and some plants and fungi. as an irreducible group whose members are descended from
The boundaries of agamospecies are often hard to define. a common ancestor and who all possess a combination of
Biological Species Concept – Species are groups of certain defining, or derived, traits. Hence, this concept
actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations defines a species as a group having a shared and unique
which are reproductively isolated from other such groups. evolutionary history. It is less restrictive than the biological
(…) Isolating mechanisms are biological properties of species concept, in that breeding between members of
individuals which prevent the interbreeding of populations different species does not pose a problem. Also, it permits
that are actually or potentially sympatric. successive species to be defined even if they have evolved
in an unbroken line of descent, with continuity of sexual
Cladistic Species Concept – Species are lineages of fertility. However, because slight differences can be found
populations between two phylogenetic branch points among virtually any group of organisms, the concept tends
(or speciation events). The cladistic concept recognizes to encourage extreme division of species into ever-smaller
species by branch points, despite of how much change groups.
occurs between them.
Polythetic Species Concept – A cluster concept that
Composite Species Concept – A variation of the Cladistic defines species in terms of significant statistical covariance
Species Concept. A species is defined, in reference to the of characters.
fossil record, as a segment of a lineage in which a new
character state becomes fixed. It continues from the point Recognition Species Concept – The recognition species
where it arises (by cladogenesis) to the point where a new concept is a concept of species, according to which a species
is a set of organisms that recognize one another as potential
60 For a more detailed analysis of the definition of species see mates.
Mayden, “A Hierarchy;” Richards, “Species;” George G. Simpson,
Principles of Animal Taxonomy (New York: Columbia University Press,
1961).
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Scientific Consensus, Public

Perception and Religious Beliefs
A Case Study on Nutrition
1. Prof. Mihai A. GÎRŢU, PhD 2. Fr. Lecturer Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN, PhD
Department of Theology Department of Theology
Ovidius University of Constanta Ovidius University of Constanta
Constanţa-900527, Romania Constanţa-900527, Romania
mihai.girtu@univ-ovidius.ro ctc@rcdst.ro
Abstract: Starting from the recent public debate over II. Scientific consensus and public perception
global warming we discuss the scientific consensus and
public perception on climate issues. We then turn to the A. - Global warming
ongoing debate on diets and nutrition, comparing scientific A recent study quantifying the consensus on
perspectives, public views and religious standpoints. anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature
between 1991 and 2011 [3] demonstrated that out of 4000
Keywords: scientific consensus, public perception, religious published scientific papers that state a position on the cause
beliefs, nutrition, fasting of climate change, over 97% agree that climate change
is driven by human activity. However a poll by the Pew
Research Centre in the USA [4]showed that that more than
I. Introduction half of Americans either disagree, or are unaware, that
Dialogo, the virtual conference on the dialogue between scientists overwhelmingly agree that the Earth is warming
science and theology, is posing an unusual challenge to a because of human activity.
scientist and a theologian, two friends with very different
backgrounds, using distinct methods to search for truth. More recently, a probabilistic analysis of human
Can they find some common ground? Can they follow the influence on recent record global mean temperature changes
motto of the conference and work together in harmony? [5] indicated that December 2013 was the 346th consecutive
month where global land and ocean average surface
To date, there are numerous topics where science and temperature exceeded the 20th century monthly average.
religion engage in dialogue, starting from cosmology, with Furthermore, the study suggests that it is highly likely
questions regarding the origin of the universe, continuing (99.999%) that the 304 consecutive months of anomalously
with biology and issues related to the origin of life and warm global temperatures to June 2010 is directly
ending with psychology and anthropology with queries attributable to the accumulation of global greenhouse gases
about the origin of conscience. However, for most of in the atmosphere. In other words, there is less than one
these topics, the dialogue may end in anything but peace chance in 100,000 that global average temperature over
and harmony [1]. Accepting the advice stated in words of the past 60 years would have been as high without human-
wisdom such as: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things caused greenhouse gas emissions. However, despite these
which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” and other extraordinary statistics [6], public acceptance
[Matt. 22:21] we can think in similar terms: “Render unto of human induced climate change and confidence in the
science the things which are scientific; and unto religion the supporting science has declined since 2007 [7].
things that are religious” [2].
The question that arises is what are the causes of this gap
Then, is there a common ground? We attempt to respond between the opinions of the scientists and those of the wider
positively by discussing how diet impacts on health, as a public? One of the possible explanations regards the media
case study of a wider debate on scientific consensus, public coverage of the topics, as public perception and attitudes
perceptions and religious beliefs. We start by reviewing the with regard to those domains are significantly influenced
relation between scientific consensus and public perception by representations of scientific knowledge conveyed by the
on global warming and the health risks associated with the press and other mass means of communication [8,9]. Science
use of mobile phones. We than turn to the ongoing debate is reconstructed and not merely mirrored in the media. The
on diets and nutrition, comparing scientific perspectives, discursive (re)construction of scientific claims in the media
public views and religious standpoints. is strongly entangled with ideological standpoints [9,10].
Despite strong scientific consensus that global climate
disruption is real and due in significant part to human
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activities, stories in the U.S. mass media often still present the scientific search for universal, generalizable knowledge, and
opposite view, characterizing the issue as being “in dispute” more localized forms of understanding, which are rooted in
[11,12,13]. The media devote significant attention to small individual experience [21]. Anecdotal evidence is a contact
numbers of denialists, who claim that scientific consensus point between individuals, expert institutions, and policy
assessments, such as those by the Intergovernmental decisions, and displays flexibility between epistemological
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [6], are exaggerated and and political domains that can offer opportunities for
political [11,14]. Rather than being a reflection of legitimate participation and engagement, as well as exclusion and
scientific disagreement, the intense criticisms of climate alienation.
science may reflect a predictable pattern that grows out of
“the politics of doubt”: If enough doubt can be raised about At some stage, experts and decision-makers must manage
the relevant scientific findings, regulation can be avoided or the claims made by nonscientists in public controversies. The
delayed for years or even decades [9]. flexibility of the term anecdotal evidence, at the boundary
between science and its publics, was proposed to offer new
What skeptics believe is an important question, because possibilities for addressing epistemic and political claims,
their voices are heard in governments, editors’ offices, both of which are vital for the responsible management of
boardrooms, and – most importantly – the street [15,16]. public controversies over science and technology [21].
For skeptics, climate science may become entangled with
climate politics [17], mixing together scientific truth, with Due to scientific uncertainties and ambiguities
beliefs and trust [18]. Beliefs that a global climate change surrounding novel industrial technologies, the regulatory
is not occurring and that it is not caused by people have been process is often problematic [24]. An examination of the
associated with environmental apathy and a perception that literature on mobile phone technology in the UK shows that
individual action has no significant effect on the large-scale whilst government and the telecommunications industry
outcome. On the other hand, trust in political actors, defining research has not found any clear evidence of ill effects
political trust as a confidence that political institutions are on human health, other studies conducted more or less
able to function well, is currently diminishing in the wealthy independently show a more mixed picture [25]. Therefore,
countries [18]. a more open-ended regulatory process was advocated when
investigating issues that exhibit scientific uncertainty. This
process encompasses the views of a wider body of experts
B. Health risks due to mobile phones and lay persons [25].
What the public thinks has become increasingly
important for regulatory and decision-making institutions not III. Scientific perspectives and public views on
just in the field of climate change but also when addressing
the health risks due to mobile phones [19]. Traditional nutrition and health
mechanisms developed with the aim of unearthing public A recent article published in one of the most prestigious
opinion, using such techniques as surveys, focus groups, scientific journals states [26]: “A new theory about the
or opinion polls, are frequently “reified into an imagined foods that can extend life is taking shape, and it’s sure to be
‘public opinion’ reported as reality in press, read by market a controversial one.” Two separate studies, one in mice and
analysts and politicians and acted upon” [20]. the other primarily in people, suggested that eating relatively
little protein and lots of carbohydrates – the opposite of
The public controversy around mobile phone risks was what’s urged by many human diet plans, including the
borne from what was considered an anecdote [21]. The popular Atkins Diet – extends life and fortifies health. The
first claim of damage from a mobile phone which received research challenges other common wisdom, as it indicates
global attention was the trial in USA in 1992 in which a man that a drastic diet that helps mice and other species live
decided to sue a mobile phone company, blaming his wife’s much longer than normal, may work not because it slashes
brain tumor on her exposure to mobile phone radiation. The calorie intake, but mostly because it cuts down on protein.
publicity granted to the story caused a significant plunge
in the stock market value of mobile phone companies. In Such studies are not singular. An article that analyzed
1995, a federal judge had ruled that the evidence submitted the incidence of cancer in a cohort of over 60,000 people
in the case was not scientifically valid [21,22], however, by showed that in that British population, the risk of some
that time, the controversy was well under way and reached cancers is lower in fish eaters and vegetarians than in meat
the entire world. eaters [27]. A similar study, part of the European Prospective
Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) [28,29]
Newspaper reports warning of mobile phone risks showed that consuming a vegetarian diet was associated
tended to focus on new studies which revealed worrying with lower ischemic heart disease risks [30].
effects, supported by stories of individuals who attributed
their symptoms to their mobile phone use. Many times, The publication trends of vegetarian nutrition articles
such stories received more attention than reassurances from in biomedical literature between 1966 and 1995 using the
scientists or industry representatives that the overwhelming National Institutes of Health MEDLINE bibliographic
weight of scientific evidence supported the regulatory database demonstrated [31] that the publication rate
position that current exposure guidelines prevented any risk of vegetarian articles increased steadily during those 3
to health [21,23]. decades, from an average of less than 10 per year in the late
1960s to 76 per year in the early 1990s.
Concepts such as anecdotal evidence, lay knowledge,
and expertise draw on a distinction between what is internal Already at the end of the 1990s experts in nutrition
and external to science. Controversies over science and were aware that populations of vegetarians living in
technology can be said to reveal a tension between the affluent countries appear to enjoy unusually good health,
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characterized by low rates of cancer, cardiovascular contradicting, when the media devote significant attention
disease, and total mortality [32]. Evidence accumulated in to a small numbers of denialists, the public may return to
decades of research emphasizes the importance of adequate common sense and tradition, to the people they trust and,
consumption of beneficial dietary factors—rather than just sometimes to the old teachings of religious practice. In
the avoidance of harmful factors—including an abundance terms of nutrition, traditions in many religions advise or
of fruit, vegetables, and whole grains and regular even require periods of fasting.
consumption of vegetable oils, including those from nuts.
The practice of fasting goes back in ancient times, as
As a consequence of piling evidence, in 2009 the more than two thousand years ago it was advocated as a cure
American Dietetic Association issued a position statement by the school of the natural philosopher Asclepiades [36].
[33] which affirms that “appropriately planned vegetarian Also, Plutarch is quoted as saying [36]: ‘’Instead of using
diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, medicines, rather fast a day.”
nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in
the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well- Fasting has been recently rediscovered in the US
planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals [37,38] or simply reinvented [39]. For instance, Dr. Alan
during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, Goldhamer, claims that [38]: „Fasting allows you to reboot
lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for your system and get off the addictions of the Standard
athletes.” A vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk American Diet that is full of processed, high fat, high sugar,
of death from ischemic heart disease, as vegetarians appear high salt foods.” Before returning to this modern approach,
to have lower cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, in the following, we will discuss the traditional fasting, as it
and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than is recommended by the major religions.
nonvegetarians [34]. Furthermore, vegetarians tend to
have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer A. Fasting for Christians
rates [33]. According to Christian tradition fasting addresses
Despite the increasing number of studies showing the both the body and the soul. It is meant to clean the mind
benefits for health of lowering the intake of animal-based of evil thoughts and the body of unhealthy food residues.
food, one cannot speak of a scientific consensus on this For Christians fasting is an exercise of restraining from
topic, likely because this evidence severely challenges the passions of the body and of strengthening the will
some very deep-seated beliefs and corporate practices [Mattew 17:21]. From the physical point of view, fasting
that constitute the status quo. A concerned scientist writes strengthens the body [Isaiah 58, Sirach 37:29-31] “…do not
[35]: “This problem of misrepresentation of information give yourself up to food for overeating brings sickness, and
in the name of science has consequences. If not resolved, gluttony leads to nausea. Many have died of gluttony, but he
it will reduce the evidence favoring whole, plant-based who is careful to avoid it prolongs his life.”
foods to public babble not to be taken seriously. This The Catholic Church distinguishes between fasting
would be tragic because these findings have the capability and abstinence: fasting is the reduction of one’s intake of
to make a major contribution to the human condition and food, while abstinence refers to refraining from meat (or
to the betterment of our society and our planet. We must other type of food) [40]. Abstinence forbids the use of
therefore strive for excellence of message, one that adheres meat, but not of eggs, milk products or condiments made
to the ideals of good science.” The author continues [35]: of animal fat. Abstinence does not include meat juices and
“From my reading of this history, the problem of scientific liquid foods made from meat. Thus, such foods as chicken
abuse has always been present, as if it is part of human broth, consommé, soups cooked or flavored with meat, meat
nature. In previous times, though, it was individuals who gravies or sauces, as well as seasonings or condiments made
sold snake oil. But, during these more recent times, the from animal fat are not forbidden. So it is permissible to use
causes of abuse are different. We now have to contend margarine and lard. Even bacon drippings which contain
with very powerful, impersonal, corporate power that little bits of meat may be poured over lettuce as seasoning.
largely controls what many individuals are allowed to say. [41].
From this perspective of personal experience, I am quite
certain that this problem of science abuse has become The Orthodox Church requires four fasting seasons,
worse, much worse.” which include Great Lent (40 days), Holy Week (7 days),
Nativity Fast (40 days), Apostles’ Fast (variable length),
The public perception is strongly influenced by Dormition Fast (2 weeks), plus Wednesdays and Fridays
ongoing debates regarding nutrition. The problem of throughout the year [42]. During fasting, the diet consists
good science may arise from the dependence even of of vegetarian food; meat, eggs and diary are forbidden, fish
distinguished researchers and prestigious universities on being allowed only on some exceptional days. The very
the financial support of funding agencies and corporate young as well as those for whom fasting could endanger
sponsors of research. Funding agencies are indebted to their health can be exempt from the strictest fasting rules.
the political whims of governmental funding, which are
mostly controlled by corporations who favor pills and
procedures instead of diet and lifestyle as a means to B. Fasting for Muslims
human health. In Islam, fasting for a month is a mandatory practice
during the holy month of Ramadan, from dawn until sunset.
Muslims are prohibited from eating and drinking (including
IV. Religious standpoints on diet and fasting water). They are also encouraged to temper negative
When the information coming from Academia seems emotions such as anger and addiction [43].
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For Muslims fasting is more than abstaining from food acted upon irrespective of truth.
and drink. It also includes abstaining from any falsehood in
speech and action, from arguing, fighting, and having lustful The problem of abusing the concept of science takes
thoughts. Therefore, fasting strengthens control of impulses several forms and involves a variety of people and
and helps develop good behavior [42]. institutions, both inside and outside of Academia. When
academic institutions become dependent on external
funding to do research, they become tempted to protect
C. Fasting in Hinduism their source of funding, thus defending the status quo, at
Hinduism promotes natural, simple living as a path to the risks of compromising scientific integrity, whether it is
physical and spiritual purity. The Hindu diet varies by region about climatic change, health risks of mobile phones, food
– some adherents are strict vegetarians, while others eat that makes people sick or new expensive drugs that are
some kinds of meat [44,45]. In the Hindu religion Tamasic less efficient than natural products. Defending the status
foods such as meat and fermented foods (including alcohol) quo (job creation and security, investment return, etc.),
promote dullness and inertia. Rajasic foods, including regardless of whether this may be beneficial for human
onions, garlic, hot spices, stimulants, fish, eggs and salt, are health, is not just unethical but also dangerous.
thought to excite intellect and passion which interfere with What can we learn from the history of our contemporary
meditation. Sattvic foods, including fruits, vegetables and problems of misusing science? What should the public
grains are thought to promote transcendence, sublimity and do under such circumstances? Knowing the origin of
orderliness [46]. important ideas is quite informative, regardless of the
According to ancient Hinduism tradition, one should fast field. To start, one needs to consider the source of the
once a week by remaining on empty stomach from sunrise information. We should take with caution reports in a
to sunset, being allowed only to drink water [47]. Eating newspaper or news magazine, discussions on a television
nonvegeterian food is not allowed on the day of fasting [46]. or radio program, news from an Internet site etc. We could
search for the actual source and check whether the study
is published in a well-known, respected, peer-reviewed
D. Fasting in Judaism medical journal.
Fasting for Jews means completely abstaining from
food and drink, including water. Traditionally observant Finally, when the information coming from Academia
Jews fast six days of the year [48]. With the exception of seems contradicting, the public may return to common
Yom Kippur, fasting is never permitted on Shabbat, for the sense and tradition. When the conclusions of scientific
commandment of keeping Shabbat is biblically ordained endeavors are not yet clear, public perceptions are based on
and overrides the later rabbinically instituted fast days beliefs, relying on the opinions of trustworthy people and,
sometimes, to the old teachings of religious practice.
E. Fasting in Buddhism If scientific evidence is not convincing and common
For a Buddhist monk or a nun food is to be regarded as sense does not tell us that we should protect the Earth by
medicine and not as a pleasure. Commonly they are not cutting down on the production of greenhouse gases and that
allowed to eat after the midday meal [49]. There are very we should protect ourselves by lowering our consumption of
few dietary restrictions and these rule out the consumption animal-based food, then maybe we should turn to tradition.
of certain animals’ flesh. Dr. Alan Goldhamer recently rediscovered that what some
religious traditions perfected over thousands of years for
their believers was in fact very effective for their bodies,
V. Discussion so it must be applied “today with the modern techniques of
We have looked through the literature on global monitoring so that they can do this safely and effectively”
warming and its causes, on the health risks of mobile phones [39]. Moreover, “fasting lets the body to do what it knows
and on the effects on health of a plant-based diet and found to do the best and that is healing itself. We have to step
some common ground. First, we noticed that Academia away and allow the body to resolve these conditions mostly
(including under this name universities and research that we caused, to correct the wrong we made, because of
institutes, funding agencies, professional societies, and the dietary excess and the choices we made” [39].
policy agencies) are sometimes busy defending the status We could also learn from the lifestyle of healthier
quo. Many very large and long-standing industries have communities [51] that exercise, diet and the sense of
been working very hard to infiltrate Academia and have purpose in taking care of their grandchildren are key to a
succeeded [35]. lifestyle conducive to longevity. And when turning to the
The scientific method requires that hypotheses be tested sense of purpose, we could think that perhaps faith may
in controlled conditions, which can be reproduced by others. also play a role. In any case, all religions that promote
By imposing experimental control and reproducibility the fasting encourage the physical and spiritual cleansing to go
scientific method can minimize bias. If a hypothesis is together.
to be confirmed, we should expect the same results when It is interesting that several cliniques in US replicate
experiments are repeated. Also, hypotheses must be methods of fasting for people with various nutrition related
falsifiable: statements of belief for which there is no way diseases. If they get inspiration from the physical side of
to disprove them should not be allowed [50]. In contrast the exercise, than why not trying also the spiritual side?
to the requirement for scientific knowledge to correspond to Wouldn’t it be conceivable that the sick people trying the
objective fact, poorly attested beliefs can be believed and diet could also benefit from the meditation or prayer which
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the believers add to their physical fasting? Healing the body [8] J.B. Corbett, J.L. Durfee, “Testing Public (Un)Certainty of
might go hand in hand with healing the soul. Science Media Representations of Global Warming” Science
Communication 26 (2004) 129-151.
VI. Conclusion [9] A. Carvalho, “Ideological cultures and media discourses on
scientific knowledge: re-reading news on climate change”
We started this paper with a paraphrase: “Render Public Understanding of Science 16 (2007) 223-243.
unto science the things which are scientific; and unto [10] S.J. Farnsworth, S.R. Lichter, “Scientific Assessments of
religion the things that are religious”. By looking at the Climate Change Information in News and Entertainment
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on global warming, health risks related to mobile phones
and protein-rich diets we showed that science must be [11] W.R. Freudenburg, V. Muselli, “Reexamining Climate
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cause of global warming or to the effects of electromagnetic
radiation but they do encourage people to live a meaningful, [13] M. Brüggemann, S. Engesser, “Between Consensus and
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[14] S.T. Cornelissen, “News dispatches from the climate wars.
Is media attention expanding for human-induced climate
Declaration of Conflicting Interests disruption?” Physics Today, July 2014. Available at:
The authors declared no conflicts of interests with respect http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/magazine/physicstoday/
news/10.1063/PT.5.8054.
to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
[15] R. Black “Unravelling the sceptics” BBC News Online, 12
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Quantum reality explains mystical

powers of consciousness
Michael B. Mensky
Theoretical physics division
P.N.Lebedev Physics Institute
Moscow, Russia
mensky@lpi.ru
Abstract: Mystical powers of consciousness, including the our measurement devices will show. However, we do not
direct vision of truth and management a reality, are believed understand quite clearly “what happens really”. Questions
to exist. Various directions of spiritual knowledge, including of this type cannot arise in classical (non-quantum) science,
world religions, deal with these phenomena. Many people because it is accepted in this area of science that measuring
are persuaded that mystical events cannot be explained by devices directly show what really exists.
scientific methods, that they contradict to science. Suggested This is of course in full agreement with our intuition.
by the present author Quantum Concept of Consciousness, or But this is not valid in quantum theory. Therefore, quantum
Extended Everett Concept, proves that mystical powers have concept of reality differs from the concept of reality in
their origin from what is known in quantum mechanics as classical physics or in our everyday life.
quantum reality, and therefore are inherent part of science. Special features of quantum reality opens the door
Therefore, the “mystical” aspect in the sphere of consciousness for strange happenings that can be interpreted as mystical
is a common part of science and spiritual knowledge. phenomena. The main difference of quantum reality is that
what is measured by material devices is not identical to what
Keywords: mystical powers; super-consciousness; super- really exists. The logical consequence of this is a specific
intuition; quantum reality; science and spiritual knowledge interpretation of quantum mechanics proposed by Everett
[1,2] which is often called many-world interpretation.
According to it, quantum reality is adequately presented
I. Introduction by a set of classical realities which are incompatible with
The experience of mankind, that is expressed particularly each other from classical point of view. Briefly one may say
in religious believes, showed that strange “mystical” events that the state of the quantum world is presented by a set
sometimes happen. This means that consciousness of people of classical realities which distinct from each other. These
(probably not of all of them) possesses mystical powers. distinct classical realities coexist in a single quantum reality.
This may reveal itself as ability of direct vision of truth
or even management of reality. This is why every religion It is not easy to reconcile the concept of quantum reality
or, more widely, spiritual knowledge, includes a mystical (coexistence of distinct classical realities) with our intuition.
kernel. As a rule, this is belief in miracles and in strength In the Extended Everett Concept (EEC) suggested by the
of a pray. present author [3-8] it is shown that Everett interpretation
makes possible mystical abilities of consciousness. This
Most often, existence of miracles or other mystical events means that science does not contradict to spiritual knowledge
is thought to contradict science. But is this contradiction (particularly, to religions). The sphere of consciousness
really exists? This is undoubtedly valid for most of branches becomes a bridge between materialistic science and spiritual
of science. However, there is a wonderful branch of science, knowledge.
namely quantum mechanics, which may be an exclusion
from this general rule.
II. Why different classical realities coexist
Conceptual problems appeared in quantum mechanics Mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics is
from the very beginning, and they cannot be considered confirmed by many experiments, so that there is no reason
completely solved up to nowadays. This is why quantum to doubt its validity. One of the specific features of this
mechanics, although verified by millions of experiments, formalism is that the states of any quantum system form
remains “incomprehensible” in its basics. a linear space. This means that the states (more precisely,
Most simple formulation of what remains unclear is state vectors) of the given system may be summed with each
following. We know which equations must be solved to other. The resulting state vector is called superposition of
predict results of an arbitrary experiment, i.e. to predict what the previous vectors. It may be interpreted as describing
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coexistence of the states that are summed up. Why then we see only a single classical reality around
us? According to EI (in our formulation), we perceive all
For example, we can consider two states of a point coexisting alternatives (alternative classical realities), but
particle, one state corresponding to localization of this our consciousness perceive them separately from each
particle in point A and another state for localization in point other, so that perception of an arbitrary alternative reality
B. Then the sum of these two states describes coexistence excludes perceiving the others.
of the two states, one localized in A and another localized in
B. This is impossible for a point particle in classical physics, Extended Everett Concept (EEC) proposed in [3-8]
but such strange coexistence is proved possible by many differs by an additional step in the latter formulation. Instead
experiments with microscopic (quantum) point particles. “consciousness perceives alternatives separately” we say
in EEC that “consciousness is separation of alternatives”
This strange feature of quantum systems was astonishing (from each other).
for pioneers of quantum mechanics, but the experiments
forced them to accept this feature for microscopic systems This definition has logical advantage because we have a
(for example, elementary particles or atoms). However, single concept, consciousness, or separation of alternatives,
it was hard to agree that coexistence of macroscopically instead of two primary (irreducible to simpler) concepts.
distinct states is possible for macroscopic systems. Besides, this single concept is relevant to two different
spheres, mind and quantum mechanics, therefore it may be
However, the logic of quantum-mechanical formalism understood much better.
shows that coexistence (superposition) of classically distinct
realities is also inevitable. The reason is that measurement Yet the main advantage of this formulation is in that it
of microscopic systems by macroscopic measuring devices immediately leads to explaining much more deep (actually
inevitably leads to such superpositions. mystical) phenomena in the sphere of consciousness.
Let for example the system under measurement is Indeed, if consciousness is separation of alternatives,
a point particle. If it is in the state localized in point A then turning off the consciousness is nothing else than
(correspondingly in point B), then interaction with the removal of the separation, i.e. ability to (somehow) perceive
measuring device will bring the measuring device into all alternatives in their totality. In other words, turning off
the state D(A) pointing out that the particle is in point A the consciousness (in sleeping, trance etc.) may open access
(correspondingly D(B) pointing out onto point B). The rules to much more rich picture of quantum reality, consisting of
of quantum mechanics (linearity of time evolution) requires all its classical projections (alternatives).
then that measuring of the particle in the superposition of
the states in points A and B should result in the superposition This ability can be called super-consciousness. It leads
to those phenomena that are usually classified as mystical.
(particle in A, device in D(A)) + (particle in B, device Thus, mystical features of the sphere of consciousness not
in D(B)) only do not contradict science but actually follow from it, if
EEC is accepted as interpretation of quantum physics.
Because of macroscopic character of the device,
this state is a superposition (therefore, coexistence) of
macroscopically distinct states of a macroscopic system IV. Capabilities of super-consciousness
(particle and device). Super-consciousness has access to all alternative classical
Many people tried to somehow overcome this strange realities. Moreover, it has access to all alternative realities in
conclusion, but Everett, on the contrary, took it as a basis all times. The latter follows from the formalism of quantum
for his new interpretation of quantum mechanics [1]. We mechanics. Namely, from the fact that superposition of all
shall formulate the main proposition of this interpretation alternative realities form the state vector of the whole world.
as possibility of quantum reality to be superposition of a This vector evolves in time according to reversible linear
family of classically distinct classical realities. law. If such a vector is given in a certain time moment, it is
determined also in any other time moment.
III. Everett interpretation and consciousness All time moments are essentially the same for super-
consciousness, there is no “present”, “past” and “future” for
Traditionally Everett interpretation (EI) is formulated it. These concepts appear only for ordinary consciousness.
as coexistence of many classical worlds. This however is It is only in perceiving the world by ordinary consciousness,
misleading since evokes image of many material universes that the phenomenon of the stream of time makes sense.
existing alongside of each other. We prefer to formulate EI
as coexistence (quantum superposition) of different classical Access to all alternatives in all times means access to
realities which in their totality form the quantum reality of enormous information, in fact to everything that may be
a single (quantum) material world. This provides a direct known about the state of our quantum world. Briefly, super-
way to understanding consciousness including its mystical consciousness knows everything. Returning to ordinary
properties [6]. consciousness, a person may at least partly make use of this
enormous information.
Thus, according to EI, reality of our (quantum) world
is adequately presented by a set of coexisting classical This originates such abilities as
realities. These realities may be called alternative realities,
or, for the sake of brevity, simply alternatives, because • super-intuition, or direct vision of truth [4,6];
they exclude each other from the point of view of classical • choice of the alternatives that should lead to the
physics or everyday intuition. preferable (according to certain criteria) state
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of the world in the future [6,7]. set of all possible scenarios. According to this definition,
there is no need to prove that life is possible. The subset of
Of course, degree of abilities of this type varies for preferable scenarios exists anyway. Life exists by definition.
different people, but it is important that these abilities Moreover, different types of life should exist in quantum
(usually treated as mystical and contradicting to science) world, due to enormous variety of possible scenarios in this
follows from the specific features of quantum reality. world.
Amazing events of scientific breakthroughs or
discoveries of new paradigms are examples of super- VI. EEC as a bridge between science and religion
intuition, since they are actually achieved despite that they
cannot be logically derived from everything that the scientist Parallels between the unconsciousness of humans and
knows or can find out by rational methods. quantum mechanics have been long time ago observed by
the great psychologist Carl Gustav Jung in collaboration
Besides, the generally known events of sudden with great physicist Wolfgang Pauli, see very good analysis
revelations in ordinary life are also may be examples of given in [9]. On the basis of these observations Jung
super-intuition. The characteristic feature of all cases of concluded that the relation between spheres of science
super-intuition is 1) complete confidence in what is found and spiritual knowledge are similar to cones with common
in this way, even if there is no rational arguments in favor of vertex. In the light of EEC, these spheres are connected not
it, 2) confirmation of its validity in the future, and 3) strong in a single point but along the smooth corridor belonging to
positive emotion accompanying the happening (it can be both cones.
called cognitive euphoria [8]).
Each point of this region, which is common for two
spheres, belongs to both of them, i.e. to scientific and
V. Generalization for all living beings spiritual spheres simultaneously. These points correspond
The above conclusions may be naturally generalized for to such phenomena that each of them may be considered
perceiving quantum world not necessarily by humans, but as a mystical event (impossible in classical science but
also by any living beings. Of course, instead of the term acceptable in spiritual knowledge, for example in religion)
“consciousness” we have in this case make use of more or as an event which may be explained by science in case if
general term, for example, “perceiving in the classical the features of quantum reality are taken into account.
form”. Instead of super-consciousness we have to speak
of “access to the whole quantum reality” (of course, better VII. Conclusion
terms may be found).
The specific features of quantum reality was the
main problem for many generations of physicists. With
A. Jumps of evolution the development of quantum mechanics, the wonderful
One may suggest that such analogue of super- concept of quantum reality obtained various illustrations
consciousness, i.e. access to quantum reality, have been and formulations. One of them (perhaps the best) is Everett
exploited in the evolution of life. Particularly, this ability interpretation of quantum mechanics.
may help to explain jumps in evolution, i.e. transition
directly to species of essentially larger complexities, that One of the very important advantages of this
hardly may be explained by random changes and subsequent interpretation is that (after being reformulated in EEC in
natural selection. terms of many classical realities in a single quantum reality)
it allows one to explain the phenomenon of consciousness
The choice of the preferable alternatives is and derive the phenomenon of super-consciousness. The
mathematically formalized as operation of postcorrection latter refutes the imaginary incompatibility of scientific
[7]. In the course of postcorrection the present state of the and spiritual forms of knowledge and explains “mystical”
world is projected in such a way that the alternatives leading powers of consciousness as existing due to the specific
in the future to undesirable states be removed. It is clear character of quantum reality.
that this projection can be exploited by living beings in their
evolution. The task of unification of science and religion was
attacked from various points of view. Previously this attack
was attempted mostly in context of philosophy. In the last
B. Definition of life in terms of Everett’s scenarios decades various authors tried to achieve this unification
The mathematical operation of postcorrection may be on the basis of quantum mechanics, and this direction
considered to be a local form of the law leading to preferable nowadays becomes very popular.
(say according to criterion of better surviving) variant of
further evolution. Besides this, such task-oriented evolution In our opinion this points out that the quantum
may be described globally, in terms of Everett’s scenarios. mechanics itself, in the course of exploration of its
conceptual structure, moved to a new level. The result of
Let us choose a certain alternative for each time this is a tendency towards comprehension of the deep unity
moment. This chain of alternatives may be called Everett’s of different ways of knowledge, specifically scientific and
scenario. Action of postcorrection at each time moment spiritual knowledge.
(locally in time) provides selection of such scenarios which
are preferable as a whole. The above said shows that Everett interpretation,
together with its formulation in terms of alternative realities,
It is evident then that the phenomenon of life may be is the simplest way to achieve this goal.
defined as a subset of preferable Everett’s scenarios in the
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Acknowledgment
I am deeply indebted to Nobel Prize winner Vitaly
Ginzburg, who invited me to publish in Physics-Uspekhi
my reflections on new tendencies in quantum mechanics.
The very concept EEC hardly could be created without this
kind invitation and many discussions with Ginzburg who
had very deep intuition and always looked for growth points
in physics.
References
[1] H. Everett III, “‘Relative state’ formulation of quantum
mechanics”, Rev. Mod. Phys., vol. 29, pp.454–462, 1957.
Reprinted in [2].
[2] Wheeler, J. A. & Zurek, W. H., editors. Quantum Theory and
Measurement. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983,.
[3] M. B. Mensky, “Quantum mechanics: New experiments,
new applications and new formulations of old questions”,
Physics-Uspekhi, vol. 43pp. 585–600, 2000.
[4] M. B. Mensky, “Concept of consciousness in the context
of quantum mechanics”, Physics-Uspekhi, vol. 48, pp.389–
409, 2005.
[5] Menskii, M. B., “Quantum measurements, the phenomenon
of life, and time arrow: three great problems of physics (in
Ginzburg’s terminology) and their interrelation”, Physics-
Uspekhi, vol. 50, pp.397–407, 2007.
[6] Mensky, M. B., Consciousness and Quantum Mechanics:
Life in Parallel Worlds (Miracles of Consciousness from
Quantum Mechanics), World Scientific, 2010.
[7] M. B. Mensky, “Postcorrection and mathematical model of
life in Extended Everett’s concept”, NeuroQuantology, vol.
5, pp. 363–376, 2007.
[8] M. B. Mensky, “Super-intuition and correlations with
the future in Quantum Consciousness”, Cosmology,
vol. 18, pp. 263-282, 2014, http://cosmology.com/
MenskyConsciousTime.pdf.
[9] F. Martin, F. Carminati and G. Galli Carminati, “Quantum
information, oscillations and the Psyche”, Physics of
Particles and Nuclei, vol. 41, pp. 425-451, May 2010.
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Darwinism in the Light of Orthodoxy:

Scientific Transformism Based on Materialism and Naturalism
prof. Gheorghe Istodor, PhD

Faculty of Theology
“Ovidius” University
Contanta - Romania
pr_george_istodor@yahoo.com
Abstract: Darwin and his transformism is the most serious given in time, deism as a concept that recognized God in
challenge to the religious faith of the Church, initial being His quality as Creator was adopted by all major modern
challenged the presence and God’s creative work in the living philosophers (Descartes, Voltaire, Rousseau). [2]
universe of the nature, and finally to challenge the existence In this confrontation, we have the Cartesian
of God as the Creator, being replaced by an eternal matters rationalism which not only inclined the balance in favor of
and by a blind and random natural process called natural materialism and naturalism, but facilitated the replacement
selection. Darwinian theory proposes a dangerous road that of God’s revelation (revelation of God as active involvement
starts from deism – with Anglican theistic accents – accepted in human life was excluded) with philosophical metaphysics,
in his time to an agnosticism and an atheism worst to strike opening the doors for ideologies that will paralyze and
materialism that have an ideological origins placing the overwhelm the science of yesterday and today.
foundations of ateization process of many generations starting
with modernism, postmodernism and until today. II. Darwinism.Theological Review
Keywords – Darwin, transformism, random mutation,
When referring to Charles Darwin, we can not overlook
the young theologian conquered by the theistic system of
natural selection, theism, deism, agnosticism, materialism, William Paley, who was “converted” to the natural sciences,
atheism came to be the deciding factor for many generations
atheisation. [3] We must acknowledge an involution
I. Introduction regarding Darwin, from the gentle Anglican theism to deism
philosophical accepted in the era, then to the philosophical
When we talk about Darwinism, from the beginning agnosticism identified with atheism. [4]
we must say that we deal with an approach that denies the
existence of God, both as Creator and Redeemer, and as His “scientific” system is based on observation
Sanctifier and Providential God. Thus, the distant origins and reasoning –fundamental elements in philosophy - not
of Darwinism are not related to science but philosophy in its the experiment which exclusively belongs to science. He
materialist appearance (we refer to philosophical concepts starts from the observation of horrors in the world that
as the eternity of matter or spontaneous life then taken by could not be the work of God, but certainly and justifiably
modern science to a point, and to the system of Leucippus deficiencies of a purely natural evolutionary process. Here
and Democritus). Then appear theories which claim to be we see clearly that Darwin’s theological training was poor
scientific but impregnated with philosophy, such as a theory either due to Anglicanism, either do to incomplete studies
of pre-formation which still appealed to God and His creation because the horrors could easily be understood through
of Benoit Maillet (1656-1738) for the theory of spontaneous which theology teaches about the original sin [5] generator
generation to return forcefully thanks a Catholic priest, John of illness, suffering, violence, excessive sexuality and death.
Turberville Needham (1713-1781), who concluded that the
organic matter would have in it a “plastic force” capable of Darwin focuses its system on three elements: chance,
self-generating, meaning to be able to give rise to organized struggle and natural selection. [6] Regarding the hazard
corpuscles. Interestingly, this revival of the theory of should be noted that variations allowing gene mutation and
spontaneous generation was harshly criticized by Voltaire lead to the formation of new species are strictly random;
who could see it directly leading to atheism. This revival has regarding the struggle, is about the struggle for survival
made materialism to take off in its radical form by Buffon, and the struggle for existence; here is brought to light the
Diderot and Maupertuis paving the way for philosophical adaptation as intrinsic factor of evolution, better adapted
vitalism and then to Darwinian Transformism. [1] The fact species become stronger and defeat in this battle; finally,
is that a fierce battle between materialism and deism was natural selection is presented - especially by the yesterday
and today`s Neo-Darwinists - as a strong mechanism of
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evolution, its driving engine, funny is that all advocates of impact on man and society: systems of Marx, Nietzsche,
Darwin and evolution endow it with qualities and features Freud to give just three examples.
alike God, thus we speak of a true naturalist object of
worship, in the naturalist universe, too. [7]
III. Instead of conclusions
When evaluating Darwinism and evolution as a natural I noticed that the ground was prepared for the appearance
process in the attempt to provide an alternative to genuine of Darwinism: by eternity of matter and the spontaneous
theological thinking, we can not go around crude forgeries appearance of life from non-life, we have Carl Linnaeus’s
in the attempt to “prove” the existence of evolution. In classification. [9] On the basis solely morphological,
the attempt to prove the existence of a common ancestor Linnéever since 1735 had placed human in “Sistema Naturae”
for both humans as well as monkeys, it has tried to find among mammals, alongside primates. The opposability of
ramifications towards human. This ramification could be thumb, a pair of udders and the dental formula 2.1.2.3 have
australopithecines, namely “Australopithecus Afarensis”, been the arguments for this positioning. More specifically,
which famous skeleton named “Lucy”belongs to. It turned the man is placed in the subdivision of Catarrhines,
out that it looks more like the orangutan and not human, alongside monkeys which do not have prehensile tail and
thanks to researches of great and appreciated anthropologist claws replaced by nails, then in the Anthropomorphic sub-
Zuckerman Lord. But evolutionists have not given up, family, man being the sole representative of the family of
entering the stage “Homo Habilis” leading to “Homo Hominids, big apes like gorilla, chimpanzee and orangutan,
Erectus” with its subdivisions (Pithecanthrope- man on Jawa) though lost their tail, they have the same blood types and
and Synanthropic (man from Beijing). Then is introduced the same period of the menstrual cycle, plus they can move
the “Homo Heidelbergensis” found ever since 1856 or the biped (in a half upright position) belong to the family
Cro-Magnon Man found in 1868. Humanization of monkeys Pongidae . Here it must be said that the similarities - which
would include an extensive process with genetic factors are less than the differences - may rather lead to the idea of
(mutations, migrations, etc.), anatomical and physiological a common Creator, not of a common ancestor. However,
factors (biped gait and semi-vertical position highlighting Linné did not suggest the origin of man from the ape, but
the work with hands), cerebralization(stimulated by labor paved the way of Transformism, 100 years later Darwin had
and creative activity), reproduction throughout the entire the conviction of this origin, not in “The Origin of Species”
year would have favored the multiplication of population, (1859) - in which he speaks about anything but the origin of
feeding with meat created the necessary energetic species – but in “The Descent of Man and Sexual Selection”
availabilities, environmental factors (leaving the life in trees (1871).
and getting out of savanna) and, finally, the social factors
(living and working in the community have promoted However, we must emphasize the emergence and
articulated language). Moreover, human evolution has not development of anti-Darwinian thoughts in contemporary
ended, given the potentiality of the human brain, the fact Biology. First we must say that there is a huge gap of
that we use very small part of our brains would enhance several hundred years in the research between so-called
future evolution of man. “Sciences of Matter” and “Life Sciences” where Biology
is falling, too. Also today, classical, materialist ideological,
This entire scheme is a scientifically unproven one, gaps naturalistic or atheistic concepts - already removed from
in the fossil treasure is likely to shatter these assumptions. “Sciences of Matter” - are still the basis of Biology. Thus,
But there were forgeries from amateur anthropologists as those anti-Darwinists thoughts have the importance of a true
Dawson (1953) who produced the false “Piltdown Man”, Copernican revolution [10] in the field of modern Biology.
consisting of a human skull and an ape jaw. Then the “Jawa It is about contemporary biologists like Christian de Duve
Man” produced by Dubois (1891-1892) who destroyed or Michael Denton [11] who opposed to Wilson, Monod
before his death the gibbon skull cap and the femur of a or Dawkins [12] – who believed that evolution according
man found 15 km from it and retracted everything. Then the to Darwinism is a blind process, with no sense, not being
skull of “Peking Man” artificially inflated to human skull thevector of any project, life being a “cosmic accident” -
capacity was lost in the moment of its discovery made by believes that life is an inevitable phenomenon written in
Theillard of Chardin,also involved in the false “Piltdown the laws of the universe, a “cosmic imperative” as de Duve
man”. Althoughthe “JawaMan” was recognized as false said. They evaluate the Darwinian thesis in the light of new
by its discoverer, however, 30 years later, evolutionary scientific, biologic findings and practical certify the restrains
geneticist Lewontin still refers to it as a “fact of evolution”. and suspicions of many creationist scientists regarding
In addition, there have been attempts of composition of the non-existence of scientific character of Darwinism.
hominids (of which we come!) based on only a piece of the Unfortunately, even if they operate fundamental paradigmatic
skull, a jaw, dispersed bone fragments or even a single bone changes within the biological sciences, the two great
(the “Nebraska Man`s tooth “- 1922 which proved to be of biologists essentially remain still naturalists, namely under
a peccary pig). [8] the control of ideological naturalism and still supporters
We note that current ideologies have replaced actual data, of evolution which means the ideological”bondage” is far
in these conditions we are able to talk about a philosophy of from being eliminated soon. In this respect, we must say that
science or even an ideology. As philosophy of science, due after the rejection of Darwinism, evolution is unanimously
to lack of experimental evidence, the evolutionism found affirmed by the scientific community within a new theory:
its arguments in all areas of science, so it is that rejection the synthetic theory of evolution promoted by a materialist
of evolutionism and of natural evolution is similar to the biologist, Ernst Myer. [13]
rejection of all modern science. As ideology, evolutionism Reviewing all these stages of imposing Darwinism and
was assimilated by all radical atheistic systems with huge natural evolution without divine intervention, we understand
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why God became by turn,for the contemporary post-modern Bucharest: Curtea Veche, 2012
man, obstacle to human freedom, useless hypothesis in the [13] G. Istodor, The dialogue between theology and science in
postmodern cosmology (see the dialogue between Napoleon terms of the Church’s mission, p. 57
the IIIrd a materialistic astronomer Francois Laplace) and not [14] In this regard see A. Nesteruk, The Universe as Communion:
finally the number one enemy of contemporary atheist and Towards a Neo-Patristic Synthesis of Theology and Science,
sinful man. Even worse is that there are theologians - even Buchaerst: Curtea Veche, 2009.
Orthodox - who creates confusion in the mind of modern
man, by promoting a scientific and religious syncretism
of the type of theistic evolutionism, which is even more
dangerous than Darwinian evolutionism.
In conclusion, two aspects should make us consider:
If in the name of science, from evolutionist
perspective,man and woman become male and female,
having their origin and becoming only in materialistic
dimension of existence,then why should we wonder that
contemporary man behaves - despite his laws and standards
of civilization –as a genuine animal. In the light of revelation,
theology teaches us that man is the special creation of God
and is called to participate forever and ever to communion
with the Holy Trinity, he does not evolve, he is intended
becoming, videlicet similarity to God – his Creator. [14]
It’s bizarre and painful that after 2000 years from the
incarnation of the Son of God for our salvation a significant
part of mankind, led by some scholars of today prefer to
resemble monkeys and not to God, making this choice a
priority of their lives, trying to forcefully impose their views
to today believer.
References
[1] About this problem you see T. Lepeltier, Darwin Heretics,
Bucharest: Rosetti Educational, 2009, pp. 33-55
[2] Ibidem
[3] G. Istodor, The dialogue between theology and science in
terms of the Church’s mission, Bucharest: Do minor, 2010,
p. 37
[4] Ibidem, p. 99
[5] Its Attempting to reconcile evolution with original sin. See D.
Alexander, Creation or Evolution: Do We Have to Choose?,
Bucharest: Curtea Veche, 2010, pp. 256-311
[6] To these elements we add the speciation, the fossil, DNA
problem and evolutionary gene and reproductive success
[7] J.F. Haught, Science & Religion: From Conflict to
Conversation, Bucharest: XXI: Eonul Dogmatic, 2008, pp.
69-102
[8] See G. Sandu, The Evolution to creator, Craiova: Mitropolia
of Oltenia, 2003, pp. 218-223; idem, Science and belief,
Craiova: Mitropolia of Oltenia, 2007, pp. 173-179
[9] Ibidem, pp. 216-217
[10] References to the Copernican revolution that imposed in the
Alistarh his heliocentrism in astronomy, and improved third
century BC Ptolemaic system See J.P. Lonchamp, Science
and belief, Bucharest: XXI: Eonul Dogmatic, 2004, pp.61-65
[11] See J. Staune, Science and the Search for Meaning: The
meeting of the new knowledge with the intuition millennial,
in Science and religion – antagonism or complementarity,
Bucharest: XXI: Eonul Dogmatic, pp. 189-204
[12] A clear example of atheist ideology and not scientific
approach we have in R. Dawkins, The God delusion,
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Death gene
as it is understood by theology and genetics
1. Fr. Lecturer CIOCAN Tudor Cosmin, PhD 2. Lecturer MARTINESCU Alina, PhD
Department of Theology Department of Medicine
Ovidius University of Constanta Ovidius University of Constanta
Constanţa -900527, Romania Constanţa -900527, Romania
E-mail: ctc@rcdst.ro E-mail: alinamartinescu@yahoo.co.uk
Abstract: This paper is trying to put together two different Creator`s plan.
researches, from theology and from genetics, about a general
and undetermined topic, death. It is undetermined because no
II. Death from a theological point of view
one can say something demonstrable and unequivocal about
it, since no person alive can cross over the edge of life and
A. Introducing the “theology of death”
come back from the domain of death with information about
it. But we can discuss nevertheless things that are obvious and For the Christian theology death is always in connection
with two fundamental aspects: Fall of Adam and the
possible to be reasonably inferred about death even by livings.
crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Only in the context
In this regard Theology will provide the mainline of what is of these two historical-biblical moments death can be
to be known as death for religion in general, while Genetics explained, interpreted and conceived; more than that, those
will try to come with its research to sustain or contradict the two events are always taken together as a whole, being
general premise: death is not an ontological behavior of living regarded as a hole: Christ’s death is a consequence of
matter, but an imposed attribute after the sin occurred into Adam’s sin and the resurrection undo the effects of the sin
the world. done by Adam, without which the resurrection would not
have been necessary.
Keywords: life span, consequence, imprinting, telomeres, Between these two beacons of the Christian
senescence, Immortality, death. interpretation of death, it receives different interpretations
and approaches. E.g. It appears as divine punishment
I. Introduction (Heading 1) occurred from the sin of Adam and directed both against
Adam who committed this sin and somehow, against all
The present issue is usual regarded with fear or at least his descendants; for this imputation directed to the whole
respect due to the fact that nothing over the edge of it is human race there are lots of theories that attempt to explain
possible to be known or demonstrate. As a mater a fact we reasonably this imputation without exhausting the resources
cannot ‘know’ for sure anything about it since we do not to answer all the theological or emerging issues. And
possess the ability to be / see on the other side of life. although there is often this acceptation of death, the Bible
The reason for taking this topic under a dual perspective, says bluntly that “For God made not death: Neither hath
genetic and theological, is because both have something to He pleasure in the destruction of the living” (The Book of
say about this unseen reality that nobody knows anything Wisdom 1.13), and the reason is very plausible and fall very
about it and, in the same time everyone fears it unequally. well with the divine plan of creation … “For He created all
We believe that, if we raise the right questions in this mater, things, that they might have their being: and the generations
we might get the correct attention over death from our of the world were healthful” (vs. 14). Beside punishment,
readers. death is also a redemption method and not a vengeance of
God as St. Irenaeus said [1].
The theological perspective approach death with interest
on questions like what is death?, how could the living matter Another relevant explanation is that death was brought
to change into dead matter?, it is death a permanent or a by God in human nature because of sin for it does not lasts
reversible stage? Death – a quality of living matter or an (a preventive measure) to be contained and to receive a
accident that will pass away? Do we really want death to be determination temporal-spatial beyond which it cannot pass
removed? Trying to answer to this questions our material [2]. This explanation is most often found to Christian the
aim to create a logical explanation for the reason of death theologians, it has a profound scriptural justification:
to exist, and, perhaps, the most important thing said here An interesting laid down in the Bible referring to death
is that death has a purpose, as everything else does in the is located in the Book of Revelation, 9.6, “During those
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days people will seek death but will not find it; they will “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and
long to die, but death will elude them”. It is a unique text, have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You
without any other correspondent Bible, which shows that shall not eat of it’, cursed is the ground because of you”
the death penalty is not imposed forever, with no possibility (Gen 3.17). That means that death is the penalty of death”
of escape from it. (Romans 6.23).
In another vein, death is a psycho-pedagogical Demarcation between life and death is categorical,
approach of God for man’s disobedience and transgression without exception; all man are subjects of death. What
of the divine command. Without smuggle the penalty of sin appears to be an exception, the case of Enoch, the seventh
- “For the wages of sin is death ...” (Romans 6.23) - it is man, as well as Elijah - both caught up to heaven before
often interpreted by the Fathers of Holly Church as a result death holds any effect on them - are no exceptions at all,
of God’s nurturing and as a measure for straightening the because the Bible picks up their life from where their left
humankind, goal that is in fact in everything God does by (Genesis 5.24, 2 Kings 2) and finishes it in the same manner
and for the man after original sin, “I take no pleasure in as any other human life: with a physical death (Revelation
the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their 11.7). In other words, death is inexorable, no one can escape;
ways and live” (Ezekiel 33.11). We are told that “death is at is therefore a sine qua non condition of life. It cannot be
work in us” (2 Corinthians 4.12), so it must be something deceived, planned or deferred; because of this almost
specific, like a being, not an attribute, death is another-thing everyone is inclined to say that “you can`t cheat death”,
relative to living matter, because the image created around meaning that the death is the natural end of any biological
it gives to the death this posture. existence, more or less predictable. However “everything
longs for permanent existence” [3].
Can we segregate a gene of death by the living nature?
If “death is at work” it can only means that it is something Predictability of death is only effective under “abnormal
that performs a function, either biological, or pedagogical, conditions” when the death can be diagnosed, but even
or both. In this case death is “alive” and this interpretation then the percentage of occurrence of the death is not 100%
has gained anthropomorphic significance from ancient times sure, sometimes being encountered exceptions due to
just because this understanding of death as something alive “miraculous” and especially unexpected healing. Generally
exists everywhere, as something that works, something that it operates with approximations to decades and that shows
fulfills a function, transforms, consumes living matter etc. the age limit to which can a certain organism reach (e.g.
According to most religious traditions, death is not an object for human max. age is 122 years, for cats 38, for dogs 29,
or just a state of life, but a subject that can talk, negotiate and 62 for horses, elephant 86, Koi fish + 200, or for the ocean
so on. But the vitality of death means probably the biological quahog (Arctica islandica, aka Ming) a marine bivalve
binder, with living matter, binder through which it could mollusk for 500 years). Maximum life span is a measure
influence it after the program he has. In this sense death can of the maximum amount of time on one or more members
be understood as a biological virus that is reprogramming of a population has been observed to survive between birth
the information of living cell, and this because, observing and death. For this definition are not taken into account
the natural evolution of a cell compared with one attacked accidents, occurred in most cases of death of all living
by death viruses (eg cancer), cell information changes in the beings.
sense that the “normal” life span shortens dramatically. We
can extrapolate in this sense that there is a gene of death From theological point of view the irreversibility of
virally forwarded to the whole creation and that rescheduled death is not a feature of it, although for all scientists this
the information of living matter. dimension of death is naturally impregnated to all living
things; it is an impregnable reality to which any living being
obeys unconditionally. Nevertheless, for the theological
B. Casework of death world the picture has a completely different manner. We
An appropriation of death emerging from all theological do not approach here the issue of reincarnation because it
writings that approach this matter is its universality; there is does not regard directly the reversibility of biological death,
no one and nothing (among living) which can escape from of living matter, but it is a theory that relates exclusively
the incidence of death. It cannot be known the exact method to the soul, not the body. The presumption of universal
by which, because of Adam’s sin, death spread virally upon resurrection, stemming from historical and religious
all mankind (“so death passed onto all men, for all have reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is a direct and
sinned” Romans 5.12), to the whole nature. But how it this unequivocal reference of the reversibility of the biological
transmission of the death has occurred? How could death death. „The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death
enter onto living matter? The Bible says that “sin came and Hades gave up the dead that were in them” (Revelation
into the world through one man, and death through sin, and 20.13). The abolition of death is a natural consequence,
so death spread to all men” (Romans 5.12). If everything both for the Christian theology - entitled to regard this as an
was created to live, was possible that all what was alive undeniable reality, because it is based on the reality of death
to receive the stigma of death? Many theologians suggest and resurrection of Christ, Who, by the grace of God, He
that the figure of the heavenly fruit is a figurative one and might taste death for everyone (Hebrews 2.9) - as well as for
that, even if there was a physical fruit, death has not come many other theologies, and this universal aspect of belief of
because of it. There are other theologians who distrust the resurrection also of the body along with the spirit, is closely
spiritual command of God, and propose that God`s words related to the logic and the rationality of creation which,
are more as a warning given to man, not to touch a fruit with in the perspective of permanent death, there would has
able to give death. But this assumption is rejected by Lord`s no teleology. More than that, as I showed in the beginning
words occurring after man’s disobedience and says bluntly of this text, we can probably conclude our presentation
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saying that death has a reason to exist, and, perhaps, the so-called theologoumena1 debating, but do not define this
most important thing we can say here is that death has aspect) – to descendants of Adam and Eve until today and
a purpose, as everything else does in the Creator`s plan; beyond. Words said to Adam, “the day you eat you will die”
“by death we are recalled from exile to inhabit our native (Gen. 2.17), did not suggest an instant death, but the loss of
country, a heavenly country” [4]. There is no sick, perverse innocence and of the state of no- death; man becomes the
or insane statement that we wish for death to come, we subject of death, because Adam lived for 930 years. On the
embrace death for it will reunite us with the Lord and not other hand the Christian Church condemned Pelagius who
because we want to give up this life and ask for a sooner, claimed that Adam, even if he had not sinned, he was dead
irrational or self-inflicted death (cf. 2 Timothy 4.18; Titus in its natural condition [6].
2.13).
What are the genetic implications of this problem so far?
About this irreversibility of death many theologians
have written and they have based their writings starting That would somehow mean that there is, on the one
from promise “the Lord Almighty…will swallow up death hand, in the genetic code of living matter the information
forever” (Isaiah 25.6, 8). Every author talking about this that the degradation and death, finally, are correct, efficient
issue tells us not only will God relieve the hurt caused by and ultimately natural. The first conclusion that follows from
life`s suffering (‘wipe away tears’, cf. Mt. 5.4), but He will the fact that now, after the original sin, this is the definitive
remove those factors which brought about the suffering. By state of living matter; because of the sin, but that’s it! We do
John`s day the abolition of death in the new age was a fairly not have access to a primordial genetic code, a pre-sin one,
standard feature of Jewish and Christian eschatology, with a Adamic or heavenly one and therefore our inherited legacy
Isaiah 25.8 forming the central proof text” [5]. now includes imprinted the death.
We talked until now about biological death occurred On the other hand, this could also mean that the pattern
by the degradation of the living cell, by achieving the of death is not written in the genetic code of any creature
final threshold of genetic information. The same logical - human or bacteria - and that this imprinting would have
argument can be said and speculated about the accidents followed to be made post-creationist - a) by the direct work
that interrupts life without a prior genetic programming of the Creator, although not a single word of Genesis would
(suicide, homicide)? Perhaps the case of suicide could be make us take this imprinting with the death gene (of bodily
caught in this genetic program, if we say that our behavior degradation) as the “act of God”: cursed are you above all
is included in our genetic material, and in that case we can livestock and above all beasts of the field... cursed is the
extrapolate that the failure of personality and the tendency of ground because of you” (Gen. 3.14, 17); b) or by the will of
suicide are all printed and determined as genetic information. Creator and His indirect work, like a trigger set as a backup
But if so, then the problem of determinism would suppress in the genetics of living matter, since the creation of it and
any chance of man’s free choice. Then what happens with which it may be triggered by the sin in the event that this
accidents and the death caused not by aging, but in various was obviously triggered; if it was not triggered, the genetic
circumstances? But this dilemma is not the subject of our trigger of death remained passive, and the state of non-death
research, it exceeded the area of genetics, and any solution may have perpetuated equal as natural as death, now, after-
we would provide, I don`t think it would be contrary to the sin. This explanation may be based on scriptural statement
information gathered in the dialogue with genetics. made to Adam by the Creator: “I have set before you life
and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that
you and your offspring may live” (Deuteronomy 30. 19)
A. The theological problematization of immanence of Jean Calvin says that “death was inflicted for the very thing
death which deserved the highest praise” [7], letting us know that
Can genetics understand, starting from a primordial, the other part of Christianity also believe in the accidentally
edenic genetic code, before sin, whether our hereditary of death.
legacy encompasses or not imprinted death? A first conclusion would be drawn here is that the
From the religious perspective, man was created by God attempt of scientists to seek removal of the death in the
in a indefinite state (not final) – in regards of the end of the genetic code, finding of a concrete solution, achievable, the
body (death). He was quoting from St. Augustine, “posse “youth without old age and life without death” becomes
non peccari et mori” (you are able not to sin or die) and 1 Theologoumena exist on different teachings (e.g. the
not “non posse mori”, namely he may not die, but not that “nature” of evil, the relationship between the many demons
he could not die. In this case we need to understand that the
disease, death, the disintegration of matter in general was and the one devil, the way in which demons tempt man, the
not, according to the theological teachings (at least after the “abode” of the demons, their situation at the Last Judgment,
three monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity, Islam), the question of the relationship between individual man
an attribute, a constitutive acquiring of the flesh (human, in and the tempter, compared with the individual guardian
particular). angel, the way original sin is transmitted to all and every
Secondly, after the original sin, committed by human being and so on) which have been unable to go
Adam and Eve, man receives provisional a final state of beyond this stage of development because there is no strict
decay, death being included as the final stage of bodily theological point of departure for this further development.
degradation. Moreover, this original sin, with all its effects
and consequences, is transmitted – we don`t know for sure Karl Rahner (editor), Encyclopedia of Theology: A
and absolutely how (there are only theological theories Concise Sacramentum Mundi. Mumbai, India: Continuum
International Publishing Group Inc., 2004, P. 334.
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appropriate. There can only be meaningful such an attempt Telomeres appear to protect and stabilize the
like that as long as we believe it is valid the earlier inference: chromosome ends, like the tabs on the end of shoe laces
death is not natural, but a genetic mutation occurred in the which prevent them fraying. Without telomeres, the main
process. Vice versa, if the natural death is a link of the chain part of the chromosome — the part with genes essential
genetic, whether is passive, then, along with the triggering for life — would get shorter each time a cell divides. So
/ activation of it, it cannot be torn away from the genetic telomeres allow cells to divide without losing genes.
chain of living matter without destroying it. In this case
death occurred not naturally, but artificially, before the Almost 40 years ago, Leonard Hayflick discovered that
natural stop of the biological clock, and therefore useless. cultured normal human cells have limited capacity to divide,
after which they become senescent — a phenomenon now
What would be, in this regard, the intervention of known as the ‘Hayflick limit’ [8].
geneticists and the conclusions reached by their research?
Other scholars or researchers may intervene at any time and
to clarify this issue.
III. Genetics approach of death in general
A. What is life span?

In Greek myth, the amount of time a person spent on
earth was determined at birth by the length of a thread spun
and cut by the Fates. Modern genetics suggests the Greeks
had the right idea—particular DNA threads called telomeres
have been linked to life expectancy. But new experiments
are unraveling old ideas about fate.
What are the telomeres?
A telomere is a repeating DNA sequence (for example,
TTAGGG) at the end of the body’s chromosomes. The
telomere can reach a length of 15,000 base pairs. Telomeres
function by preventing chromosomes from losing base pair
sequences at their ends. They also stop chromosomes from
fusing to each other. However, each time a cell divides, Figure 2. Leonard Hayflick in 1988. (Photograph: Peter Argentine.)
some of the telomere is lost (usually 25-200 base pairs per
division). The Hayflick limit (or Hayflick phenomenon) is the
number of times a normal human cell population will divide
until cell division stops. Empirical evidence shows that the
telomeres associated with each cell’s DNA will get slightly
shorter with each new cell division until they shorten to a
critical length and can no longer replicate. This means that
a cell becomes “old” and dies by a process called apoptosis.
Telomere activity is controlled by two mechanisms: erosion
and addition. Erosion, as mentioned, occurs each time a cell
divides. Addition is determined by the activity of telomerase.
What is telomerase?
Telomerase, also called ‘telomere terminal transfers’, is
an enzyme made of protein and RNA subunits that elongates
chromosomes by adding TTAGGG sequences to the end of
existing chromosomes. Telomerase is found in fetal tissues,
adult germ cells, and also tumor cells. Telomerase activity
is regulated during development and has a very low, almost
undetectable activity in somatic cells. Because these somatic
cells do not regularly use telomerase, they age. The result
of aging cells is an aging body. If telomerase is activated
in a cell, the cell will continue to grow and divide. This
“immortal cell” theory is important in two areas of research:
aging and cancer.
A. Immortality
If telomerase makes cancer cells immortal, could it
prevent normal cells from aging? Could we extend lifespan
Figure 1. Relation between telomeres and DNA by preserving or restoring the length of telomeres with
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telomerase? If so, would that increase our risk of getting Conclusions

cancer? Death is the termination of all biological functions that
Scientists are not yet sure. But they have been able to sustain a living organism. So any factor, genetically or not,
use telomerase in the lab to keep human cells dividing far that disrupts these functions is causing death.
beyond their normal limit, and the cells do not become There is no “death gene”, but cells have a limited number
cancerous. of divisions by the repetitive DNA sequences of telomeres,
If we used telomerase to “immortalize” human cells, so it can multiply indefinitely. The absence of cell division
we may be able to mass produce cells for transplantation, will lead to cell death, thus unable to renew tissues and
including insulin-producing cells to cure diabetes, muscle aging, as an irreversible process.
cells for treating muscular dystrophy, cartilage cells for Obviously, when cell division could be controlled “in
certain kinds of arthritis, and skin cells for healing severe vivo” only then we can ask whether, death is reversible?
burns and wounds. An unlimited supply of normal human
cells grown in the laboratory. The application of new human genetics technologies to
the study of ageing has just begun and may lead to additional
A. Senescence breakthroughs in human ageing in the near future.
Senescence is considered the last step of the complex The proposal of theology about death is that this is not
process of development of all organisms. This refers to a an ontological attribute of living matter, but an immanent
series of changes resulting in decreased body homeostasis accident of it, that was established over all creation as a
and increased vulnerability. result of disobedience of “the crown of creation”, man, but
it is also to be removed by the One Who established it as a
Although cellular senescence can be induced by various temporary law of living matter. For the foundation of this
causes, senescent cells display a number of characteristics we have plastic assertions, that “Then death and Hades were
that allow their identification both in vitro and in vivo. [9] thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20.14), and also
Some of these biomarkers reflect the activation of clear, direct and unequivocal expressions, “The last enemy
mechanisms contributing to cellular senescence program: to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15.26). We thus
telomere shortening and cell cycle arrest, increased learn that death will eventually be abolished, because its
oxidative stress, chromatin remodeling, products secreted nature is immanent provisional until some point.
by senescent cells, autophagy activation and morphological The approach of this issue seems to be useless as long
changes. as the specifications formulated both theological and of
There is ample evidence that the maximum duration of genetics are identical and lead to the same conclusion: death
survival of each species is under genetic control. However, is relentless, universal, and no one can escape it, and more
the heritability does not exceed 35%. Despite the relatively than that the existence of an after-life is not something that
low levels of genetic factors, a number of mutations can can be certified by anything concrete and tangible. Death
dramatically affect the senescence. [10] ends, beyond the control of anyone, any lifetime and
cannot be determined or stopped by anyone. However our
Average lifespan has increased at a steady pace of almost conclusion is one able to give us hope of the fulfillment of
3 months per year in both males and females since 1840 [11] words like “death will be destroyed”. Knowing that death
was not a plan into our gene or in any living material from
Centenarians now constitute the fastest-growing the beginning, which leaves us with an uncertain hope that
segment of the U.S. population, increasing in number from death is merely a stage, a provisory and accidental ‘gift’ that
3,700 in 1940 to roughly 61,000 in 2006 [12]. might be, someday, taken back. We might not have said all
Finding differences in genes between centenarians and things about death, even some important information as there
average-aged individuals may point to molecular pathways is something more badly than death; spiritual death; there
important in the aging process. Yet, little is known about is something called undead etc., but we considered that, due
specific genes that affect the rate of aging or human lifespan. to the mutual approach, what was said is more important
[13] than other knowledge about it. We come with a theological
assertion that death has a purpose to exist, therefor death has
The only two genes associated with human longevity that a purpose to exist in man’s life in particular because of this.
have been replicated in multiple populations are FOXO3A What is it than, because, as science can say about it, death
and APOE [14-21]. The effect sizes of these two genes for has no meaning for us to end other than to become part of
longevity are small with odds ratios of 1.26 and 1.45 for “food chain”, a meaning that has no power to convince
survival to age 100 in replicate studies for FOXO3A and us to live as we do and, in the same time, to live with this
APOE, respectively [19]. These genes account for only idea that we are merely food for something else like a fish,
a small portion of the genetic contribution to longevity insects or worse! “Death is not something which happens
measured through family heritability studies [22, 23]. to a man alongside much else. Death is the event in which
Therefore, much of the heritability of lifespan remains to the very man himself becomes his definitive self” [24]. In
be explained. other words only in the light of death we can understand
and cherish life itself, and through the “eyes” of death we
can consider ourselves in a realistic evaluation, how much
we really value; “Come, brethren, to the pit to see the dust
and the dirt from which we were built. Where are we going
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now? What we have done? Who is poor or rich? Who is the [14] Corder EH, Saunders AM, Strittmatter WJ, Schmechel DE,
master? Who is free? They are not all the dust? The beauty Gaskell PC, Small GW, et al. Gene dose of apolipoprotein E
of face had rotted and the flower of youth had withered by type 4 allele and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in late onset
death” (Song from orthodox funeral). families. Science. 1993 Aug 13;261(5123):921-3.
On the other hand, scientifically speaking, if somehow [15] Kervinen K, Savolainen MJ, Salokannel J, Hynninen A,
we could solve the problem of death and come to a solution Heikkinen J, Ehnholm C, et al. Apolipoprotein E and B
to eliminate from the equation of life, we would really polymorphisms--longevity factors assessed in nonagenarians.
want to live forever in these conditions that we have built? Atherosclerosis. 1994 Jan;105(1):89-95.
Judging by the wrong that humankind has done, would we [16] Schachter F, Faure-Delanef L, Guenot F, Rouger H, Froguel
really want to preserve this for eternity, or are we ourselves P, Lesueur-Ginot L, et al. Genetic associations with human
the mere judges of life and we would want to put an end longevity at the APOE and ACE loci. Nat Genet.1994
of it eventually? You are now free to imagine any scenario Jan;6(1):29-32.
with us being immortals on this world with this kind of life [17] Willcox BJ, Donlon TA, He Q, Chen R, Grove JS, Yano
we have built! K, et al. FOXO3A genotype is strongly associated with
human longevity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008Sep
16;105(37):13987-92.
References
[18] Anselmi CV, Malovini A, Roncarati R, Novelli V, Villa F,
[1] M. L’abbé Migne. Encyclopédie théologique ou, Série de Condorelli G, et al. Association of the FOXO3A locus with
dictionnaires sur toutes les parties de la science religeuse. extreme longevity in a southern Italian centenarian study.
Paris: Migne au Petit-Montrouge, vol. 3, p. 929. Rejuvenation Res. 2009 Apr;12(2):95-104.
[2] Ibidem. [19] Flachsbart F, Caliebe A, Kleindorp R, Blanche H, von
[3] John Calvin. Institutes of The Christian Religion, Book Eller-Eberstein H, Nikolaus S, et al. Association of
III, Chapters VI – X: On The Christian Life. USA: SAGE FOXO3A variation with human longevity confirmed in
Software Albany, 1995, p. 40. German centenarians. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Feb
[4] Calvin. Institutes of the…, p. 40. 24;106(8):2700-5.
[5] Jan Fekkes, Isaiah and Prophetic Traditions in the Book of [20] Li Y, Wang WJ, Cao H, Lu J, Wu C, Hu FY, et al. Genetic
Revelation: Visionary Antecedents and their Development. association of FOXO1A and FOXO3A with longevity trait
Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1994, p. 254. in Han Chinese populations. Hum Mol Genet. 2009 Sep 29.
[6] M. L’abbé Migne. Encyclopédie théologique ou…, p. 928. [21] Pawlikowska L, Hu D, Huntsman S, Sung A, Chu C, Chen J,
[7] John Calvin. Institutes of The Christian Religion, Four et al. Association of common genetic variation in the insulin/
Volumes In One Digital Library Volume. USA: SAGE IGF1 signaling pathway with human longevity.Aging Cell.
Software Albany, 1996, p. 33. 2009 May 31.
[8] Jerry W. Shay and Woodring E.Wright,” Hayflick, his limit, [22] Herskind AM, McGue M, Holm NV, Sorensen TI, Harvald
and cellular ageing”- www.nature.com. B, Vaupel JW. The heritability of human longevity: a
population-based study of 2872 Danish twin pairs born
[9] Thomas Kuilman, Chrysiis Michaloglou, Wolter J. Mooi, et 1870-1900. Hum Genet. 1996 Mar;97(3):319-23.
al. “The essence of senescence” Genes Dev. 2010 24: 2463-
2479 [23] McGue M, Vaupel JW, Holm N, Harvald B. Longevity is
moderately heritable in a sample of Danish twins born 1870-
[10] Mircea Covic, Dragos Stefanescu, Ionel Sandovici, 1880. J Gerontol. 1993Nov;48(6):B237-44.
“Genetica medicala” Edit. Polirom 2011
[24] Karl Rahner, Encyclopedia…, p. 329.days people will seek
[11] Oeppen J, Vaupel JW. Demography. Broken limits to life death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death
expectancy. Science.2002 May 10;296(5570):1029-31. will elude them”. It is a unique text, without any other
[12] Sonnega A. The future of human life expectancy: have correspondent Bible, which shows that the death penalty is
we reached the ceiling oris the sky the limit? Research not imposed forever, with no possibility of escape from it.
Highlights in the Demography and Economics of Aging.
2006 March 2006;8.
[13] Heather E. Wheeler and Stuart K. Kim, Genetics and
genomics of human ageing, review 2010.
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The Sacramental and Moral-Educational

Function of the Christian Orthodox Cult
Archimandrite Associate Professor Vasile Miron, PhD.

Ovidius University
Constanta, Romania
Abstract: The Christian Orthodox Cult intervenes for our through which the religious life is displayed, meaning t
Salvation and blessing, gives us the possibility to cherish the inner feelings of the believers. Through the divine cult
God and to offer Him our gratitude for the bounties we are expressed, in words, in prayers, in songs, in symbols
receive through religious services. This divine Cult and liturgical acts or acts of cult, our feelings of adoration
helps us stay in touch with Him, deepen our faith, clean towards God, the Creator, the Savior of the entire world and
our sense, enlighten our mind, become stronger in our the feelings of cherishing the Saints, of these heroes of the
Christian cult. The divine Orthodox Christian cult can be
decision of doing good deeds and live like brothers in defined as a drama of the Christian virtues on its triumphal
the spirit of the Christian love. roads, because “the entire Godish service penetrates us,
it makes us understand that we all have a Father, that we
Keywords: Christian Orthodox Cult, Holiness giving way, are all sons of This Father, that we all need His help, that
moral-educational factor without the help of The Highest One we are powerless
and that only through common prayers and songs we find
I. Introduction comfort, we become stronger, we are easily heard and we
receive unnatural gifts that we can achieve only through the
In the religious life and activity of every Church, the intervention of Church”.[1]
biggest weight have the factors that promote the spiritual
climbing, the moral-religious progress and, in consequence, Through its cult, the Church does nothing but wake up
and the Salvation of the Christians’ soul. These factors, the soul of the sinner, spurring him on the way of repenting
even though they vary sometimes from Church to Church, himself, in order to make him able to communicate with
from confession to confession, still, they follow the same God and able to receive the saving gift. In the ritual of
purpose in the entire Christian cult, namely, the evolution of our religious services there are various examples of soul
the spiritual life and the redemption of the Christians. This building Christian moral life and full of ideas and Christian
ideal can be achieved through different ways and different virtues. Thus, the struggle of chasing the evil thoughts,
levels in Church, but what we are really interested in and is the practice of virtues, God living in the heart of the
the central theme of the present work is the public divine believer, the inner Rebirth, work together at the man’s
Orthodox Cult, looked at through the Practical Theology, transformation, his transfiguration and his relation with
just like the way it is presented and interpreted by the God. This way, the orthodox public divine cult is no longer a
Liturgics study. Orthodoxy has Its own history, its own simple formality in the life of the pious man, but an essential
grandeur, its heroism and sufferings, its past – sometimes existence for him, a river of inspiration and religious life,
triumphal, sometimes shattered and, all these realities have an insatiable source of the Saints’ gift and a living religious
forced it to focus on its faith and purpose into this world, in learning that can be understood by everyone. “All liturgical
order to find suited ways and methods, right and efficient texts and the cult books are written documents of authentic
means to lead the believers to Redemption. These ways and Christian doctrine.”[2] The public divine Orthodox cult is
principles of Christian life are faithfully mirrored into its also a creative factor of solidarity of human knowledge.
divine cult. “It deepens the religious consciousness and it extends it
in a religious experience. Once established, the religious
Our Orthodoxy is defined through its sublime, fascinating consciousness becomes a solid base of the cult and the cult
and solemn cult. This cult represents the living tradition of continues to strengthen the religious consciousness.”[3]
the Church itself, raised and lived under the shadow of the 1 Juvenal Stefanelli, Liturgica Bisericii Ortodoxe-Catolice,
life giving power of the Holy Spirit.
Bucureşti, 1886, p. 25.
Through divine Christian cult it is understood in 2 Pr. Prof. Ion Bria, Liturghie după Liturghie, Bucureşti, 1996, p.
the Orthodoxy the sum of ritualistic deeds and shapes 51.
established by our God Jesus Christ and by the Church, 3 Robert Will, Le culte, étude D'Histoire et de Philosophie
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In the Orthodox cult, the vision of the spiritual beauty his life with the one of Jesus Christ, holly and pure. By
unites with the vision of the world’s beauty. It is the taking part at the divine cult, the Church offers the believers
manifestation of the fullness of the spiritual world.”[4] the possibility to become part of Christ’s life and holiness
Through all its brightness, especially through the God given and, maybe, live this life since “living in God and for God
religious ceremonies from morning and evening, the divine doesn’t mean going out in the world and protest against it,
cult of the Orthodox Church is formed in such a manner that but transfiguring it through the spirituality and holiness that
it shows the vital connection between the Earthly Church your person accumulates from the intimate and permanent
and the Heavenly one… This cult is a living embodiment of contact with God.”[9]
Christianity together with its Almighty Head, Jesus Christ”.4
The beauty element, as an expression of God’s glory, glory Through the cult, the Orthodox Church has established
that fills the Church, has a very well established place in the an admirable moral-religious instruction of the believers
Orthodox mass, besides prayer and religious learning. This and cherish of God. It has put at their disposal an entire
cult, through its richness, drama, poetry, music and variety, theology populated under the shape of hymns and prayers
is a mystery throughout the world, it has the gift and the with the purpose of spreading and defending the Orthodox
power to influence the human soul and, at the same time, belief against sextant propaganda. “The big ideas of our
the destiny to lead towards Salvation and to spiritually lift cult, are borrowed from the teachings of our Lord Jesus
the believers. “In the divine cult of our Orthodox Church, in Christ; and they are covered in the cult like a beautiful and
totality and in its every piece, there is enough food for soul, fruitful germen, with a special blanket, set on top, by the
mind and heart and for the lucrative powers; Its prayers and greatest teachers of Christianity. Even the prayers and the
songs, the readings from the Old and New Testament are liturgical blessings with the content of the Saint Liturgy; in
an undying treasure for a high mind, an open, energetic and their totality, they are built on the stone of the messianic
lucrative heart. These litanies are God given, inspired by learning.”[10]
God; there is a pure love breathing inside them, a bright The strict respect of the regulations and traditional
love, a Godlike ration; they contain all our real needs, all our forms of cult has been a mean of defense and protection of
requests for all and for everything.”[5] the Orthodox doctrine. Thus, the attachment of the believers
The entire divine cult reproduces in a symbolic and to the shapes of the Orthodox cult has always represented
sacramental way the mystery of life and the rewarding the symbol of belonging somewhere and the symbol of
activity of our Lord Jesus Christ. This cult is “ the continuation undeterred willingness for the unity of the Orthodoxy
of Christ’s life in the Church to save the humanity. He is and, at the same time, the supreme way of manifesting
forever alive in His Church and He continues to live for their resistance in front of the menaces came from other
everybody, in order to make everyone live for the ones confessions and religions.
around them and for the One that died and resurrected in the Through Its divine service, our Holly Church has
third day.”[6] Through its divine cult, the Church updates cultivated the idea and sense of closeness between people,
and prolongs in time the life and activity of Jesus Christ of brotherhood beyond the walls of the Church, in the social
to save us. In this way, “the divine service of the Church is relationships as tendencies towards unity, solidarity and
amongst the highest ministry of our Savior Jesus Christ, or, mutual help. We are all called to take part at the spiritual
in some other words, a continuation of His Saint work for life of the Church, and, this is why, the liturgical prayer is
our salvation.”[7] Through this cult, the Savior is always conceived in a communitarian spirit, since, if we all made
present in His Church and He continues working in order to ourselves participants at the death of Jesus Christ and at His
be Life for everyone, so all men alive may have a piece from Resurrection (Romans, 6, 8-10; Colossian 2, 12-13), we all
the Heavenly treasure obtained for us by the One that died must pray one for another and love each other, “so we can
and resurrected in the third day (2 Corinthians, 5, 15). This all confess Father, Son and The Holy Spirit, Trinity one
thing is achieved by the Church through the cult. “Through being and undivided.”
Its divine service, the Church sanctifies all the important
parts of the day and brings to memory the most important Through the harmony, the poetic beauty and the depth
events from the history of the Christian Church.”[8] of dogmatic and moral teachings of the hymns and prayers
that form it, the public Orthodox divine cult has a moral-
This way, the life of Jesus Christ, renewed in spirit along educative and teaching role, helping the ones that take
the church year, must become an example for the Christian, part at it to grow spiritually and strengthens them in their
and this one, at his turn, has the supreme duty of matching work towards perfection. “The Orthodox cult recommends
religieuses, tome I, Strasbourg, 1925, p. 23. the defeating of the heart, the right teaching, self humility,
4 Sf. Ioan din Kronștadt, Liturghia: cerul pe pământ, trad. în rom. love of people and good deeds.”[11] Especially, the Holy
de Boris Buzilă, Ed. Deisis, Sibiu, 1996, p. 182-183. Liturgy, the heart of the public Orthodox divine cult, “tends
5 Ibidem, p. 187. to develop in the hearts the life of Christ.”12 Actually,
6 Prof. Dr. Vasile Mitrofanovici, Prof. Dr. Teodor Tarnavschi, “through all the sacramental means, the formulas and the
Arhiepiscop şi Mitropolit Dr. Nectarie Cotlarciuc, Liturgica liturgical rites, Church wants to show the Christian that
Bisericii Ortodoxe, cursuri universitare, Cernăuţi, 1929, p. 107. 9 Pr. Prof. Grigore Cristescu, Supremația idealului creștin în
7 Arhimandrit Melchisedec Ștefănescu, Manual de Liturgică sau viața socială, Sibiu, 1928, p. 56.
servirea de Dumnezeu a Bisericii Ortodoxe, București, 1862, p. 10 Prof. Dr. Badea Cireşeanu, Tezaurul liturgic, tomul III,
11. Bucureşti, 1910, p. 14.
8 Petru Lebedew, Liturgica sau explicarea serviciului divin, trad. 11 Ibidem, p. 14.
și prelucrare de Iconomul Nicolae Filip, București, 1899, p. 12 Dom. M. Festugiere, Qu'est ce que la Liturgie?, Paris, 1914,
224-225. p. 81.
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he has to shape his life after the one of our Lord, Jesus Church becomes Its own place.”[19]
Christ.”[13] In the public divine service, the Holy Spirit
fulfills His secret work of transforming and renewing the As a consequence, during the Holy Liturgy, Christ
souls of the believers, by sharing with them the fruits of makes Himself present in a sacramental way, from Birth to
our Saviors’ Sacrifice, updated in the Holy Liturgy. This the Elevation in all its major acts and moments. It prolongs
religious service is the center of the entire divine Orthodox in time and space the entire life and saving work of our
cult, “because it renders the Sacrifice Itself or the death on Lord, Jesus Christ, making us contemporary with His
the Cross, through which it was plentifully fulfilled the price deeds, “because their sight, being in front of our eyes, would
of the ransom of the human kind from sin.”[14] sanctify our souls and thus, become worthy of receiving the
Holy Gifts.”[20]
The Liturgy is the sacramental way of individual
appliance of the universal Sacrifice’s fruits on Golgotha. The presence of Christ among us, during the Liturgy, can
“It is the Cross of Christ, let at the disposal of the souls be divided into three important stages: during Proskomedia,
from everywhere and from every century”[15], because until the small entrance from the Liturgy of teaching men,
the price of forgiveness and our ransom from the sin, won Christ is present in a typical-symbolic manner; from the
through Sacrifice by the Savior on the Cross, is renewed and small entrance to transformation, in the Liturgy of the
continued every time we fulfill the Eucharistic bounty of the believers, Christ is present in a mystical-symbolic manner
Body and Blood of our Lord in the Holy Liturgy. “In Liturgy, and, at last, starting with the Eucharistic transformation,
we bring to God as a gift, everything we hold precious, Christ is present in a real and substantial manner. The
meaning, our earthly and passing life itself, symbolized in transformation of the natural elements of bread and wine
the gifts of bread and wine, and He gives us in return His in His Body and Blood “is not physical, but meta-physical,
divine and eternal life, meaning the Body and the Blood of meaning that it is beyond the limits of this world”[21], being
His Son Himself, in which these gifts turn to.”[16] secret, wonderful and supernatural. This Secret is the fruit
of the Holy Spirit’s work, since “God made everything with
More, Liturgy realizes and proclaims the Gospel. The the energy of the Holy Spirit, exactly like that, the energy
Gospel is made known through Liturgy, as bread and wine of the Spirit is now working things that are above senses,
proclaim the God as Creator, whereas the blessing and the things that can only be covered by faith”[22], says a great
breakage confess that He bought back the world and that father of the Church. The sacrifice takes place in the moment
everything finds its meaning, sense and unity in His death of the sanctification of the Gifts. “How does Jesus receive
and resurrection that have transfigured the entire creation. our gifts? By sanctifying them and turning them into His
Body and Blood.”[23], says the greatest preacher Nicholas
Liturgy and the entire Church cult is the doctrine itself, Cabasilas. In the act of sanctification and transformation of
put into prayer and songs and preaching. “It is nothing else the Gifts the identity between the Sacrifice from Golgotha
but truth dressed up in the cloak of prayer.”[17] Believers and the liturgical or Eucharistic Sacrifice is produced.
express their belief through the cult under the shape of a As a consequence, “the Sacrifice does not consist in the
doxology. Thus, the cult is a doxology pointed towards God. stabbing of the Lamb when the Gifts are sanctified, but in
Widely, Orthodoxy is doxological because it represents our the transformation of the bread in the stabbed Lamb.”[24]
consciousness about God and about His redeeming work
turned into prayer, in straight thinking towards God, in Once received in the depth of our being, the Holy
the content of our dialogue with God. On the other hand, Communion operates an inner transformation and, if we
believers communicate with God through the Holy Secrets do this worthily, with a pure, honest and loving heart, the
and through all the acts and shapes of cult. “Due to the Face of Christ from inside us becomes brighter and more
Holy Secrets – that announce the death and burial of the beautiful until It touches Holiness, since “Christ’s thinking
Lord- we to are born to the spiritual life, we grow in it with becomes one with ours, His will becomes one with ours,
their help and we get to unite in such a wonderful way His Body and Blood become one with ours! And then,
with our Savior, Himself. Through these Holy works we how mighty must our thinking be, when mastered by the
live, move and exist.”[18] So, all the means and forms of thinking of God, how strong our will if God Himself is the
expressing the public divine cult have sacramental power, One that drives it, and, how hot our thinking is when Fire
which means that the Holy Spirit spreads Its bounties and Itself spreads over it.”[25]
Its holy gifts over the willing ones with whom He enters in
the communion, in living dialogue with Christ. “The entire But the structure of the Holy Liturgy Itself, adorned
religious service gets the value of a divine life, for which the
19 Serghei Bulgakov, Ortodoxia, trad. în rom. de Nicolae Grosu,
București, 1994, p. 130.
13 L. A. Molien, La priére de l'Église, IV édition, vol. II, Paris, 20 Nicolae Cabasila, Tâlcuirea Dumnezeieștii Liturghii, cap. I,
1924, p.69. trad. în rom. de Pr. Prof. Dr. Ene Braniște, București, 1989, p.
14 Pr. Prof. Petre Vintilescu, Sacrificiul religios ca principiu al 30.
Liturghiei, București, 1927, p. 53. 21 Sergiu Bulgacov, Dogma euharistică, trad. în rom. de
15 Dom. Gaspar Lefebre, O. S. B., Liturgie, Les principes Paraschiv Angelescu, București, 1936, p. 75.
fondamentaux, 4-ème édition, 118, mille, Bruges, 1929, p. 56. 22 Sf. Ioan Damaschin, Dogmatica, partea IV, cap. 12, trad. în
16 Diacon Ene Braniște, Explicarea Sfintei Liturghii după Nicolae rom. de Pr. Dumitru Fecioru, Ed. Scripta, București, 1993, p.
Cabasila, teză de doctorat, București, 1943, p. 69. 165.
17 Romano Guardini, L'Ésprit de la Liturgie, Paris, 1930, p. 112. 23 Nicolae Cabasila, Tâlcuirea Dumnezeieștii..., cap. XLII, p. 99.
18 Nicolae Cabasila, Despre viața în Hristos, trad. în rom. de 24 Ibidem, cap. XXXII, p. 79.
Pr. Prof. Dr. Teodor Bodogae, cartea I, București, 1989, p. 136. 25 Idem, Despre viața..., cartea a IV-a, p. 195.
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with hymns and prayers create a spiritual atmosphere that Holy Spirit” for achieving the unity “in spirit and in truth”
brings the man closer to God. It is a school for training the (Joan, 4, 24) with Christ and with his people, the living and
virtues, an endless rive of moral-religious life and a lab the dead one. Through the divine cult, the communion of
where human life is sanctified, in which the presence and brotherly love is kept alive and, at the same time, the unity
the spotless work of the Holy Spirit regenerates human of faith, peace and Christian morality are promoted. Every
souls, renewing and cleaning them of the impurities of the hymn and prayer contains strong pieces of advice for love,
vices and all sorts of sins. “During the Liturgy, the priest brotherhood, justice, peace and truth. Therefore, there is a
honors God, he makes the angels cheerful, he builds the rich treasure of truths about faith, a huge source of moral
Church, finds help for vineyards, brings rest to the dead and virtues and an excellent way of stimulating the most noble
he makes himself part of the goods of the world.”[26] If the ideas and humanitarian feelings, that the contemporary
Holy Liturgy is the medium of real Christian life, than, it is humanity aspires to.
more than self-understood why it is more than necessary to
explain to the believers the mystical-symbolic significance, Through its structure and the way it is officiated, the
its importance and moral-educational role in the Christian public Orthodox divine cult creates social and moral-
life. religious profiles from the most ideal and the brightest ones:
it erases the selfish barriers, turns off hatred and wickedness,
Preaching and teaching are two irreplaceable ways of overcomes the obstacles and brings people closer, thus
preaching the right faith in the divine cult. In the Church trying to establish the eternal harmony and heavenly peace
and in the light of the religious service the teaching process with ourselves, with God and with the others.
becomes better when joined by preaching, taking into
consideration that both types are well defined and divided The divine cult also has a teaching function. It is the
and full of biblical and liturgical substance. Between the cult total reflection of the dogma. The dogma moves and
elements and the ways of passing on the faith there are strong endlessly spiritualizes the cult, which, in return, relays
complementarities, because the divine public Orthodox on the dogma. “The liturgical prayer is dominated by the
cult contains a richness of moral-dogmatic teachings, and dogma… Dogma is the only one that gives prayer the force,
for its opulence, brightness and beauty, it was called by this impetuous force, that saves and, without which, prayer
some “Heaven on Earth”. The entire treasure of doctrine might degenerate into weakness”[28]. Through the Church
and Christian life, of symbolic significances and depths of service, the heart is moved and the mind accepts easier the
ideas, is valued in the public Orthodox divine cult through dogmas that the Church ties to its rites.[29] The religious
the fundamental elements of the Christian preaching: truth penetrates clearer and easier in the depth of the soul
readings from the Bible, synaxaria, preach and teaching. when expressed as a glorifying prayer, of thanksgiving or
These complete each other, making a whole, tempting with request, than when expressed in dogmatic formulas and in
prayers. “The liturgical action and the liturgical prayer have, abstract definitions; but this cannot be achieved without and
undoubtedly and ethic layer beneath and it promotes moral active and conscious participation of the believers at the
feelings such as: the wish for justice, repentances and the divine cult. “The heat of the feeling must penetrate all the
spirit of sacrifice”[27] in order to achieve the moral good. forms of the prayer.”[30 ]
Knowing and assimilating ideas and moral-religious The content of the public Orthodox divine cult, at the
teachings and social rules expressed in the divine Orthodox same time, church-historical, dogmatic, moral, sacramental,
cult, opens for the priest a wide horizon and vision of this cult praying and doxological, and its primordial purpose is the
with, helping him penetrate under the cover of the external sanctifying one. It is meant to satisfy the neediest and
forms that he does, to understand their deep meanings, the burning needs of the human soul made after the looks
idea and the purpose they have been instituted for, as well as of God, to lift it from the pit of falling, to protect it, to
their symbolic significances. enlighten it, to cleans it, to sanctify it, to caress it, to feed it,
to strengthen it and to bring it on the right path, in order to
As to the believers, knowing these aspects help them take make it part at the true life. Through its splendor, depth and
part at the holy Services with all their might and being: with poetical and artistic beauty and through its doctrinarian and
inner feelings, with faith, determination and willingness, moral-educational value, the public Orthodox divine cult
fully living the sacred moment together with the priest. In enlightens and adorns both the soul, as well as the body,
the gifted and explanatory climate of the Church services the because “man’s senses must be strongly moved in order to
believer lives the experience of the presence of the Revived be able to know the divine gift and to grow through faith, its
Jesus Christ and of the spiritual communion with Him, but ability of answering and joining the gift.”[31]
also with the entire community, linked by the Christian love
and the religious feeling and through the unity of the cult In the content of the public orthodox divine cult there
forms that came from the Savior and the Holy Apostles and are enough elements that help the believers to deepen its
later established by Church. contents and their secret meanings. Thus, the teaching
about the cult of Virgin Mary, the Saints, icons, the Holy
The Orthodox Church teaches us that we cannot save Trinity’s adoration and many others, are displayed in an
ourselves, but in full communion with Christ and by imitating explicit and precise forms in liturgical hymns and prayers.
His sacrificing love. In the Church, the believer prays with 28 Ibidem, p. 106, 109.
the priest for “the unity of the faith and for sharing the
29 Paul Oltramare, La religion et la vie de l’esprit, Paris, 1925,
26 Toma de Kempis, Urmarea lui Hristos, cartea a IV-a cap. 5, p. 23.
trad. în rom. de G.Munteanu, Editura Buna Vestire, Bacău, 1996, 30 Romano Guardini, op. cit., p. 115.
p. 246. 31 Pr.Prof.Dr. Petre Vintilescu, Curs de Liturgică Generală,
27 Romano Guardini, op. cit., p. 121. București, 1929-1930, p. 257.
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There is no doubt that all these teaching aspects of the cult

widen the horizon and the sphere of religious knowledge
of the believers, helping them assimilate the truths about
faith. They also have the gift of strengthening the souls of
these believers on the stone of the right faith, making them
understand it, cherish it and live according to it. The essence
of the Christian Orthodox teaching is transposed in the acts,
forms and rites of the cult, so, we can say that this divine
cult is the living and dynamic tradition of the Orthodox
Church, grown and shadowed by the light, heat and power
of the Holy Spirit.
According to what was stated above, we can conclude
that the spiritual work of sanctifying and redemption of the
believers, of strengthening and protecting the Orthodoxy, as
well as the work of promoting the Christian morality and
the continuous spreading of the truths of faith has always
used this fluid of spiritual life, of religious sense and
feeling which is the public Orthodox divine cult. “It is the
primordial and irreplaceable source of Christian spiritual
truth and believers cannot have this Christian spirit unless
they actively take part at the Holy masses and at the public
and solemn prayer of the Church.”[32]
32 Gaspar Lefebre, op. cit., éd. V-e, Bruges, 1936, p. 17.
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Anthropology
The paradigm of interdisciplinarity and

the religious values-centered education
Prof. univ. dr. Constantin Cucos

Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of Education
The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași (UAIC)
cucos@uaic.ro
Abstract. Focusing education on skills shifts the perspective on difficulty in skill assessment (skill dynamism, its level and
the paradigm of interdisciplinarity, in that it gains a privileged context of development, the assessment criteria problem,
status in education, ensuring the acquisition of these basic etc.).
elements of personality. The complex character of skills - as We believe that the idea of bringing together several
a body of knowledge, habits and values – is closely related subject profiles to investigate the complexity of the world
to the development and achievement of an interdisciplinary we live is of great importance and should be welcomed.
training of the individual. In what follows, we will try to show Sequential and delimited studies are good provided they
the ways and virtues of a religious education in an integrative are correlated, resonate, subject to correlative evidence,
and interdisciplinary view. compared to or supplemented among themselves and
ratified in accordance with certain values. What the strict
Key words: religious education, skill, interdisciplinarity, disciplinary view lacks is the relation to a wider context,
curriculum integration. the opening of approaches and explanations to each other,
the significance of their results at higher levels whose
epistemological aims are mostly absent.
I. The heuristic vocation of interdisciplinarity in
skill development
It is a known fact that interdisciplinary focuses on
cohabitation, completeness, articulating several explanatory
Skills are structured bodies of knowledge, skills means or methodologies, and accredits that only the solid
and attitudes developed through learning, that allow an integrative and holistic approach may make us understand the
individual to solve particular or general problems in various deep meaning of existence. Aside from this methodological
situations. Skills are established at educational levels, assumption, interdisciplinary has another advantage: it
but also at subject, interdisciplinary and trans even trans- shows that relating to the world only through knowledge is
curricular level [9]. The literature includes even cross skills, insufficient, including in its approaches the contributions of
that is those skills that go beyond the goals of a particular man’s sensitivity and faith. An idea is not just the product
subject or type of education, such as teamwork skills, oral of the mind, it is also an emotional projection, a desire, a
and written communication skills, following and developing belief. This ‘parallel’ driving force has always stimulated
values and professional ethics, IT skills, problem solving knowledge and has made man know more, turn to good,
and decision making, acceptance and respect for diversity to values. Knowledge by mental mechanisms is fruitless if
and multiculturalism, learning autonomy, initiative and it is not topped by what the heart feels or the faith can do.
entrepreneurship, opening to lifelong learning etc. Limiting ourselves to rationalism can lead to nonsense or
The skill concept has some heuristic advantages: drive us to insurmountable difficulties, including for reason.
integral and integrative nature (meaning that it integrates Even if we live in an age proclaiming holism and
and unifies various, even complementary, aspects of globalization, we still apply the fragmented, autarchic,
educational goals), gradual and cumulative nature (because deep approach, ignoring the common points, reverberations
it evokes a growing reality, it concerns a dynamic process and interdependencies. There is a taste for specialization
of adding new conducts and performances) and transversal, and narrowness that obscures the coherence we crave for.
transdisciplinary nature (such a personality state or trait is There is even a culture of ‘selfish’ research where one side
the result of a multiple approach, from different perspectives, can’t see the other. The scientist is unaware of the artistic
permanently evolving, generating new and novel changes creation, disregards the socio-cultural context and is ‘short-
and future assets of the individual). We cannot ignore some sighted’; sometimes he/she ignores or disregards what his
difficulties, such as the nature complex by the fact that it fellow scientists discover.
develops or derives these various goals, the weak or difficult
operationalization of the observable reality as well as the The cultural value of knowledge increases when it
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http://dialogo-conf.com ANTHROPOLOGY

is based on broader foundations, when it listens to ethics denominator of a whole, the functional, profitable co-
normativity or calls of action. We say that knowledge is articulation of the various areas that make up a whole.
power, but it does not stem from an idolatrous status, but Integration should be understood as a multidimensional
from the emergence and diffusion of views. And by no process, not a unidirectional one. It extends beyond the
means should it be exerted randomly by anyone. A scientific cultural level, acquiring social and political dimensions. In
idea can kill individuals or communities, it can bring unrest a very broad sense, integration requires the unification and
or disasters, it can be diverted from a good purpose when merger of two or more realities or spiritual beliefs in a way
it is not ‘framed’ by a transcendent, guiding, ‘taming’, that is fair for all parties. After integration, a new synthesis
ratifying vision. We can all go crazy if we do not know how or a new spiritual unit will arise, preserving nevertheless the
to use that knowledge that we obtain. Left to chance, reason specificities, and there won’t be a forceful assimilation of
creates monsters that we can no longer escape at some point. one reality by the other [1]. In the multi-religion context,
the focus would be on “religious meta-values” that is on
The interdisciplinary approach gives a high meaning to bonding values, the significance criteria of the world (which
questioning and seek answers to questions such as ‘what is are the same in all religions), and not on the specific values,
the meaning of knowledge’, ‘how far can we know’, ‘what unique, sequential values [2]. The latter are to be respected,
can we do with our ideas’, ‘how and when do they reflect but not obligatorily accepted or practiced by the parties
us’, ‘how do we go from one idea to another’, ‘how do we entering into dialogue.
merge several ideas’, ‘how do we put them into practice’.
By pedagogical integration we mean of religious contents
The unification that this view requires does not mean that that cumulative-selective, higher-level teaching process,
leveling, flattening, loss of subject contours, but it urges by which a common standard of religious knowledge and
the creation of good borderlines, continuity in research, values is sequentially established, concomitantly with the
stimulating circulation of ideas, the clarification of a higher release of specific sets that are to be taught to all pupils
horizon which can give us deeper and wiser knowledge of of a school area (classroom, school), irrespective of their
things. religious affiliation, where the interplay between generality
and particularity should be naturally and cleverly achieved,
II. Possibilities of curriculum integration for which should include a great number of religious options
Religion which should be addressed cognitively, emotionally, ritually,
culturally at community level.
We argue that, by this approach, we consider the
possibility of integrating the contents taught by religion, Why do we aim at such a closeness of partial overlapping
not the realities that these contents refer to, i.e. the aspects of contents? Here are some arguments for curriculum
of various faiths or religions. Therefore, we address a integration:
meta-discourse level, rather than the actual practical talks o the pedagogical argument, by preparing a teaching
that feed it, support it. In fact, it is common knowledge device to prevent exclusion and axiological enclosure; the
that, epistemologically, to higher we go on the line of de- teaching approach should emphasize the common values,
contextualization, de-subjectivization and stripping of point out, whenever necessary, the stimulating plurality of
materiality, the more we can accommodate closeness, values in the teaching
context;
synthesis, unification. If at the level of realities integrations
are problematic or undesirable (and, in this respect, faiths o the sociological-community argument, by
can not be unified because they exists precisely by their explaining the need for building cohesive communities,
specificity, their specific dogmatic, ritual, expressive where people can communicate easily, respect each other,
action, etc. features), at the level of their knowledge and meet in joint spiritual expressions or actions;
presentation (in a teaching context) unifications become
possible and even desirable. Some researchers put forward o the psychological argument, by rallying people
the idea that, dogmatically, the alignment or agreement of to similar value standards that produce,through empathic
ideas, which would cancel the specificity of religions or communication, intra-psychic stability and comfort; in this
faiths, is unthinkable. “Religions, as human expressions case, an additional security level is created, people feeling
are structures of a thinking and view of the world. As such more self-confident;
structures, they can not meet. Meeting can only be between o the political-strategic argument, in the sense that
people who practice these religions or adopt these views of integration may be a clever, tactical answer to possible
the world. In other words, the foundation of the meeting measures, explicit or not, of marginalization and exclusion
is secularism (subl. n.), i.e. a situation or condition where of religious training processes; in fact, some observers of
human existence is fully guaranteed, as is the freedom of religious culture training have reached the conclusion that
life, thinking and expression”1. The actual dialogue is at the “public religious education devices, adopted only by rules
formal, academic level or between individuals practicing of concordats, seem to be increasingly inadequate” (Pajer,
various faiths, as ordinary citizens. Whatever our view may 2002, p. 80); many secular bodies, including European
be, closeness is beneficial and it strengthens the pluralistic ones, is against ghettoization and ethnic, religious, racial,
humanism that our age is trying to build. etc. segregation; let’s not wait for others to be streets ahead
It must be said that the term integration can be correlated us.
with other terms of the same semantic field, with integral, Regarding, the actual strategies of achieving the
entire (whole), in the sense of cohesive and unified body. curriculum integration of religious education, we mention
The notional content refers to promoting the common
1 Nayak, 1992, p. 109.
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several ways2: self-referential isolation that has kept it prisoner inside its
status of training institution almost exclusively for the priest
o Integration by following the same principles of class” (Pajer, 2002, p. 83) the religious educational speech
curriculum design. should be multiform in terms of the values it promotes,
o Integration through the aims, goals set by curricula. by transgressing specificity, by resorting to additional,
complementary explanatory grounds. Religion, as a subject,
o Integration by the actual organization strategies, must be a center of wisdom, culture, enlightenment and
namely the modular structure of the contents or the integrated balanced valuing of the world we live in. It should not deny
organization. what is new in the field of knowledge, scientific discoveries,
human social practices.
o Integration through teaching, that is at the level of
explaining certain general content issues - methodologies, We note that, currently, school subjects are not in
line with this goal, they are not sufficiently grounded in
concepts, visions of existence, etc., which will be infused in the
a spirituality that should agree with the Christian faith.
contents explained during religion classes. Conversely, one can identify many information sets that are
o Integration by inter-religious development and disjoint, apart, opposite to religious values (see certain topics
design of religious contents (to explicitly include in the subject in Biology, Geography, Physics, etc. textbooks). Many
materials or to present in class religious values other than their school subjects not only do not contribute to promoting
religious training, but they deepen gaps, present unilateral
own).
views of understanding, spread confusion or overtly
o Integration by joint training (or partially joint, by challenge obvious spiritual principles. We do not argue for a
attending some common core subject classes) of religion religious re-grounding of all objects of study – in fact some
teachers. continue to be fairly neutral toward or distant from religion
(the case of sciences) - but a minimal agreement should
o Ensuring integration by developing and presenting be achieved as soon as possible by highlighting common
religious contents in an interdisciplinary approach. elements pertaining to a transcendental principle. Many
study subjects, by the very topics imposed by curricula,
On the integration of Religion teaching in the have continued to be ‘atheized’, by obstinately highlighting
interdisciplinary approach we will make some remarks in materialistic, factualist determinations and deliberate
the following chapter. ignorance of possible spiritual implications. The students
are introduced to the most abstract and sophisticated
III. Strategies of Religion teaching in the scientific theories, neglecting the spiritual implications
and reverberations of those theories. The positivist spirit is
interdisciplinary paradigm
predominant and it is fueled in multiple ways. Instead of a
Introducing religion among the subjects taught in schools comprehensive scientific culture, our youngsters are driven
has also generated the following problem: does religious towards isolated explanatory bits and pieces that one does
education fall solely to the Religion, or must it become a not know what to do with, what significance they have.
goal for other subjects? Is only the religion teacher called to
this task, or other teachers as well? Each subject may throw light on the religion fact in its
own way. The diversity of views ensures greater wealth and
Starting from the assumption that religious education strength of the religious edifice. The teaching of sciences,
requires several components and levels (knowledge, to the extent that it does not lead to dogmatic enclosure, is
attitudes, conducts), some of these acquisitions of particular a positive fact for religion. As shown in a previous chapter,
complexity - requiring a long time for their consolidation there are mutuality relationships and even explanatory
- it is quite natural that this side of education should be convergence between science subjects and religion. The
approached by several subjects and several teachers. As deep History subject can account for the various manners of
and diverse the topics addressed during the Religion class connecting religions to social evolution, cultural reform of
may be, and as well-trained as the religion teacher may be, social structures. Various arts subjects can bring attention to
it can not be expected to develop a true religious culture and religious themes, subjects transfigured by means of specific
behavior, only by a unidirectional view (cf. Panikkar, 1985). languages. Generally, several steps of introducing the
If intellectual or aesthetic education is entrusted to several principle of interdisciplinary may be suggested, as follows:
subjects that, simultaneously and partially, contribute to the
structuring of specific skills, so should religious education A first step towards interdisciplinarity must be achieved
be a goal for several subjects aiming for and focused on by eliminating the axiological (value) disagreements,
a single goal. On the other hand, excluding the religious by reducing conflicting elements that are still included
facts from the problematic field of school subjects (science, in our curricula and school textbooks. The elimination
history, philosophy, arts, etc.) limits them epistemologically, of explanatory gaps and ambiguities that still exist in the
degrading them to a partial, fragmentary, self-reflective educational content is a deontological requirement. It
speech. is not right and fair that what students learn at a subject
should be rejected at others. The requirement can be met
Interdisciplinary will also be highlighted at the level since, objectively, from a principle and constitutive point
of the contents of the subject that ensures the religious of view, there are no insurmountable incompatibilities
education explicitly. Given that “the theology research in between scientific paradigms and religious faith. Take the
the past decade itself is free of its secular institutional and case of Darwinian theory, a classic example in the matter:
2 Cucoş, 2009, pp. 283-290.
to the extent that the theory put forward is presented - in a
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hypothetical, informative manner - as one of the possible (when discussing old Romanian literature, some sacred
explanations, as a particular case, as a relative theoretical texts will be analyzed on or the indissoluble bond between
construct (because there exist other theories about the religion and literature in a particular historical period will be
origin of man as well) and not as the only ‘true’ theory, as underlined);
an immutable dogma, this explanatory model no longer
contrasts that much with religious teaching, and, from a - Promoting specific religious characteristics or
teaching perspective, the presence of both views (or even particularities of a class, by multi-religious sessions in
multiple ones) is no longer a deontological weak point, which students of different faiths and religions should
but rather a strategy that stimulates reflection and personal present the specific characteristics of their own religion,
creativity. to discuss on similarities and differences among religions
which they promote;
A second step of introducing the interdisciplinary view
can be achieved by highlighting at each separate subject - Performing living of and situational awareness
(without forcing things) the spiritual dimensions of existence, exercises for students who perceive reality in different
of a principle of value that is above us, with clarifying and ways, so that the way to transcendence should pass through
integrating valences. Even in the most arid study subjects different, even contradictory axiological and comprehensive
(sciences) one can identify concepts, explanations, theories filters.
that can highlight principles or resonance of values An interesting and exemplary experience regarding
pertaining to religious belief. At Physics, for example, there an integration policy is that carried out in recent years in
arise many opportunities to resort to the Divine, to involve Quebec. Several projects, work groups, legal provisions
a prime Regulator, generating and steering all things. and political measures were implemented to find a formula
By explanatory regressions one often reaches ultimate agreed by most parties in the matter of religious education.
grounds, axioms similar to the promoted religious dogmas The starting point of all strategies was the following action
(the term dogma in this context is not pejorative in itself, principle: “public school should contribute to the complete
meaning primary teaching, incontestable starting point). A development of young people, not just as future citizens. But
prior preparation of students for accepting certain religious this will be done showing regard to the fundamental equality
grounds, that is an implicit religious education is thus of citizens and their choices, by complying, however, with a
achieved. But, for this, it is necessary to change the current certain obligation (as value n.n.) which is neutrality “3.
syllabus and curricula.
Those engaged in this complicated project of identifying
A third level of interdisciplinarity in religious education new paths to a religious education have deemed satisfactory
is for each separate subject to promote proper, explicit the introduction of a cultural education of religions into
religious knowledge or values. Partly, this method is already the school curriculum, instead of a differentiated religious
present in subjects such as History, Romanian Literature, education. What does the attribute “cultural” mean in
Geography, Philosophy, etc. At history, for example, there are the phrase above? The answer seems to be pedagogically,
topics or paragraphs which discuss important achievements logically and even politically acceptable. Here is the
of the church or members of the clergy. The same is true explanation of the term used by the supporters of this
of Romanian Literature, where there are dedicated chapters view: “the adjective cultural indicates the specific view
addressing literary texts stemming from religion and the according to which both the proposed integrated content
church. These religious elements or impact highlighted by and the learning elements will be addressed in the student
textbook authors can increase in number in the same subject training process. The choice of the adjective cultural is more
or in different subjects. It would be advisable that now that illustrative to us than the non-religious one, that some might
a school content reform is intended, policy makers should consider satisfactory. Non-religious will clearly denote this
be aware of the need for shifting focus, of steering school type of education’s lack of reference to a certain religious
subjects towards a deeper spiritualization of mankind - in authority or normative profession of faith, exerted is an
an excessively secularized world which has lost its values. area of influence of a given ecclesiastical organizations,
Interdisciplinary supports the complementarity including for qualifying education by a possible definition
of human knowledge. The religion class can promote non- by union with this community4.
specific information pertaining to other subjects, but which It is true that any religious classification or
support theological reasoning. Even information or theories orientation may represent a major obstacle for the school
which apparently contradict the spirit of religion can be to overcome the challenges of ethno-cultural and religious
invoked and used. Darwinian theory, for instance, does not pluralism. Winning education over to a sacerdotal authority
refute religious assumptions. In fact, this theory is just an (except when aiming to reproduce some internal structures)
explanatory paradigm, a relative epistemological construct becomes problematic. The generalized use of these practices
that attempts to give an explanation that should not scare the does not resonate with the value affinities of the increasingly
priest or the religion teacher at all. Theories have existed and open and permissive contemporary society.
will continue to arise. Explanatory paradigms are sequential
and perishable. We should not turn into hardened opponents
of what is not worthy of consideration. Conclusions
Introducing interdisciplinarity in religion teaching Of course, the possibilities of integration
can be achieved by: mentioned above involve varying degrees of adequacy,
activation, reality. It is our right, as teachers, to design
- highlighting at every subject the sacred impact 3 Laicite..., 1999, p. 21.
or dimensions involved in discussing particular topics 4 Ouellet, 2000, pp. 456-7.
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projects, to set paths, to dream. It is important to know that,

at least theoretically, there are other perspectives, other
solutions as well. The (educational, political, cultural, etc.)
future is to facilitate, to call for, to impose the use of such
strategies of unification, integration in terms of design and
actual teaching of Religion. Elsewhere, diversity should be
strengthened and preserved. This can be also be achieved by
aiming towards Unity.
Bibliography
Benito, E., O., 1989, Elimination de toutes les formes
d’intolérance et de discriminations fondées sur la religion
ou la conviction, Genève, Centre des droits de l’homme,
New – York, Nations Unies.
Cucoş, Constantin, 2002, Possibilites et limites d’une
éducation religieuse dans une perspectives interculturelle,
in Association pour la recherche interculturelle, Bulletin no.
37, avril 2002, FPSE, Université de Genève.
Cucoş, Constantin, 2009, Educaţia religioasă. Repere
teoretice şi metodice (2nd edition), Polirom, Iaşi.
Laïcité et religions. Perspective
nouvellepourl’écolequébécoise, Rapport du Groupe de
travail sur la place de la religion a l’école, Ministère de
l’Education, 1999, Québec.
Nayak, Anand, 1992, Etude des religions dans
le contexte intercultureld’aujourd’hui: uneapproche
dialogale, in Enseignerl’histoire des religions dans
unedémarchelaïque. Représentations, Perspectives. Actes
du colloqueinternational de Besançon 20-21 novembre
1991, CNDP/CRDP, Besançon.
Ouellet, Fernand, 2000, L’Enseignementculturel des
religions, Éditions du CRP, Université de Sherbrooke,
Québec.
Pajer, Flavio, 2002, Studiul ştiinţelor religioase
într-o Europă multiculturală, in Dialog Teologic, Revista
Institutului Teologic Romano-Catolic Iaşi, anul V, nr. 9.
Panikkar, Raimundo, 1985, Le dialogueintrareligieux,
Ed. Aubier, Paris.
Potolea, Dan; Toma, Steliana;Borzea, Anca (coord.),
2012, Coordonate ale unui nou cadru de referinţă al
curriculumului naţional, Centrul Naţional de Evaluare şi
Examinare, Editura Didactică şi Pedagogică, Bucureşti,
2012.
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Man – body and soul, as well as the relationship

between them in the conception of St. Justin the
Martyr and the Philosopher
Dr. Ioan-Gheorghe Rotaru
President of Education Society for Romanian People (SPIPR)
Bucharest, Romania.
Dr_ionicarotaru@yahoo.com
Abstract. Among the first Church Fathers, where we find the issues, human origin, with his embodiment, essence, with
concern for anthropological issues, is St. Justin the Martyr meaning and value of the soul. Because of this, patristic
and the Philosopher. Even though St. Justin has not developed anthropology is extremely rich and valuable.
a proper anthropology, because it was too early for such a In this study [2] we will refer specifically to St. Justin
performance, however he draw a few lines in this regard, the Martyr’s concept about man, made up of body and soul,
that influenced later patristic tradition, also showing interest along with the relationship between them.
in humanist culture in general, because this culture has a
pronounced character of continuity, keeping the principles
II. MAN – BODY AND SOUL, AS WELL AS THE
of permanent value, principles earned through the efforts
of the spirit and society over time. Man, in the conception of RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEM
St. Justin the Martyr and the Philosopher, is a rational being Among the early Church Fathers, that were
comprised of two elements: body and soul. Taken separately, concerned with anthropological issues, we find St. Justin
the two elements, body or soul, do not form the man, this being the Martyr and Philosopher.
the union and unity of the two elements. Sf. Justin says that St. Justin has not developed a proper anthropology.
God, summoned to life and resurrection this entire assembly, Even if it was too early for such a work, however he draw
that is the man, and not just a part of him. He considers man a few specific lines in this regard, that influenced later
as being a miracle, if we take into account the small drop of patristic tradition, also showing interest in humanist culture
seed which he derives from and which produces and develops in general, because this culture has a character of continuity,
the bones, nerves and flesh. As for the relationship between keeping the principles of permanent value, principles earned
body and soul, St. Justin the Martyr and the Philosopher says through the efforts of the spirit and of the society throughout
the ages.
that they are closely connected by the very act of creation.
St. Justin the Martyr and the Philosopher also
Keywords: man, body, soul, mortal, immortal. contributed to the humanist culture through his vision
of man, as much as we can distinguish it today from his
works. His conception about man is remarkably relevant for
I. INTRODUCTION today. No matter how rudimentary could be considered St.
Anthropology is the science that deals with the study of Justin’s anthropological elements, they are not insignificant
the origin, evolution and biological variability of the human in that historical context. These elements have often
being in correlation with the natural and socio-cultural contributed to strengthening or clarifying the anthropology
conditions. of the New Testament, as well as creating, introducing or
mixing of ideas, values and new perspectives, which have
Patristic anthropology is one of those values of often enriched the classical anthropologies of the Patristics’
philosophy, which hundreds of years away still preoccupies representatives of the Renaissance and of our age. St. Justin
the minds of those keen on meditation. Christian knew how to take advantage of the anthropological ideas of
anthropology has been brought forward and highlighted in a the Hellenic culture, that he fundamentally knew and from
timid way by St. Justin the Martyr and the Philosopher, then which he particularly passed over the cult of reason. [3]
continued very carefully by Athenagoras and Tertullian,
examined with great passion by Origen, reaching a complex What is man in St. Justin’s thinking? Man is considered
system due to others’ thinking, due to some golden minds to be a rational being made up of two elements: body and
or geniuses such as St. Gregory of Nyssa and Blessed soul. Neither the body, nor the soul, taken separately, do not
Augustine. [1] There was almost no Father or Ecclesiastical form the man. Man is considered to be the union and unity
Writer who had not been concerned with anthropological of these two elements. St. Justin says that God summoned
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to life and resurrection this entire assembly, that is the man, His most qualified representative in nature. 4
man, and not just a part of him. [4] He considered man as
a miracle of divinity, if we take into account the small drop St. Justin sometimes seems to be trichotomist. He claims
of seed which he derives from and which produces bones, that the body is the house of the soul, and the soul is the
nerves and flesh. gate of the spirit.5[4] This conception of platonic, stoic and
philonian origin left traces even in the doctrine of St. Paul
According to the view of St. Justin the Martyr and the the Apostle, who says the following in his first Epistle to the
Philosopher, there are three elements or realities which Thessalonians 5,23: „And the very God of peace sanctify
outline and define man. These are: truth, reason and you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and
resurrection. Human nature, he says, is endowed with body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord
predispositions, such as intelligence and salvation that make Jesus Christ.” [6], and in the Epistle to the Hebrews: „For
it able to know the truth. Truth exists and there is nothing the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than
stronger and trustworthy than it. It is a truth that needs any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
no rational demonstration, because this, i.e. the truth, is of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a
identical with God, the perfect intelligence. Christians, says discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”6
St. Justin, are the children of truth, because their life is in
accordance with the truth, but to live according to the truth is There are texts of St. Justin the Martyr and the
not possible without knowing the nature of things. The truth Philosopher, speaking exclusively about the bodies and
that defines man participates, therefore, simultaneously to souls of those who will be judged: “These are, to speak
reason and God. The truth that defines man participates to briefly, what we expect, what we have learned through
reason, because people were created from the beginning as Christ and, in our turn, we also preach. Plato said that
rational beings capable of intelligence. [5] Radamante and Minos will punish the wicked, who will
come to their judgment. We, in our turn, say that the same
Also, the truth that defines man is related to God because thing will happen, except that they will be punished by
He is the foundation of reason, like intelligence or eternal Christ; that they will be punished in the same bodies they
Reason. No doubt there are some Platonic elements in this had together with their souls and they will be punished with
Justinian conception, especially on the relationship between eternal punishment, not just for a period of a thousand years,
truth and reason. Such elements also exist in the assimilation as Plato says.7
of God with reason. There are also some stoic elements in
this aspect. St. Justin’s conversion to Christianity owes Other texts from the writings of St. Justin present aspects
much to these assimilations, because Christianity is for him of the souls of the dead: ”souls of the righteous and of the
“the only safe and useful philosophy”. Man has, by his own prophets”, “...God teaches us through His Son to struggle
nature, the reason to reach the truth, therefore it can be said to become righteous and on our parting from life, to ask
that the certainty of truth is an essential need for humans. our souls not to be subject to such powers.”8 Also, about
But this reason does not reach this point but rarely by itself; the body and soul of Christ as the human expression of the
different philosophies are evidence in this regard. Reason Logos: “Who appeared for us as body, Word and soul; if the
must be grounded in God, the absolute certainty. Reason and term logos in the expression „soma kai logon kai psychen”
the faculty to choose or to decide are considerable powers [8] expresses the divine nature of the Logos and not the
characterizing and making the man, but absolute certainty human reason, which can be regarded as being involved in
is only given by God, Who is the truth and reason itself, as the psyche.
Plato would say. This is why reason plays an important part In any case, if theoretically St. Justin the Martyr and
in human life, but it must be based on the divine Logos, on the Philosopher is neither a declared trichotomist nor a
the supreme Reason which is God. 1 dichotomist, basically he seems to be dichotomist9: “and
If truth and reason give man dignity and a role that make that the souls remain (after the separation from the body),10
him a special being and give him a special mission, this I proved it, he says, from the fact that the soul of Samuel, at
dignity and this unique mission require and even impose the Saul’s request, was called by the ventriloquist…”11 Because
eternity of man, of the whole man, made up of body and of his intensely work and thinking, he had no time to ponder
soul. St. Justin talks about this eternity that was about to be the philosophical formulations of his time in order to adopt
compromised because of man’s disobedience to the divine or to create a final one.
will, on which depended the whole nature itself. Man’s St. Justin opposes this time his Christian philosophy
disobedience to the divinity introduced rottenness in human about resurrection to the pythagorean or platonic doctrine
nature, and thus becoming his second nature. The one who which claimed the exclusive immortality of the soul and the
wanted to rescue him from rottenness had to destroy its very body’s decay. St. Justin imagined resurrection as a whole,
essence. 2 body and soul. St. Justin claimed that the body has the same
The Logos was the one that, by God’s will, took this 4 See [3], p. 380.
mission upon him. He had to incarnate himself in order to 5 See [4], p. 246 A.
save man from death and natural rottenness.3 He, the Logos,
6 See [6], The Holy Bible. The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews
accomplished this in a special way by his resurrection from 4, 12.
the dead, which assures man’s resurrection and everlasting
life. Only the Logos, the Supreme Reason, could protect 7 See [5],VIII, pp. 39-40.
8 See [7], CV., p 286.
1 See [3], p. 380. 9 In the sense that man consists of two or three basic elements.
2 Ibidem. 10 See [7], CV., pp. 285-286.
3 See [5], XXII, XXIII, pp. 54-55. 11 See [6] The Holy Bible. 1 Samuel 28,11.
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destiny, the same fate as the soul. St. Justin reasons his thesis would not only have not healed it in many circumstances
with the fact that if Christ had preached the message about during his earthly life, but he would not have raised it from
natural immortality of the soul, he would not have brought the dead. He resurrected both the souls and the bodies. If the
any new ideas compared to the philosophers Pythagoras, resurrection would be a purely spiritual phenomenon, the
Plato, and others who think alike. Christ came - St. Justin resurrected Christ would have had to show his body spread
asserts – with the message of a new and unknown hope, that out on one side and the soul on another. But things did not
is the promise that He would not keep the state of decay but happen this way, because Christ resurrected his body itself,
He would transform it into an imperishable state.12 thus confirming the promise of life.19
The fate of the body, according to the idealistic For St. Justin these are evidence of concern for the body
philosophy of the antiquity, was not held in very high by Jesus Christ, as stated in his work About resurrection, that
esteem, but St. Justin said that Christ, the incarnate Logos, the care with which Christ treats the human body, especially
shows special attention to the body, seeking to provide its through the urge to avoid sin, practicing an austere regime,
salvation through various means, such as: healing, feeding is for the good and the salvation of that body, such as the
and resurrection. The highest honor and appraisal that Christ diet prescribed by doctors to patients aims to ensure their
has given to the human body was the resurrection, St. Justin health.20
the Martyr and the Philosopher says.
These rudiments of anthropology especially addressed
Philosophical and Gnostic circles around St. Justin Christian masses. They were not meant to convince the
opposed this idea (resurrection) fiercely, for various reasons. Greeks. For non-Christians, St. Justin tries to find arguments
To the objection that the body is unworthy of resurrection whether in mythology, or in philosophy. He says, if Homer’s
and heavenly life because of its basely earthly substance, idols can all (Odyssey X, 306 ff), then God can, with much
because of its sins and the violence with which it treats the more reason, resurrect the body. In almost all philosophers
soul, forcing it to fall into sin, St. Justin brought as counter- (Plato, Epicurus, the Stoics), with all their differences, body
arguments the words spoken by Moses about the creation revival seems possible. One of the common ideas of these
of man, namely: „And God said, Let us make man in our philosophers is that a creature, or anything that is made
image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over from matter, can, after its disappearance, reappear, through
the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the force of matter itself, which is immortal, and through
the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping the power of deity or some force that is next to this matter
thing that creepeth upon the earth. 13 Then, St. Justin said (Plato), or in it (the Stoics). This entity resembles an alloy of
that it would be absurd to say that the body made in the several elements, such as gold, silver, copper and tin, which
image of God does not deserve honor and that is not worthy one would want to decompose and recompose it at will.21 It
of anything. The creator and painter, he says, don’t they is the same with the state of bodies or concretions produced
praise their own works? The one for whom all things were by the positions of the atoms of Epicurus.22
created, i.e. the man, is very valuable for the One who made
everything.14 St. Justin concludes about the body that it is an element
of the human being, that it is somehow God’s own image,
St. Justin thought that only the heretics15 believed that and it determines the existence of the soul itself, because
the body was made up by angels:16 “for I could not say that God created the body first and then the soul. Also, says
what your heresy dogmatizes is true, or what your masters Justin, a God who would save (redeem) only the soul
try to prove, that God said so speaking to angels, or that the would not be a good God. A God who would save the soul
human body is the creation of angels.”17 exclusively would only redeem Himself, if the soul is of
divine essence.23
St. Justin continues with other arguments namely:
that man, as a work of God, created following a great
counsel, his body cannot be neglected or reduced to nothing. III. THE CONCEPTION OF ST. JUSTIN
Taking up the image of the creator or of the painter, Justin REGARDING THE SOUL
thinks that if they want their images to last, to be glorified
through them, they do not hesitate to restore them when The issue of the soul was one of the most debated issues
they suffer corruption. If God would despise his work as in antiquity. Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, etc. have devoted
something nonexistent, would he not put an end to the special treaties to it. St. Justin himself wrote a treaty on the
body? Would He have worked in vain? God also summons matter, entitled About the soul, treaty mentioned by Eusebius
the body at the resurrection, promising it eternal life. Justin of Caesarea in Ecclesiastical History. In the work About the
says that the Gospel of redemption (salvation) addresses soul, St. Justin presented the views of Greek philosophers
not only the soul but also the body.18 Moreover, if the soul on the issue of the soul, and promised that he would fight
would not worth anything, says St. Justin, Jesus Christ them in another paper.24 Unfortunately, these two works
have been lost completely.
12 See [4], p. 216 BC.
13 See [6] The Holy Bible. Genesis, 1,26. According to the texts that we have retained, especially
14 See [4], p. 232 D and 234 DE.
the early chapters of the work Dialogue with the Jew
15 Here, St. Justin considers either all Jewish sects, or just some 19 See [3], p. 382.
of them, or, finally, those Jews with philosophical tendencies of Philo's 20 See [4], 10. p. 248 DE.
kind. 21 See [3], p. 382.
16 See [7], LXII., p. 215. 22 See [4], 6, pp. 230.232.
17 Ibidem. 23 See [3], p. 382.
18 See [4], 8, pp. 236 BC, 236 CD. 24 See [3], p. 383.
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Tryphon, and the work About resurrection, it is clear that No matter how new and original this view would
before his conversion to Christianity, St. Justin, regarding seem, it is still closely linked to the cosmology of Plato in
the soul, shared the view of Plato. However, after his Timaeus, according to which everything that comes after
conversion, he tried to fight Plato’s conception of the soul, God – the Uncreated and the Incorruptible, is created and
but not completely detach himself from him. He often corruptible. Because of that, souls die and are punished. If
allows himself to be influenced by the anthropology of his they were uncreated, they would not sin and would not fall
great master Plato. into madness, their attitude would not be contradictory, they
would not go willingly to dwell in animals, and could not
St. Justin, during his pre-Christian period, considered the be forced into it. If souls would be uncreated, they would be
soul as divine and immortal, as a part of the sovereign Spirit, alike, equal and identical to the Uncreated itself, to God, and
however, without ceasing to resemble the soul of animals.25 there would not be any difference between them and Him,
While in the body, souls can see God in spirit, but they can neither in terms of power, nor in terms of dignity. Next, the
do so especially after separation from the body, without Uncreated has no plural. Therefore the soul is not God, and
remembering it later, and without being able to specify does not enjoy His immortality.30
whether this contemplation of divinity has any use. Souls
unworthy of divine contemplation are chained in animal The essential characteristic of the soul is that it has life.
bodies, without being aware and without knowing that they But it does not live as life, but as a partaker of life. This
have sinned, says Justin in Dialogue with the Jew Tryphon. shows that it is different from the thing in which it takes
After his conversion to Christianity, Justin let go of this part. The soul participates in life because God wants it to
concept, and even criticizes it through the old man’s mouth live. It will no longer participate in life when God would not
from Dialogue with the Jew Tryphon, claiming that souls do want it to live anymore. Life does not belong to the soul, as
not see God and do not change bodies, because they would it belongs to God. The soul leaves the body and man ceases
know that way, that they are punished, and would fear sin, to exist. When the soul must cease to be, the spirit of life
even the most occasional one.26 Souls can know that there is comes out of him and goes back to where it came from.31
a God and that righteousness and piety are good.27
The life of the soul and the duration of this life are no
St. Justin the Martyr claims that souls are produced as longer natural phenomena, such as they are in Phaedo, but
the world is created, and they were built for humans and they depend on the will of God, which is their source and
other living beings, not with the body, but separately. St. creator. The origin of this conception of St. Justin is based,
Justin said that the soul is not from the being, but from the he says, on the Bible. It is the merit of St. Justin the Martyr
will of God. It is thus created and becomes immortal by and Philosopher to have carefully weighed and organized
God’s will and its merits. the elements of this issue in a different perspective. This
solution corrects at least partially Justin’s prior idea,
He is especially opposed to the view of Platonic according to which the soul, being a part of God, as “breath”
philosophers, according to which the soul is immortal and of Him (Genesis 2.7)32 is saved by its very nature. There
unborn. And if it (the soul) is a part of the same complex is a big difference between the two positions of Justin’s
as the world, and if this is created, is born, it is natural and expressed on the matter.
necessary that souls were also created, and they do not
exist on their own, since they were made for humans and However, in some parts, this doctrine eased his progress
for other beings, and were produced separately, not every towards the new formula kept in the work Dialogue with the
soul with its body. Souls, according to the conception of St. Jew Tryphon, formula that is the result of his new Christian
Justin, are not immortal, but are like the world. philosophy. Justin argues that Plato’s work Timaeus opened
the perspective to his new formula. In fact, if the soul is
Furthermore, those who defend non-corporeality and not immortal “in law” anymore, but only to the extent
the immortality of the soul believe that they will not be that God wants to keep it at [9], this does not mean that
punished for their evil deeds, because the incorporeal can his immortality is compromised in itself. This immortality
not suffer, and because the soul is immortal, they do not becomes a divine gift, which saves it from death, because
need God. There was here a significant consequence of the soul will enter into a new life, where it will be rewarded
the Platonic conception that some of the partisans of the or punished according to its deeds. St. Justin says it is not an
immortality of the soul did not despise. But if souls are not immortality granted by itself, but one that is given by God.
immortal, yet they do not all die, because it would benefit And this divine gift is not obtained without the trouble of
the wicked:28 „But I do not mean at all that all souls die; for the soul and the body. It is now available to all who seek
the wicked, it would really be a profit. But then how? The the truth.
souls of the pious remain in a better place, and the unjust
and evil ones in a worse one, waiting there for judgment.
Thus, souls of those worthy of God will never die, while the IV. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BODY AND
others will be punished as long as God wants them to exist SOUL
and be punished.”29 The importance of the moral aspect is
crucial, but without being able to remove the contradiction As for the relationship between body and soul, St. Justin
inherent in such a concept. the Martyr and the Philosopher argues that they are closely
linked by the very act of creation, which took place almost
25 See [7], IV., pp. 125-126. simultaneously, though the souls were built separately
26 Ibidem. and not with their own bodies. Justin observes in the act
27 Ibidem. 30 See [3], p. 384.
28 See [3], p. 383. 31 Ibidem.
29 See [7], V., p. 127. 32 See [6] The Holy Bible. Genesis 2,7.
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of creation a distinction designed to keep each part its own and indices by] T. Bodogae, Olimp Căciulă, D.Fecioru,
identity. God first created the body, to which He gave the Bucureşti: Ed. Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al BOR,
soul, through the breath of His mouth. They have thus 1997, XXVIII, p. 58.
become an inseparable whole. The preexistence and the [6] The Holy Bible. The first Epistle of Paul the Apostle to tle
transmigration of the souls separating soul and body were Thessalonians 5, 23, King James version, Cambridge:
abolished and forgotten. The body and the soul are “the same University Press.
into the same”. They form not only an ideal unit, but a kind [7] Sf. Iustin Martirul şi Filosoful, Dialogul cu iudeul Trifon
of identity that still retains the properties of the constitutive [Dialogue with the Jew Tryphon], în Apologeţi de limbă
elements. According to the Christian philosophy of Justin, greacă [Apologists in Greek], traducere, introducere, note
the saving of the soul is integral to that of the body because şi indici de [translation, introduction, notes and indices
they are inextricably linked by a common destiny.33 by] T.Bodogae, Olimp Căciulă, D.Fecioru, Bucureşti: Ed.
The solidarity of the soul and the body relies then on Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al BOR, 1997, CV, p. 286.
their close collaboration. The body being accused of sin [8] Sf. Iustin Martirul şi Filosoful, Apologia a doua în favoarea
and coercion on the soul to make it sin together is in vain. creştinilor [The second Apologia for the Christians], în
How could the body sin in itself if it would not have been Apologeţi de limbă greacă [Apologists in Greek], traducere,
preceded and provoked by the soul in this direction? introducere, note şi indici de [translation, introduction, notes
and indices by] T. Bodogae, Olimp Căciulă, D.Fecioru,
Bucureşti: Ed. Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al BOR,
V. CONCLUSIONS 1997, X, p. 111.
This Justinian conception about the relationship and [9] E.Gilson, La philosophie au Moyen-âge. Des origines
intimate union of the body and the soul was different from patristique a la fin de XIV-e siecle, deuxieme edition revue
the Platonic theory, and later from the Neoplatonic theory, et argumentee, Paris : Payot, 1961, p. 20.
according to which matter is the origin of evil and is evil in
itself, and the union of the soul and the body would cause [10] La creation de l’homme, 27.228.b. Introduction et traduction
all sorts of mistakes.34 de Jean Laplace “Sources chretiennes”, No. 6, 1943, p. 213.
St. Justin the Martyr and Philosopher contributed

through the relationship between body and soul to the
development of the idea that the “outward appearance” of
the body remains in the soul, which is like “the mark of the
seal to the seal itself”, after St. Gregory of Nyssa [10], and
will lead to the medieval conception, according to which
the intangible soul is a form of the body, because the soul is
existentially united to the body by the nature of its essence
in itself; he requires the existential union with the body to
exist, ontologically, and to act, psychologically.35
REFERENCES:
[1] Ioan G. Coman, Probleme de filosofie şi literatură patristică
[Matters of philosophy and patristic literature], Bucureşti:
Ed. Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al B.O.R., 1995, p. 40.
[2] Ioan-Gheorghe Rotaru, Aspecte antropologice în gândirea
patristică şi a primelor secole creştine [Anthropological
aspects in patristic thought and in the first Christian
centuries], Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2005,
pp. 93-102.
[3] Ioan G. Coman, Elemente de antropologie în operele Sfîntului
Iustin Martirul şi Filozoful [Elements of anthropology in the
works of St. Justin the Martyr and Philosopher], Ortodoxia,
XV (1968), nr. 3., p. 378.
[4] Sf. Iustin Martirul şi Filosoful, Despre înviere [About
resurrection], 8, ed. I, în C.Otto, Corpus apologetarum
christianorum saeculi secundi,1879, vol. III. T.III. ed. a
III-a, p. 238. D.
[5] Sf. Iustin Martirul şi Filosoful, Apologia întâi în favoarea
creştinilor [The first Apologia for the Christians], în
Apologeţi de limbă greacă [Apologists in Greek],, traducere,
introducere, note şi indici de [translation, introduction, notes
33 See [3], p. 385.

34 Ibidem.
35 See [3], p. 386.
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Anthropological structures of the religious

imaginary in Sandu Tudor’s norm - poem
The Akatist of Our Allpious Father St. Demetrius The New, Keeper of oxen in Basarabov
Ciornea Carmen
Ovidius University of Constanta
Constanţa -900527, Romania
carmenciornea@gmail.com
Abstract: The present study presents some aspects of the a research method the transcendental analysis and can be
liturgical composition - The Akatist of Our Allpious Father applied to Sandu Tudor’s norm-poem because it is directly
St. Demetrius The New, Keeper of oxen in Basarabov – and focused on the religious norm, the trend being to consider
it is based on the assumption that the greatness of literature the Christian element not only in form but rather in spirit.
must be determined by the „dialogue” with Divinity. The The analysis from the perspective of Theopoem is justified,
poetry search a reference point in the transcendent and the on the one hand, by the poet Sandu Tudor’s intention to
implement the divine mystery in some intelligible images
most sequences in the akatist of Sandu Tudor is imposed by
as much as possible, which require a minimum theological
the gravity of emotion, by purity and the ardour of the feeling. culture for decoding the message of the pray-poem and by
The paths created by mystical and iconic anthropology focusing on the tension between the word and the Word or
developed in its akatists require a thorough understanding, between the non-word and Logos. We analyzed Allpious
coherent with the Church tradition and the Christian vision The Akatist of Our Father St. Demetrius The New, Keeper
of the dynamics of its transformation into words. of oxen in Basarabov through these innovative research
methods, based on theological and literary skills, trying
Keywords: Sandu Tudor, poetry, akatist, theology, to separate the terms “anthropological comprehension” of
litheraturtheologie, theoposie, anthropology the religious images in daytime and night time registers-
and in two types of structures of religious poetry- ekstatic
and enstatic, and finally, to follow the theme of human
I. Introduction deification seen as overlaping of human and divine nature.
The paper “Anthropological structures of the religious Revelation of the Christ is an anthropological revelation and
imaginary in Sandu Tudor’s norm-poem” focuses on a religious consciousness of man is meant just to reveal the
segment of Romanian literature less discussed, namely, Christian consciousness of man.
Sandu Tudor’s religious poetry seen from the viewpoint of
iconic anthropology structure, of coagulation of religious II. THE AKATIST - ECCLESIASTICAL
images in his first liturgical composition - The Akatist of
Our Father St. Allpious Demetrius The New, Keeper of SACERDOTAL POETRY
oxen in Basarabov - in theological epistema. Structural
analytical method applied in our research was designed to The Akatist of Our Father St. Allpious Demetrius The
track the main nucleous religious pictures, images related New, Keeper of oxen in Basarabov emerged from poet’s
to the archetype, constitutive chronotop, myth, but the desire to dedicate to the saint patron of Bucharest - his
intention was also to emphasise some significant ideas relics are in the Patriarchal Church - a beautiful poem of
on the reflection of some mystical images in his poetic spiritual comfort for the believers. This Akatist will be the
work. The explanatin of this type of analysis in terms of only one – from the five of the author - published during
literary theology represented the element of originality. his lifetime, in 1942, at the Royal Foundation for Literature
Author’s mystical vocation requires the application of and Art, Bucharest, the edition being accompanied by a
some terminological indicators – Litheraturtheologie1 and preface - “Some words” - signed by Sandu Tudor, which
Theoposie - two unique concepts in the Romanian critical contains some clarifications on the importance and the role
space, theories taken from Karl-Josef Kuschel German the Akatist plays in the spiritually journey of every believer:
writers, Gisbert Kranz, Georg Langenhorst, etc., which “The greatness and its mastery is doubled: one, outside,
focuses on the anthropological structures of the religious sound and color well measured; other, inner, of discovery
imaginary. Literary Theology - Litheraturtheologie – has as and dogmatic meaning”2. In Foreword he tells the readers
1 Vezi Ernst Josef Krzywon, Möglichkeiten einer Literaturtheologie, în
„Der Evanghelische Erzieher. Zeitschrift für Pädagogik und Theologie”, 2 Sandu Tudor, Seamă de cuvinte. Introducere la Acatistul preacuviosului
28, Jahrgang, 1976, p. 21; părintelui nostrum Sf. Dimitrie cel Nou boarul din Basarabov. În
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some biographical details that generated composing this Orthodox Church of the blessing to print it: “Your Holy
Byzantine poem: “I started this akathist in the twilight Highness, with deep humility I am adding, along with it, the
of the Dead people’s Saturday, the eve of Holy Sunday of attached “The Akatist of the Holy New Dimitrie Basarabov
Pentecost. There are fifty days after the passing away of my “written by me in lyrics after metric and rythm of old Akatist
youngest. A repentant prayer to the Saint Lord, The one with of Byzantine rhythm, adding extra modern rhythmic, asking
the name of mystery, the one who is above our thoughts, the you to kindly arrange to be examined and approved by the
Hope from age to age. It was created in order to settle in a Holy Synod and possibly to be used by the pious believers
quiet place the soul of my brother, Eugene.”3 in their readings and spiritual consolation without fear of
heresy or inappropriate innovation of the teaching of our
The term akatist comes from the Greek “akathistos” Holy Orthodox Church. May 28th , 1928, Bucharest, Sandu
which means “holy song standing” and is an old hymn to Tudor, writer “7.
a holy person. Fixed form poem, specific to Byzantine cult,
consists of a series of twelve Kontakion and canticles, its The work, published in the journal lines “Thought” is
structure following, at the symbolic level, the evolution perceived by the readers at that time as a composition quite
of a cycle of the year, that is twelve steps, spiritual poetry demanding that revives old language sermons. The paper
cores, in the natural evolution of the subject for the twelve did not leave indifferent upper bodies and so, after reading
calendaristic months. The only deviation which is permitted it in the meeting of May 20th , 1928, obtained the blessing of
in the architecture of the poem lies in the ability to vary the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church for the
the cycle, the process that Sandu Tudor uses and expands publication:
akathist to thirteen episodes, the second part of the last
song being not developed. The Akathist has, however, as “To Mr. Sandu Tudor. In response to the petition you
a whole, the roundness of a circle, being a hymnic prayer submitted, we have the honour to let you know that the Holy
that is perpetuated infinitely for the anthem is meant to be Synod, in the meeting of May 20th, 1928, reading your paper
restarted from the beginning, in his natural utterance at entitled “Akathist of St. Demetrios the New Basarabov”
the end of its gradual cycle: “Anthem of a wide vision or and appreciating its value both in terms of literary and of
better, a whole hymnology, the Akathist is a fulfilled cycle of the keeping intact of the true teachings of our Holy Church
religious poetry. It is like a total, gathered as a continuous praises approved printing of this work. July 13th, 1928,
chain of songs, and returns itself to flow endlessly, revealing Bucharest, President Pimen, Metropolitan of Moldova “8.
one by one: dramatic songs which are overlapped with Thus the poem, Byzantine type, falls within the
other epic hymns and linked with purely lyrical litanies. “ tradition, improving with its value of prayer. Writer
4
The word “kontakion” used to designate in the old times innovations consisted of the construction of new metaphors
the stick on which the paper or parchment manuscripts were with symbolic value and caring to support lyric musicality
wrapped on, and in Greek has the meaning of “boudoir”, without affecting classical structure.
and take the form of a private prayer, “that is always a
dramatic dialogue with God.” 5 The term “oikos” - means in Therefore, the text lends itself to an analysis from the
Greek “monument” and entailed summarizing the life of the perspective of literary theology - Litheraturtheologie -
praised saint “hymnal largest and narrative piece, which in because it does not priorily subordinate to aesthetic purpose,
turn ends with a litany, song of praise.” 6 If in the kontakion but wished to be valuable for the orthodox literature, the
the structure is accomplished dramatically, as a consequence Christian element being observed both in form and especially
of the intimate dialogue with God, in case of the canticle in spirit. Akathist-Hymn is a text which is primarily a cultic
the organisation is somehow more narrative, it meaning role, invokes and honours the holy person. Unlike other
a description of the glorious moments of the honoured traditional species - sonnet, washers, triolet, gazelle – the
person’s life, in this case St. Dimitrie the New Basarabov, Akathist, promoted especially by the church leaders, taken
which in turn divides, the final part being a litany, a song of into account the spiritual needs, did not turn over time and did
praise, easily recognizable by resuming obsessive leitmotif: not accept structural changes, but with very few exceptions,
“Rejoice ...”. The care to elaborate a text according to proved itself a model in which form and content can and
Orthodox teaching and traditional ritual is even certified by must achieve a perfect unity of ideas and poetic expression.
the author, after the first moment of the broad composition, Sandu Tudor’s Akathist is kept within these classical frames
which poem consists of thirteen Kontakions and twelve of a worship song that gravitates around the life and work
canticles, each having a particular number of lines, reviews of a saint, whose evoked personality is ruled by a strong
and completes the work in 1928, adding the metric and the and humble emotional feeling, in a discovery approach, an
rythm of the old Byzantine Akathist. At the same time this emphasis of a dogmatic meaning, embeded in an oratorical
submits to approval of the Holy Synod of the Romanian musicality which at first glance may seem austere, but with
this melodic cold enciphers mystical solemnity. This cultic
Ieroschimonahul Daniil de la Rarău (Sandu Tudor), Acatiste. Prima production, “brilliant exactly because of the absence of
ediție integral, îngrijită de Alexandru Dimcea, Gabriel Moldoveanu, superficial subjective lyrical originality” identifies itself
Editura Christiana, București, p.10. with the collective objective lyric of the Church Tradition,
3 Ibidem, p.13. with the “assuming and creative varying of the motifs, of its
4 Sandu Tudor, Seamă de cuvinte. Introducere la Acatistul preacuviosului symbolic and archetypal images of great religious depth is
părintelui nostrum Sf. Dimitrie cel Nou boarul din Basarabov. În transfigured in prayer, and art in spirituality.”9
Ieroschimonahul Daniil de la Rarău (Sandu Tudor), Acatiste. Prima
ediție integral, îngrijită de Alexandru Dimcea, Gabriel Moldoveanu, 7 Mitropolitul Antonie Plămădeală, Rugul Aprins, Editura Arhiepiscopiei
Editura Christiana, București, 2009, p. 9. Sibiului, Sibiu, 2002, ediția electonică, p. 7.
5 Ibidem, p.10. 8 Ibidem, p. 8.
6 Ibidem, p.10. 9 diac. Prof. dr. Ioan I. Jr.Ică, Daniil Sandu Tudor-poet, schimnic,
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Sandu Tudor’s preoccupation to recover archaic imagination are, in his vision: diurnal and nocturnal.
vocabulary and syntax of old Romanian language – which Looking from this point of view, The Akatist of Our
we admit that untrained readers –justifies the application Allpious Father St. Demetrius The New, Keeper of oxen in
of hermeneutics from the perspective of Theopoem, the Basarabov we note how significantly the internal structures
poet being concerned, on the one hand, to recover the of the Tudorian imaginary are organized because in the
sacred aura of prayers uttered with the same words able to early lines of the Kontakion I, the poet’s creativity seems to
translate divine mystery in some understandable pictures to enroll into light: “O Thou, Father, old, you hold the world
a person who has a minimum initiation into the mysteries in your hand! / blaze without shade, I only can see Your
of the Christian vision and so to restore the authentic halo, / guess as in a mirror! Face of dazzling confusion!”.
dialogue between ancestors and descendants. The word, the It is the implicit light, uncreated, it is what Testament texts
soul expression, manifests the image and the relationship call “Divine Glory” worn by Persons of the Trinity, which
between complete units, between faces that communicate becomes visible, perceptible by categories of analytical
with each other. Poetic identity is grounded at a prereflexiv, thinking, discursive just in the process of transfiguration
preanalytical level, within the pure act of own utterance of and deification of human nature, like Moses on Mount
the soul. The Auroral Status of the poetic utterance points Sinai. Intention to recover the anthropological dimension
to the first state of the soul in the theological sense. In the of light is emphasized by the poet himself: “Locked in a
poet’s akathist-hymns the creative act of writing is put rough canon pattern and determined in the smallest details,
into service of the discovery of the transcendent, toward it the cold formal transformation, like the accuracy of a
aspires to, but also the unsuspected inners of the heart, in mysterious crystal is, in fact, only one way to rule and order
which God makes He present. Writing, in his view, is not the spiritual flames, which must light in our hearts. But, at
only a path to the core of things and creatures, but becomes the same time, the akathist hymn is shown as a circle of
a proof of the presence of God in the human heart. In this fire and flames of all our strained booms, through which
context, the poet’s options for religious hymn, litany, text- godliness is written and always grows around a holy life,
norm are justified10: “The Akathist is a great spiritual which was chosen from the niches of the calendar to stand
canticle typical of Eastern Christian piety. Of all the great in front of us as izvodite of deification”14.” Sandu Tudor
solemnities of Constantinople, perhaps the greatest, most expresses this uncreated light by mystical experience and
impressive was just the sermon of “the Prayer” which in not common knowledge, so that his akathist poems mark a
Greek means “holy song standing” (...) When hearing it, level of deification of the material by light “seen unseenly
you need to remain steadfast as a candle burn in frozen and known incomprehensibly”15: “But our eye does not see
glory. “11. So the semantic level of the Akathist has tripartite the wonder, / our mind, blind, the mystery does not believe. /
functionality: dogmatic, historical regarding the mentioned Surely, Holy your mercy for man / Make that the holy light to
saint and liturgical: “Akathist is part of the liturgical mystics bind us, / to sing to you in the Lord - God / the clean music, in
of what is known in Orthodoxy as “Uninterrupted Worship” slender singing” (Canticle III). These Tudorian suggestions
or “constant glorification”. Akathist supposedly never stops send to the immanence of Divine Transfiguration light:
and is always renewed (...) Akathist hymn is one of those “Apparent shadow you gone through life / until the moment
stairs in spirit that gives the possibility to climb up there to of Divine Transfiguration.” But the Big Transfiguration on
the horizon where you can be covered by the Vision without Mount Tabor may also connote the transfiguration of the
breaks and without blemish through this”12. Invoking apostle-poet who acquires “by divine grace, the faculty of
the Holy New Dimitrie Basarabov does not have only a seeing Jesus as He is in his light”16. It is relevant in this
latreutic role, for worship, but also allows the creation of a regard, the construction of the symbolic images, the final
spiritual channel, needed for education and sensibilisation theological episteme in the final part of Canticle II of the
of the soul. Akathist of St. Demetrios the New Basarabov designed to
glorify the saint: “Rejoice, the best part of the divine love”,
“ Rejoice, mirroring of celestial stars”,” Rejoice that you
III. POETIC ASIDE: THE LINK BETWEEN keep Christ into your heart core”,”Rejoice that birth and
DIURNAL and NOCTURNAL IN THE RELIGIOUS death you have won”, “ Rejoice, from the coffin with bright
IMAGINARY relics “.
The perspective that Gilbert Durand opens in Phenomenology of the Tudorian light would remain
Anthropological structures of the imaginary13 suggests a only a simple statistical exercise unless the perspective and
suppression of the limit between rational and imaginary and the senses towards the light and the light of the celestial
the presentation, structuralist, of the anthropological “paths” stars river, Numinous, did not flow into the “black night”:
of the imaginary. The basic components of general human “And in the third evening when from the heavenly hive /
the stars swarm as gold bees, / the black flower night, it
neoimnograf și martir, în „Revista Teologică”, anul I, Sibiu, 1991, nr. 2,
was buried / your hermit body without coffin / (...) / local
p. 110.
10 Laura Bădescu, Sacris litteris. Încercare de sistem, în „Viaţa 14 Ieroschimonahul Daniil de la Rarău (Sandu Tudor), op. cit,
Românească”, XCIV, Ianuarie-Februarie, București, 1999, nr. 1, p.18. p.10.
11 Ieroschimonahul Daniil de la Rarău (Sandu Tudor), op. cit, 15 Dumitru Stăniloae, Viața și învățătura lui Grigorie Palamas,
p.10. Seria Teologică, Sibiu, 1938, p.79.
12 Ibidem, p.10. 16 Mircea Eliade, Istoria credințelor și ideilor religioase, Editura
13 Gilbert Durand, Structurile antropologice ale imaginarului. Științifică și Enciclopedică, București, 1988, vol. II, p. 230. A se vedea
Introducere în arhetipologia general. Traducere de Marcel Aderca. și prima parte a volumului Mefistofel și Androginul, Editura Humanitas,
Postfață de Cornel Mihai ionescu, București, Editura Universul București, 1995, pp.11-70. Ea este consacrată experiențelor luminii
Enciclopedic, 2000. mistice în mai multe religii, inclusiv în creștinismul isihast.
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people, seeing you playing spin fire over the light “(Canticle negation lived on the image plane before the grammatical
III). The image of the Virgin Mary is presented as a means formalism is encoded. The poet places words above thought,
of potentiating the numinous, which sends to the divine which at the mystical and theological Christian level
protection and ascenssional projection. The image of the correspondsthe theory that Being, Person or Soul are above
numinous woman usually contraries the female archetype energies. Being as person is the unit itself and the causal
who, after Gilbert Durand, belongs to terrestrial elements, model for the living unit at any level of existence. Broken
“the eternal feminine and the feeling of nature go hand from the connection with the soul the material energies
in hand.” At Sandu Tudor, the Virgin meets cosmic role destructure themselves, know the phenomenon of entropy
of Mother Earth looking at Heaven, she represents “earth and take death image. As a result of the fall, the material-
element in terms of nurturing motherhood, in terms of energetic systems know structuring and destructuring,
cosmic soul that feeds the worlds”17 “Oh You, wise Mother, antagonistic guidelines internal or external. The matrix
godly choice, / O ! You blessed and bright Bride / (...) / A! of structuralist thinking is the antagonistic energy logics,
You, Holy Mother of Light-without-shadow / clear darkness which reflects in itself the very state of falling in a Christian
from my blind wandering / make me see the holy pledge of sense. The soul, however, transcends the antagonistic logic,
your host / all the embodiment of Christ, I break the crooked it is also provides the unit beyond oppositions: “O Thou,
path “(Kontakion IX) Father, old, you hold the world in your hand! / blaze without
shade, I only can see Your halo, / guess as in a mirror! Face
The reader of the Akathist to St. Dimitrie the New of dazzling confusion!”. (Kontakion I), “Under Thy Holy
Basarabov “lives” metaphorically in the aesthetic ideas light my heavy clay burnt “(Canticle I),” You, our holy
world, participating, by reading, in the process of sacralisation country, we speak with the new voice / like hungry for
of the world by the light of love. God is revealed through godliness, from temporality we sew/ in the trappings of
light and Sandu Tudor customizes this situation by lighting light and shade, your thought.” (Kontakion II),” And in the
effects that enlight the nocturnal nature of spirituality. Sandu third night, when from the heavenly hive / the gold bees,
Tudor refuses the sterile word and has the ability to develop swarming stars / black night flower, was buried / your
the ekstatic mystics in his texts. Understood by Christianity body of a hermit without coffin “(Canticle III), “white nun”.
as the pinnacle of lucidity the ekstatic state is the way the Therefore, the expression of the soul, the word, manifests
mystic is revealed both to the outer world and also to the the relationship between image and full units, between faces
inner world. The imagistic scenario develops the state of that communicate with each other. In the hymn-akathist,
ekstatic mystics, the exit out toward divinity. The Akathist- the words cease to be part of a system of antagonistic
hymn poet, recipient of a profound inner metamorphosis is opposition. The poetic identity is grounded at a prereflexiv,
concerned with the change of material he works with - word preanalytical level, the sheer act of being self utterance:
- which he illuminates from the interior. Therefore Sandu “Glory to You, Trinity, Non-understood understanding
Tudor conveys the mystical experience meaning in poetic / Glory to you, forever pure virgin bride, / Glory to you,
experience, transfiguring the latter, until the discovery of its Archangels, Heavenly armies , / Glory to you, O Most-
mystical dimension 18. holy, chosen, sealed spiritually / Glory to you, Dimitrie
His poetry is important by deciphering of its mystical the New Basarabov, / to whom I sang this akathist by this
significance, identifiable by its living research. Openings Ceaslov Verse, / Increase a keep-forever through which the
created by reflections, mystics and iconic anthropology world, / Enlarge him forever in ages, Glory! Glory! Amen!”
developed in his akathist propose a model and a coherent (Kontakion XIII). Hence the Sandu Tudor’s need to recover
analysis with Church Tradition and a genuine Christian vision the Auroral condition of poetic utterance that points to the
of transposition dynamics in the word. The conventional first condition of the being in the theological sense. We
image, even if it differentiates from Archetype, it still note that the uncreated all bathing light experience which
maintains a connection with him through a minor structure he lives is an experience of the transfiguration of all things
of meanings. In this type of image “there is a homogeneity and especially those earthly realities that seemed to have no
of signifier and signified”19, the picture representing a spiritual status before being seen by the Spirit: “So many
response, imagination, energy. This process that the poet awaken nights in you the stars devise / and the sun took your
Sandu Tudor uses, which we might call the “manipulation” dreams, / so you could see the ones alive, / passing under
of diurnal / nocturnal regimes, where the simple oxymoronic your eye/ merciful, the crown, rings sanctified / good to be
relationship is converted to total replacement, connotes a praised by the fallen heaven.” The Akathist, the norm-text
mystical transfiguration. Gilbert Durand ranges it among that meets own aesthetic and visionary specific, foretastes of
his favorite rhetorical techniques, calling it double negation. same mystical experience of overcoming the inertia of the
The changing process consists essentially in the fact that world, with air filling, the filling with the Spirit’s presence.
the affirmation can be constituted by denial that through
denial or a negative act the effect of an initial negativity IV. POETIC ASIDE: ABOUT THE MESSIANIC
is destroyed. It can be said that the source of change of
dialectical direction is the sense in the process of double FUNCTION OF THE HYMN-AKATHIST
17 Paul Evdokimov, Femeia și mântuirea lumii. Traducere de In The Great Code - The Bible and Literature20, Northrop
Gabriela Moldoveanu, București, Asociația Christiana, 1995, p. 228. Frye argues that Holy Scripture had a fruitful and continuing
18 Dumitru Stăniloae, Ascetica și mistica Bisericii Ortodoxe, influence on Western literature, establishing an imaginative
București, Editura I.B. M. B.O. R., 2002. framework and a mythological universe as it evolved until
19 Gilbert Durand, Structurile antropologice ale imaginarului.. the eighteenth century and, somehow, is still evolving. The
Introducere în arhetipologia generală, Traducere de Marcel Aderca. return of the myth over the time is because Jesus Christ is
Postfață de Cornel Mihai Ionescu, București, Editura Universul 20 Northon Frye, Marele Cod – Biblia şi literatura, Traducere de
Enciclopedic, 2000, p. 28. Al. Sasu și I. Stanciu, Editura Du Style, București, 1999, p.214.
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the apparition of a superior nature, a transfigured nature renews the human being. If here on earth man is imperfect
above human life. and unfulfilled, the need of deification becomes imperative
in Sandu Tudor’s view: “You, with my unseen hand shadows,
Since the concept of death and rebirth of Jesus is a / to endure the heat of temptation, / to give me without
religious concept, being the “result of an experience, not delay! / love buds with abundance of facts, / do not ever try
of a theoretical speculation – it is a mystery conception”21 slave rebellion, / to break to the day, through devilish night
- a reading of these hymns-akathist in the key concept of / revived in the Lord, crystal awe, / kidnapping of stairs to
deification is entirely legitimate and at least two other reading tell the glory “ (Canticle IX ). Natura umană, însă, nu se
variants could be admitted here: one from the perspective putea întregi prin simpla ei aspiraţie spre desăvîrşire; ea
of intertextuality, another of the archetypal criticism. This trebuia să realizeze unirea cu Arhetipul: „Luminare sfântă
phrase - life in Christ – of Paul’s, the Church Fathers called ce călăuzește,/sub smerirea rugii, fă să simt iar, cum,/prin
it deification. Thus, according to patristic teaching, the path iubirea-ți trează, viața-n mine crește/cu avânt de aripi,
of deification is the union with Christ, precisely because spre cer de vultur.” (Icos IX) Christ opened the way for
the union of the Archetype is the one that leads the man achieving of this goal. God redeemed the man from the
to his completion. To get here however, the human beings servitude of sin, the devil and death, but did the thing which
must gain some inner skills, must have overcome the evil Adam had not done; gave real existence through Christ,
within, and have learned with good thoughts. However, raising him to the rank of new creation. Therefore, Christ is
this way is just the imitation of Christ, the One who, in the salvation of man, not only in a negative way, delivering
Himself, has overcome the powers of evil, defeating then him from the consequences of his forefathers’ sin, but also
by Resurrection. positively, completing the iconic existence before the Fall.
Far from being an esoteric issue, a “mythological Human relationship with Jesus is not only a healing one;
fantasy” or metaphysical speculation, deification of Man Human salvation is something much more than redemption,
remains an inexhaustible theological and literary theme that it coincides with the deification: “Lord Jesus Christ, I am
deeply marks modern utopias and anxieties, representing looking at the icon / which in a canon paints on wood, holy,
a constant of human condition and history as a whole. St. the Crucifixion, / the ninth hour, when, Life Giver, / through
Demetrios’ perfect simplicity of life inspired the young the agony pain you redempted your creation” (Kontakion
poet Sandu Tudor and he represents an ascetic ideal who, X).
throughout his life, is committed explicitly in the process of Therefore, Sandu Tudor’s norm-text The Akatist of
updating the Archetype, sinking into oblivion and seeking Our Allpious Father St. Demetrius The New, Keeper of
of God. Demetrius was a very simple man, oxen keeper in oxen in Basarabov develops an authentic anthropology
Basarabi village, on the banks of the stream Lom, where, because, as is stressed by Nikolai Berdyaev, it can be
finally, stepped back out of sight of the crowd, becoming based only on Christic revelation: “The universal fact of
a hermit. Henceforth his life fulfilled in prayers remained Christ appearance is the foundation of anthropology. Only
almost unknown, even his grave being covered by flood in Christ and through Christ the universal act of human
waters and after a storm, and hid under gravel river bottom. divine awareness becomes possible”22. Thus, the Tudorian
More than a century and a half has elapsed over the hermit’s dogmatic Akathist, extensive poetical utterance, is built
relics until one night when he showed himself to a girl on Christian anthropological architecture, which posits
from his native village with terrible experiences of illness, human deification, defined as the interplay of human nature
and this girl was healed. Following the girl’s indications and the divine. The poetic discourse is held constant in the
regarding the location of his remains as it was shown in expression of humility emotion and faith. The man is pressed
a dream, the villagers proceeded to dig in river and they by the need of own progress as a human need, and that
found, indeed, the bones which they unearthed and placed deification supposed by mystical involvment presupposes
them in a coffin to which then people nearby and around the inhumanning of the man; it is an act of overcoming human
world have come to pray for help. And miracles of healing objectivity by tracing its spiritual basis23. Deification,
did not slow to appear. Thus began his new and true life, the ascetic ideal of shimistics, does not refer to what is
given by the grace of God. In Dumitru Stăniloae’s point of commonly called knowledge, but a reconstruction of the
view, Jesus opens to the world not only the possibility to human in the perspective of what it should be; it is the result
invoke a possible therapeutic world, but also transcending of “to be” instead of “to know”: “Putting away the sadness
truth “through death to resurrection” death being defined of the world, free from all blame, / in Christ clothed, kissing
by him as a needed and universal time which places the your holy bone / day of cross carriers to keep after your holy
meaning of life in transcendent. As the sanctity of the oxen example, / unbridled Church” (Kontakion XI).
keeper hermit Demetrius was proven, the Patriarchy moved
the remains in the patriarchal church, passing it among the
Romanian saints, named Saint Dimitrie the New Basarabov. V. Conclusions
In this context, St. Demetrius is a “dynamic image” of It seems clear that any effort of probing depths of the
Archetype which finds its meaning precisely in this way of Tudorian imaginary in the Tradition of the Church and the
deepening without ceasing into existance, which is a way of
deifying communion: “Stellar sign in your head inserted, 22 Nikolai Berdiaev, Sensul creației, Editura Humanitas,
/ Pious, you stood over death that had hidden you, / (...) / București,1992, pp. 85-86.
and by you, thought climbs like a vine in heaven / and with 23 Sandu Frunză, O antropologie mistică-introducere în gândirea
thin hands touching Christ’s garment, / so our spirits cure of Părintelui Dumitru Stăniloae, Editura Omniscop, Craiova, 1996, p. 71.
flaming disease.” (Kontakion VII). Communion with Christ [A Mystical Anthropology‒Introduction in Father Dumitru Stăniloae’s
21 Mircea Eliade, Morfologia religiilor.Prolegomene, Editura Thinking, Omniscop Publishing House, Craiova,1996, p.71]
Jurnalul literar, București, 1993, p.83
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Christian vision, in addition to identifying any veins or even [7] Frunză, Sandu. O antropologie mistică-introducere în
suspicion of hidden links is forced to confront and explain gândirea Părintelui Dumitru Stăniloae, Editura Omniscop,
the own developments, the way which is what we might call Craiova, 1996, p. 71. [A Mystical Anthropology‒Introduction
the original iconography of Sandu Tudor’s imaginary. In in Father Dumitru Stăniloae’s Thinking, Omniscop
this sense, from the trial and assumptions stage, analysis is Publishing House, Craiova,1996, p.71]
urged to get and install in that area of approved prospections [8] Frye, Northon. Marele Cod – Biblia şi literatura, Traducere
and safe design. de Al. Sasu și I. Stanciu, Editura Du Style, București, 1999,
The contemporaneity of following Christ is explained p.214.
by the feeling of unfulfillment that threatens at every step [9] Ică, diac. Prof. dr. Ioan I. Jr. Daniil Sandu Tudor-poet,
the circumstantial balance of human existence. However schimnic, neoimnograf și martir, în „Revista Teologică”,
The Akatist of Our Allpious Father St. Demetrius The New, anul I,nr.2, Sibiu, 1991.
Keeper of oxen in Basarabov denotes the power exercised [10] Plămădeală, Mitropolitul Antonie. Rugul Aprins, Editura
by the Archetype of the literature, the impact of Christianity Arhiepiscopiei Sibiului,ediția electonică, Sibiu, 2002.
on creative imagination. Therefore reading this akathist- [11] Stăniloae, Dumitru. Ascetica și mistica Bisericii Ortodoxe,
hymn brings the mystical feeling in our hearts to reveal it to București, Editura I.B. M. B.O. R., 2002.
us, contributing to the activation of transfiguring dynamics
of faith. [12] Stăniloae, Dumitru. Viața și învățătura lui Grigorie Palamas,
Seria Teologică, Sibiu, 1938.
[13] Tudor, Sandu. Seamă de cuvinte. Introducere la Acatistul
References preacuviosului părintelui nostrum Sf. Dimitrie cel Nou
[1] Bădescu, Laura. Sacris litteris. Încercare de sistem, în „Viaţa boarul din Basarabov. În Ieroschimonahul Daniil de la
Românească”, XCIV, Ianuarie-Februarie, București, 1999, Rarău (Sandu Tudor), Acatiste. Prima ediție integrală,
nr. 1. (references) îngrijită de Alexandru Dimcea, Gabriel Moldoveanu, Editura
[2] Berdiaev, Nikolai. Sensul creației, Editura Humanitas, Christiana, București.
București,1992. [14] Krzywon, Ernst Josef. Möglichkeiten einer Literaturtheologie,
[3] Durand, Gilbert. Structurile antropologice ale imaginarului. în „Der Evanghelische Erzieher. Zeitschrift für Pädagogik
Introducere în arhetipologia general. Traducere de Marcel und Theologie”, 28, Jahrgang, 1976
Aderca. Postfață de Cornel Mihai Ionescu, București, Editura
Universul Enciclopedic, 2000.
[4] Eliade, Mircea. Istoria credințelor și ideilor religioase,
Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, București, 1988.
[5] Eliade, Mircea. Morfologia religiilor.Prolegomene, Editura
Jurnalul literar, București, 1993.
[6] Evdokimov, Paul. Femeia și mântuirea lumii. Traducere de
Gabriela Moldoveanu, București, Asociația Christiana, 1995.
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The uncreated energies – the spiritual

foundation of knowledge
Lector Rev. Dr. Florin Spanache

The Faculty of Theology,
Ovidius University
Constanţa, Romania
Abstract: By the Orthodox teaching’s point of view on the universe in our being by God’s presence and His work in
uncreated energies, the science has the possibility to be the creation.
spiritually substantiated. As far back as the patristic epoch,
But today, as much as in the ancient world, God’s
the theology speaks of the inward rationality of creation existence and the soul’s immortality are a priori posited and
backed up by the uncreated energies, by which the world they must be placed at the basis of the scientific researches.
can be gathered in man and lifted to the highest level of its It is asserted that the rational arguments can not awaken the
existence, to its being transfigured into a new heaven and a faith into an atheist; yet they may strengthen and justify it
new earth. The microscopic world is found at the basis of for the faithful. The reason’s limits are shown especially in
the visible material world, but by knowing it, the science has front of miracles and prophesy which can not be explained
exactly discovered this rationality. In accordance with Einstein by anything but by faith. However, sometimes neither even
discovery concerning the hierarchy of the physics laws, the the miracles are able to make an atheist to believe; but if he
universe’s rationality goes beyond its manifestation described manifests a sincere openness as compared to the truth and
desires to uncover it, then the miracles are the best means
with the help of the laws of symmetry, of finality, of cause and
to awakening the faith and uncovering the truth. There is
effect, all of which are conspicuous at the macroscopic level; it no shame for an intellectual or for a serious scholar to find
was this reality which has induced the men of science to assert out that his theses are erroneous; for such an individual, it
that this is the work of God’s Mind. would be a reason for joy to find out about other theories,
closer to the truth, which shall help him to elucidate the
Keyword: the uncreated energies, rationality, the quantum mysteries which are worrying him. “Karl Popper has
physics, the theory of relativity, macroscopic scale, microscopic claimed that a true scholar must always attempt at refuting
level, the uncertainty principle, fulfillments, epecthesis. his own hypothesis.”2 This must be the ultimate norm of the
deontology of researchers and scholars. “Nothing honor a
scholar more than calling a spade a spade, that is, as he is
I. The role of christendom in the development of being led by the sense of his intellectual researches.”3
science.
Due to our discursive, limited thinking, only the
The eastern Christianity has always led the humanity to dialectical search allows us to evolve on a scientific plan.
her liberation from the determinism of natural and cosmic Wherefore, “the disputes are always constructive. One
laws which stand at the basis of the myth of eternal return may deceive oneself; another one may correct him/her.
from the pantheistic and dualistic religions of antiquity, thus No hypothesis may be prohibited, and no hypothesis is
allowing the appearance of the vast scientific and technical unuseful. All of them are offered to the research and the
progress of today’s humanity. By preaching the teaching researcher stops at the one which seems to him/her to be
on the spiritually pure, eternal and transcendental Being of true, or, anyhow, plausible. No one must be condemned for
God, the Christianity has led human reason to the partial his personal options, when they are sincere and honestly
desacralization of nature, to the abolition of idolatry which sought for. But, one must not lose sight of the fact that his
was advocated by the entire ancient world and generalized options are personal, since there is no general option. St.
by the heathen religions, and has permitted the knowledge, Paul the Apostle exhorted: „Receive one who is weak in the
the utilization and the preservation of creation which has faith, but not to dsiputes over doubtful things” (Romans 14,
been made to be bestowed to the man, who had the destiny
to spiritualize and humanize it after Christ’s model Who 2 ***, O constatare senzaţională, dar controversată, care ar putea
has transfigured in Himself the man and the cosmos.1 produce o adevărată „schimbare de civilizaţie”. Apa are propria ei
The Christianity offers us the possibility to assimilate the memorie, „Magazin Nord-Est,” year I (15-21 june, 1995), nr. 15, p. 13.
1 Pr. Prof. Dr. Dumitru Popescu, Ortodoxie şi contemporaneitate, 3 Mgr. Gheorghe Drăgulin, Ortodoxia în teologia contemporană,
„Editura Diogene,” Bucureşti, 1996, p. 158-159. „Ortodoxia,” anul XI (1959), nr. 1, p. 148.
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1).4 a short existence and which bring the men of science on

the horns of a dilemma, since some are prone to call them
creatures, also, because the microscopic universe is to them
II. The necessity of scientific and technological more real than the macroscopic universe.7 “In each point
development of the humanity for her material and of the creation the matter was never anything but a servile
spiritual life. slave and dominated everywhere by the sovereignty of the
In analyzing various scientific discoveries which, on one forces that are steering it.”8 The firmness of the rock is based
hand, present the complexity of the world created by God, not on a dense composition of stable material particles; it
and, on the other hand, may offer solutions to the various is based on dynamic particles which manifest themselves
requirements and necessities of the contemporary and in a void space, and this proves the dynamic character of
forthcoming human society, such as, the energetic crisis, the all creatures, grounded on the energetic structure of the
genetic diseases, we have to conclude that the scientific and matter, on the presence of some forces which come from a
technological development is necessary for the welfare of continuous source of existence and movement.
humanity. The quantum physics and the theory of relativity Einstein has understood why the man can not easily
have decisively contributed to the development of technique dominate the matter, namely because, although he possesses
to its present-day forms. a complexity which is hard to describe, it does not have
The great theories of the present-day physics have stability, and is not eternal. Even the physical laws must
an important role both in the conserving of the world’s be framed into a hierarchy, since some of them are valid
existence and of man’s, and in its being led to new stages at a certain level, while others start acting at another level,
of development. Thus, Albert Einstein has discovered the superior to the others. Wherefore, it is said that “Einstein
theory of relativity and has very much contributed to the has not proved that ‘Newton has deceived himself:’ he has
discovery of the quantum mechanics,5 but these things have transcended Newton’s theory, by including it in something
not satisfied him due exactly to the revelation of the caducity deeper and with greater applicability,” and because of this
of the material world. Any material creature is made up of it is deemed that, it would have been better suited for the
atoms found in a permanent moving state which takes place theory of relativity to be called the theory of invariant.9 If
in huge void spaces as compared to the atoms dimensions. we go higher on the stages of knowledge, our perspective
This means that the creatures, for their greatest part, consist is more complete, supplying us a better understanding of
of void spaces. The microscopic particles give cohesion to the things’ interconnection, and amazingly broadening our
the things only due to their unceasing dynamism around horizon.10
the nucleus which exerts an attracting force. The matter, This is how one could explain why he lived the second
under all its forms of aggregation, is made up of energetic half of his life while looking vainly to realize a unified
particles, which are into a continuous movement in a void theory by which this thicket of material particles could be
space. controlled and thus the world to be understood in its totality.11
These particles have short life duration, disappearing This theory could not be ever defined, due to apparent
in the nothingness of which they have come out, but not contradiction between the microscopic world, characterized
before some others have come out in an equally magic way by a fantastic contingency, and the macroscopic one, which
to the way by which the previous ones have disappeared. evinces an amazing rationality, a fact which made Einstein
We can not stay impassible in front of such a discovery to assert that the only incomprehensible thing as far as the
which reconfirms the intuition of genius of the Holy world is concerned is the fact that it can be comprehended.12
Fathers. This time we are reminded of St. Justin who, while On the other hand, Einstein has discovered another one, the
speaking of the world’s cause and its created character, says one of probability, by which he had in view, to some extent,
that the world is such a solid, resistant, and dense body, the explanation of the connection between phenomenons at
and it changes itself by disappearing and being born each the microscopic level, and their supervision. This last theory
and every day, nevertheless.6 In order for them to explain has laid at the basis of the subsequent development of the
this phenomenon, the men of science, who have in view to data processing science, by which there have been possible
preserve the autonomy of creation in comparison with God, the present-day fulfillments of the human civilization,
have emitted the hypothesis of anti-particles’ existence as such as the development of the spatial navigation, of the
the source for the particles’ appearance. The last innovation automating, and of robotics.
of the autonomous science with respect to the way of The Einstein’s step is not novel and it was not forgotten
appearance of the elementary particles is the assertion that to the present-day; it was taken over by some other restless
they appear by the agency of the bosons nicknamed “the
7 Kitty Ferguson, The fire in the equations: science, religion, and the
God particles.” search for God, „Templeton Foundation Press,” Philadelphia and
In passing over all these theories, we want to emphasize London, 2004, p. 5.
that the creatures are founded on these particles which have 8 Camille Flammarion, Dumnezeu în natură, trad. de Arhiereul Irineu
Mihălcescu Târgovişteanu, „Editura Aurom”, Bucureşti, 1997, p. 37.
4 Antonie Plămădeală, Tâlcuri noi la texte vechi, „Tiparul Tipografiei 9 Martin Res, Doar şase numere. Forţele fundamentale care modelează
Eparhiale Sibiu,” Sibiu, 1989, p. 269. universul, “Editura Humanitas,” Bucureşti, 2000, p. 48.
5 Stephen W. Hawking, Visul lui Einstein şi alte eseuri, „Editura 10 Julian Barbour, The End of Time, „Weidenfeld & Nicolson,” 1999,
Humanitas,” Bucureşti, 1997, p. 77. after Martin Rees, Doar şase numere, p. 49.
6 Sf. Justin Martirul şi Filosoful, Dialogul cu iudeul Trifon, 5, 2, at Pr. 11 Stephen W. Hawking, Visul lui Einstein şi alte eseuri, pp. 77-78.
Prof. Dr. Ioan G. Coman, Patrologie, vol. I, „Editura Institutului Biblic 12 Ian C. Barbour, Când ştiinţa întâlneşte religia. Adversare, străine,
şi de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române,” Bucureşti, 1984, p. 301. sau partenere?, „Editura Curtea Veche,” Bucureşti, 2006, p. 89.
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spirits, eager after the exhaustive knowledge of the seen It ensues from all of these researches that there exist
world, that were ignoring the fact that the infinite God works three categories of laws. The theory of relativity is applied
in the world and offers it infinite potentialities. “Descartes, on a macroscopic scale, in connection with the space and
and the modern science, all at once with him, considers that the time, thus revealing to the man not only the universe’s
the interpretation of (reality, our note), may be replaced relativity, but the present-day life of man, which is directly
by the data accumulation (it is a displacement from the dependant on the forces and moves of the heavenly bodies
teleological method to the eutaxiological one, a step visible with slower or faster speeds.18 In contrast with this, the
at Hawking, also: “the final goal of science is to give a single Newton’s physics is applied to the terrestrial plan – the one
theory which describes the entire universe”13).14 of man’s existence – and the quantum physics is applied to
the microscopic level and it contains, also, the uncertainty
But the man is much more a complex creature than this, principle discovered by Heisenberg, in accordance with
and this reality is discovered only by the faith teaching which there cannot ever be measured simultaneously the
through which the action of the divine grace’s work enters position and the speed of a particle, due to the observer’s
into action, grace which is able to unify all in God. “The influence, based on his instruments’ help, on the energy
contemporary science leads us to the frontiers found and on its move,19 that which confers inconsistency to the
between science, faiths and ethics. Some dream about a world, also, at the macroscopic level, since the history of
vast unifying synthesis between the present-day science each particle may influence the history of the entire complex
and the mystical and religious traditions. Yet, instead of of the world, while ensuing that the causality and the finality
succumbing to a concord or a syncretism full of confusion, are dependant on an infinity of invisible, microscopic
it is rather necessary to attain to a true dialogue between factors.20 Moreover, “the famous law of direct causality
the great cultural traditions: science, religion, etc… The seems to be no longer valid in the small infinite in which the
contemporary epistemology has quite clearly shown that the physicians have uncovered micro-particles, the behavior of
very science involves the faith dimension.”15 which eludes this law.”21
The science gives oneself airs. Our attainments bestow On the other hand, this principle demonstrates the
on us pride, gravity, and we have the tendency to rely essential limits of the knowledge power of man,22 and the
only on ourselves, without any more appealing to God. necessity of an over-rational, intuitive knowledge, grounded
The more we identify quicker our knowledge’s errors, the on the act of faith. Thus, the quantum physics has led to
more we are closer to the truth. The faith teaching does comprehending the fact that the consummate representation
not signify anything to those who consider themselves of the world can not be exclusively scientific, the men
wise in accordance with the wisdom of this world, while of science being, hence, called, also, to a dialogue with
to those who are pure in their heart the whole work of God some other knowledge forms, to “the creation of a relation
in the creation is discovered until, united to Him in the life between microphysics and philosophy,” owing to the
hereafter, they attain to knowing Him into an ascending ultimate questions posed by the physics.23
form, into a perpetual epecthesis.
The quantum physics has discovered the paradoxical
The dynamics of indetermination and of cosmos’ order,16 structure of light which is simultaneously both wave (the
which fascinates the modern science, was anticipated by spiritual side) and corpuscle (the material side); yet, it
the Holy Fathers, who have spoken about the rationality could not demonstrate how the relation between them takes
of creation, of whom we are reminded, particularly, of St. place. The light has given voice to the world, has lately
Maximos the Confessor, who asserts: “Who is the one who said the researchers, that is, the photon is the first particle
knows the reasons of things as they are and how they are that appeared in the universe by which the other particles
differentiated and have an unmoved stability by nature, have appeared, also. The discovery – by the scientific
and an unchanging movement between them, having the research – of the internal logical order of the matter, which
stability on the move and the move on the stability, which surpasses the opposition between the nature and the spirit,
is such an astounding thing? Who knows which one is the has made some scholars to speak about electron as about a
relation between them of the contrary things toward the Spirit “bearer,” things which have been anticipated by the
making up of a single world, and which one is the kind of Revelation and expressed in a theological language, that is,
the move and of the well ordered and unmixed steering?”17
13 See Stephen W. Hawking, Scurtă istorie a timpului. De la Big Teologul, colecţia Părinţi şi Scriitori bisericeşti, vol. 80, „Editura
Bang la găurile negre, „Editura Humanitas”, Bucureşti, 1995, pp. Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române,”
24-28, at Doru Costache, Istoria recentă, actualitatea şi perspectivele Bucureşti, 1983, p. 204.
raporturilor între teologie şi reprezentarea ştiinţifică a lumii, in Pr. 18 Martin Rees, Doar şase numere, p. 48.
Prof. Dr. Dumitru Popescu, Ştiinţă & Teologie. Preliminarii pentru 19 Stephen W. Hawking, Visul lui Einstein şi alte eseuri, p. 85.
dialog, „Editura XXI: Eonul dogmatic,” Bucureşti, 2001, p. 39. 20 Kitty Ferguson, The fire in the equations, pp. 15-16.
14 Doru Costache, Istoria recentă, actualitatea şi perspectivele 21 Prof. K. Blaser, Doctrine de Dieu. Guide des principaux aspects de
raporturilor între teologie şi reprezentarea ştiinţifică a lumii, in Pr. la question, Curs dactilografiat, 1979-1980, p. 45.
Prof. Dr. Dumitru Popescu, Ştiinţă & Teologie. Preliminarii pentru 22 Pr. Prep. Dr. Răzvan Andrei Ionescu, Lect. Dr. Adrian Nicole
dialog, „Editura XXI: Eonul dogmatic,” Bucureşti, 2001, p. 39. Lemeni, Teologie Ortodoxă şi Ştiinţă. Repere pentru dialog, „Editura
15 Jean-Pierre Lonchamp, Science et croyance, „Ed. Desclee de Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române,”
Brouwer,” Paris, 1992, pp. 8-9. Bucureşti, 2006, p. 375.
16 Jean-Pierre Lonchamp, Ştiinţă şi credinţă, “Editura XXI: Eonul 23 C.F. von Weiysacker, The World View of Physics, „Editura
dogmatic”, Bucureşti, 2003, pp. 145-148. Routledge,” London, 1952, pp. 35-36, apud Pr. Prep. Dr. Răzvan
17 Sf. Maxim Mărturisitorul, Ambigua, tâlcuiri ale unor locuri cu Andrei Ionescu, Lect. Dr. Adrian Nicolae Lemeni, Teologie Ortodoxă
multe şi adânci înţelesuri din Sfinţii Dionisie Arepopagitul şi Grigorie şi Ştiinţă. Repere pentru dialog, pp. 368-369.
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“the world was created by the Logos,” Who gave it, also, an Another providential fulfillment could be the
internal rationality as a structure of the matter.24 deciphering of the thorough map of the genetic code of man.
This fulfillment could be used to root out some diseases
Starting from the structure of light, Erwin Schrödinger which are considered incurable up until now.28 Of course, it
avails himself of the same laws of physics and defines the could lead to contingent ethical side-slipping, as the human
life as spirit and matter.25 He points out that, as the physics cloning,29 a fact because of which the secular authorities
science can not demonstrate the relation which exists have a great responsibility in the observance of the ethics
between the wave and the corpuscle in the light’s structure, and of the man’s personality. “A science without foundation
in the same way the relation which exists between the and without ethical applications is in all cases ill-starred to
matter and the spirit can not be demonstrated, and, as such, the man and culture,” as says a Catholic theologian, who
the life is an extraordinary antinomy for the science.26 Thus, reminds us of Bacon who asserted that science without
the life notion which is understood by the science as being a conscience is tantamount to the ruin of the soul and of
double reality, spirit and matter, confirms the Hebrew term the universe, since, if we consider that the man is a being
chaim, which has a dual sense, in as much as it refers to the made up exclusively of matter, then we depreciate the very
visible-material aspect, and to the invisible-spiritual one, essence of his nature.30
a significance which we may report to the two worlds, the
visible one and the invisible one. And the quantum science Likewise, starting from the map of human genome,
has demonstrated that there could be two worlds in the same some of man’s behaviors could be corrected, both at the
space and time. individual level and at the social level. In this direction have
already appeared researchers who have given birth to a new
Besides the discovery of these fascinating realities on science, the science of socio-biology, which has in view
the complex subatomic world, which edifies the man on to fulfill a systematic study on the biological bases of any
the existence in general, the quantum physics shows its forms of social behavior.31
importance for the man, also, by the fact that it has allowed
him to get to the discovery of the two procedures by which
the atoms could be used as new sources of energy, namely, in III. The perspectives of scientific and technological
the nuclear fission and fusion. In the context of contemporary development of humanity.
world, in which the pollution of nature represents the more a
danger to man, because of the utilization of fossil fuels, the All of these fulfillments of the human scientific genius
two procedures of producing energy are much more than have been possible by God’s providence, and they have a
saving. Someone said that there is no energetic crisis, but a great utility both for the knowledge and the preservation
technologic one, since the energy can be obtained through of the integrity of the whole world, and for its promoting,
very many ways, but not only by the classical ones; yet, the for developing it in new forms more and more complex
lack of technology is what makes us to reach an energetic which are supposed to secure the progress of man and of
deadlock. By using the nuclear energy, the present-day man his physical necessities, both of the present-day ones and
may secure the long lasting function of all of the technical of those who succeed us. They have not been fulfilled in
creations necessary in life. a short period of time; they have been fulfilled in a long
period, depending both on the necessities of the epoch in
“The matter!... Lately the men of science have discovered which they have lived, but particularly, depending on their
one of greatest mysteries of nature: the atomic energy. In a spiritual evolution, especially after the salvation fulfilled in
kilogram of uranium is stored so much energy so that piece Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.
of metal is able to bear a huge passenger ship across the
ocean. Now, try and imagine if you can, how much energy is By the Orthodox teaching’s point of view on the
inside the entire matter from the globe, or how much in the uncreated energies, the science has the possibility to be
sun, or in the billions of stars and galaxies which are seen in spiritually substantiated. As far back as the patristic epoch,
the universe, or which have not been discovered as yet. And the theology speaks of the inward rationality of creation
all of these have been made by God.”27 backed up by the uncreated energies, by which the world
can be gathered in man and lifted to the highest level of its
And the discovery of the new microscopic particles existence, to its being transfigured into a new heaven and a
and the using of the quantum physics offer the man the new earth. The microscopic world is found at the basis of
possibility to study procedures more and more efficient for the visible material world, but by knowing it, the science
the producing of the energy which is necessary to realize the has exactly discovered this rationality. In accordance with
most grandiose plans for humanity, as the spatial flights of Einstein discovery concerning the hierarchy of the physics
long duration. laws, the universe’s rationality goes beyond its manifestation
described with the help of the laws of symmetry, of finality,
24 Pr. Tache Sterea, Dumnezeu, omul şi creaţia în teologia ortodoxă şi of cause and effect, all of which are conspicuous at the
în preocupările ecumenismului contemporan. Teză de doctorat. Partea macroscopic level; it was this reality which has induced
a II-a, „Ortodoxia,” anul XLIX (1998), nr. 3-4, p. 157. the men of science to assert that this is the work of God’s
25 Apud Pr. Drd. Ioan Popescu, Structuri tematice cu implicaţii în
gândirea teologică după gândirea lui Erwin Schrodinger: „Ce este 28 Constantin Maximilian, Ştefan M. Milcu, Sylvain Poenaru,
viaţa? Şi spirit şi materie,” „Studii Teologice,” an XLIII (1991), nr. 4, Fascinaţia imposibilului. Bioetica, „Editura pentru tineret şi sport –
p. 140. Editis,” Bucureşti, 1994, p. 144.
26 Pr. Drd. Ioan Popescu, op. cit. 29 Ibidem, pp. 51-53.
27 Pr. Dr. Ştefan Slevoacă, Din tezaurul ortodoxiei în apărarea 30 Cardinalul Paul Poupard, Credinţă şi cultură la cumpăna dintre
credinţei străbune, „Editura Episcopiei Buzăului,” Buzău, 1990, p. milenii, „Editura Galaxia Gutenberg,” 2005, p. 161.
122. 31 Jean-Pierre Lonchamp, Ştiinţă şi credinţă, p. 150.
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Mind.32 [17] Popescu, Pr. Drd. Ioan, Structuri tematice cu implicaţii

în gândirea teologică după gândirea lui Erwin Schrodinger:
„Ce este viaţa? Şi spirit şi materie,” „Studii Teologice,” an
Bibliography XLIII (1991), nr. 4, pp. 136-145;
[18] Poupard, Cardinalul Paul, Credinţă şi cultură la
[1] The Orthodox Study Bible. New Testament and Psalms, cumpăna dintre milenii, „Editura Galaxia Gutenberg,” 2005,
New King James Version, Nashville, Tennessee, Thomas 216 p;
Nelson Publishers, 1993;33 [19] Rees, Martin, Doar şase numere. Forţele fundamentale
[2] Sf. Maxim Mărturisitorul, Ambigua, tâlcuiri ale unor care modelează universul, „Editura Humanitas,” Bucureşti,
locuri cu multe şi adânci înţelesuri din Sfinţii Dionisie 2000, 212 p;
Arepopagitul şi Grigorie Teologul, colecţia Părinţi şi [20] Slevoacă, Pr. Dr. Ştefan, Din tezaurul ortodoxiei în
Scriitori bisericeşti, vol. 80, „Editura Institutului Biblic şi apărarea credinţei străbune, „Editura Episcopiei Buzăului,”
de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române,” Bucureşti, 1983, Buzău, 1990, 384 p;
372 p;
[21] Sterea, Pr. Tache, Dumnezeu, omul şi creaţia în teologia
[3] Barbour, Ian C., Când ştiinţa întâlneşte religia. ortodoxă şi în preocupările ecumenismului contemporan.
Adversare, străine, sau partenere?, „Editura Curtea Veche,” Teză de doctorat. Partea a II-a, „Ortodoxia,” anul XLIX
Bucureşti, 2006, 328 p; (1998), nr. 3-4, pp. 65-166.
[4] Blaser, Prof. K., Doctrine de Dieu. Guide des principaux
aspects de la question, Curs dactilografiat, 1979-1980, 100
p;
[5] Coman, Pr. Prof. Dr. Ioan G., Patrologie, vol. I, „Editura
Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe
Române,” Bucureşti, 1984, 462 p;
[6] Costache, Pr. Asist. Dr. Doru, Istoria recentă,
actualitatea şi perspectivele raporturilor între teologie şi
reprezentarea ştiinţifică a lumii, in Pr. Prof. Dr. Dumitru
Popescu, Ştiinţă şi Teologie. Preliminarii pentru dialog,
„Editura XXI: Eonul dogmatic,” Bucureşti, 2001, pp. 27-60;
[7] Drăgulin, Mgr. Gheorghe, Ortodoxia în teologia
contemporană, „Ortodoxia,” anul XI (1959), nr. 1, pp. 145-
158;
[8] Ferguson, Kitty, The fire in the equations: science,
religion, and the search for God, „Templeton Foundation
Press,” Philadelphia and London, 2004, 188 p;
[9] Flammarion, Camille, Dumnezeu în natură, trad.
de Arhiereul Irineu Mihălcescu Târgovişteanu, „Editura
Aurom”, Bucureşti, 1997, 352 p;
[10] Hawking, Stephen W., Visul lui Einstein şi alte eseuri,
„Editura Humanitas,” Bucureşti, 1997, 174 p;
[11] Ionescu, Pr. Prep. Dr. Răzvan Andrei, Lemeni, Lector
Dr. Adrian Nicolae, Teologie Ortodoxă şi ştiinţă. Repere
pentru dialog, „Editura Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al
Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, Bucureşti, 2006, 498 p;
[12] Longchamp, Jean-Pierre, Science et croyance, „Ed.
Desclee de Brouwer,” Paris, 1992, 168 p;
[13] Maximilian, Constantin, Milcu, Ştefan M., Poenaru,
Sylvain, Fascinaţia imposibilului. Bioetica, „Editura pentru
tineret şi sport – Editis,” Bucureşti, 1994, 184 p;
[14] ***, O constatare senzaţională, dar controversată, care
ar putea produce o adevărată „schimbare de civilizaţie.”
Apa are propria ei memorie, „Magazin Nord-Est,” anul I
(15-21 iunie 1995), nr. 15, p. 13;
[15] Plămădeală, Antonie, Tâlcuri noi la texte vechi, „Tiparul
Tipografiei Eparhiale Sibiu,” Sibiu, 1989, 480 p;
[16] Popescu, Pr. Prof. Dr. Dumitru, Ortodoxie şi
contemporaneitate, „Editura Diogene,” Bucureşti, 1996, 214
p;
32 Kitty Ferguson, The fire in the equations, p. 19.

33 The translator used this official translation for the biblical quotation.
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On how the Dialogue between

Religion and Science is possible
Mircea Adrian Marica

Ovidius University
Constanta, Romania
marica.mircea@yahoo.com
Abstract: My work attempts to identify the reasons behind dialogue is imperative because, from a pedagogical point
the dialogue between theology and science, pointing out of view, it is completely absurd that the student of the
the difficulties of such a dialogue and the framework that education institution be exposed to contradictory messages.
appear under the conditions of the possibility of this dialogue. When science is practiced in school and religion is practiced
According to the author, the truths of science and the truths in church, the fact that the two state different things does
of theology belong to different dimensions and cannot collide not cause serious problems. But when a religion class is
followed by a biology class or the other way around, then
if the specificity of the knowledge domains is observed.
things get more complicated. A minimum agreement in
Science has as its object what we call physical world, whereas order not to go beyond the limits of self knowledge and a
theology has as its object the metaphysical world, the world clear delimitation of the educational fields are elementary.
of values and of the meanings of existence in relation with Or, in order to accomplish clarifying agreements, a real and
transcendence. The arguments we bring lead to the idea of honest dialogue carried out at academic level where teachers
this dialogue being possible under the conditions of observing are trained is needed before anything else.
epistemic competences and suggest as possible spaces for
a fruitful dialogue the issues related to existential starting
points, sufferance, isolation, death, lack of sense, as well as the
II. The difficulties of this dialogue
issue of the ethics of scientific research, of political science, of
educational policy and of development policies.
The dialogue between religion and science raise a series
Keywords: theology, science, metaphysics, epistemic of unsurpassable difficulties if we use the most general
authority, ethics, psychotherapy concepts of this type of discourse.
The first difficulty within this interdisciplinary dialogue
has to do with the impossibility to compromise. If in ordinary
or political communication negotiation, compromise and via
I. The reasons behind such a dialogue media are terms that lead to satisfactory solutions, when it
comes to religion and science this mediating is not possible.
Science cannot make compromises without disqualifying
The issue of the dialogue between science and religion itself as science. Likewise, religion cannot contradict the
seems to be extremely up to date in our cultural space, very fundaments of its existence, its dogmas, its faith and its
since there have been academic research centers, programs, traditions. This difficulty makes some of our colleagues to
post-graduate courses, summer schools, conferences, claim without doubt that such a dialogue cannot exist.
symposiums, and even a virtual congress for a while now.
Secondly, proving, reenacting and experimenting are
It is worth mentioning the fact that at the origin of impossible in order to identify the truth. When a common
this inter-disciplinary dialogue there stands the Romanian problem is debated, it can be solved by going to the facts,
Orthodox Church, which lately has started a series of by reenacting them, by hearing witnesses, etc. in a scientific
common projects regarding the dialogue between theology dispute in order to choose between two competing theories
and science together with Romanian universities. [1] This new theoretical reasoning, new experimental data are
is a common sense salutary initiative, especially if we take brought forward, falsifying attempts and crucial experiments
into account the fact that theology faculties exist within are developed, other alethic criteria such as completion,
universities along science faculties, while at undergraduate epistemic relevance and explanatory power are activated.
level the religious discourse intertwines with the scientific When it comes to the dispute between science and religion,
one during religion classes. Because of this reason, the reenacting the facts would have no decisive relevance. Any
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scientific reenactment can only partially confirm or deny A theologian can deal with science, and a scientist can be
the claimed truth of the scriptures, but never a truth related an exemplary believer or he can deal with theology. But
to the sacred. For the dispute between science and religion when a religious servant looks into an empirical fact, he
such criteria are useless, for they belong exclusively to the goes beyond the religious conduct and into the scientific
epistemology of science. Therefore, the dialogue appears to one, whereas when a scientist prays, he goes beyond the
be nonsense. scientific exercise and goes into the religious one. The
complementary aspect of practical attitudes cannot be
Let us consider several examples from Christian considered at a theoretical level without giving birth to
religion. Recently there have been news about a so-called monstrous hybrids such as scientific religions and religious
discovery by a historian under the title” Jesus has never sciences. When rigorously considering the terms, the above
existed” [2] published by the Romanian media (from the mentioned syntagmas are nonsense.
sports media to magazines). It is said that the historian,
after having studies 126 texts “dating back to Jesus’ times”, As a result, the framework of a dialogue can only
concluded that Christ has never existed, being just a fable. exist at a pragmatic level, between the theologian and the
Does the fact that those texts do not contain any information scientist, springing from understanding and assuming
about Jesus allow us to scientifically or rigorously claim the specificities and the limits of their own scientific and,
that he has never existed? Or is it just an opinion based on respectively, religious endeavors. The world of existence,
his research? In other words, is it just the historian’s belief which we can generically call the physical world, is the
based on the date he has worked on? Opinion and belief are object of scientific research (regardless of who does the
not scientific truths in the true sense of the word. Following research). The theological endeavor is something that
the flawed logic of this piece of news, I am entitled to belongs to the metaphysical world, a space where religion
wonder if my great-grandmother really existed or if she is meets philosophical speculation. From an epistemic point of
just a fable, since neither the internet nor the texts of her view they are two different worlds that existentially meet in
times speak about her, even though in my belief she was a my own torn consciousness, where my beliefs on scientific
significant personality in the community she lived in only a (objective) knowledge and my (subjective) hopes towards a
few centuries ago. divine transcendence come together.
Let us now consider the reverse of this thesis: there is Taking upon me these epistemic considerations, I state
historical and therefore scientific mentioning about Jesus’ that the dialogue between theology and science is necessary
earthly existence. Let us further assume that there is and it is possible, but its relevance is determined by
compelling evidence of the truth in the sacred texts about theology giving up on its scriptural literalism for intelligent
his life. What could this evidence prove? Anything about his hermeneutics which avoids the collision between the
divine origin? Obviously not! biblical text and the scientific explanation of phenomena. As
the same Tillich said, “a theology that interprets the biblical
A last imaginative exercise on this topic. Let us assume story of creation as a scientific description of a past event
that there is compelling historical evidence that Jesus was interferes with the methodologically controlled scientific
married. Would this fact deny his divine origin? Obviously activity” [6]. To avoid this interference, it is necessary to
not! At the most, it would prove that the story of his earthly accept the presence of a symbolism of the biblical language
life depicted by the scriptures does not really match the data so that the “evolutionist tiger” can gently sit by “the genesis
of certain scientific research. lamb”, as Lucian Blaga used to say.
The examples above underline the idea that scientific
data, regardless of the fact that they prove wrong, confirm IV. Places of the fruitful dialogue
or change what religious faith claims, are not relevant to the
respective faith. S. Kierkegaard rightfully sys that nothing Man is a creature longing for structure, coherence and
can be learnt about Christ from history, “you can know sense. When they do not exit, they are phenomenologically
nothing about Him, you can only believe in Him’. [3] set. Science has got the power to explain the empirical world,
to discover its structure and to give it a certain coherence; but
it can give neither coherence nor sense to human life. This is
III. The framework and the terms of the dialogue where metaphysics steps in, be it religious or philosophical.
As one might have noticed, theoretically speaking, for Philosophy uses concepts, while religion uses symbols. The
the author of this paper, religion and science are distinct ordinary person finds it more difficult to reach the level of
forms of expressing human spirit, with distinct objects, with concepts, the symbolist level is more accessible.
specific language, different methodologies, with their own So this is where the dialogue between theology and
aims that cannot overlap except in the absence of a minimal science can find its place – in structuring the coherence of
analytical exercise. Science has nothing to do with the truths our existence and developing the sense of life in the world
of faith, and religion has nothing to do with the truths of of values, the world of what deserves and does not deserve
science. “Scientific truth and faith truth do not belong to to be done. Science provides instruments to control reality;
the same sense dimension” [4] is rightfully claimed by P. theologians provide the direction in which this control can
Tillich. From here also springs the fact that the two cannot be enforced. Science provides the means, theology provides
be in a conflict either, for “science can only be in a conflict the aims for which the means deserve to be used. This
with science, and faith can only be in a conflict with faith” entitles Albert Einstein to say that “science without religion
[5]. The conflict arises only when one of them goes beyond is limp, and religion without science is blind” [7]
its territory and betrays its purpose.
To make myself clear, I shall give an example. Science
Practically speaking, things are completely different.
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has discovered the intervention mechanisms upon human Without being a specialist in this field, I say that a
genome. Theologians can take action to persuade believers, clear identification of the objectives in teaching religion
scientists and political decision makers to accept the forms in schools is needed first of all. What dimensions of the
of the beneficial use of this discovery. It would be laughable personality building process are targeted by this school
for theologians to issue scriptural judgement upon genetic subject? What competences are taken into consideration,
truths, but it is useful to step in when analyzing the ethics longitudinally and transversally, when integrating Religion
of using such discovery from the confession perspective. into the curriculum? Then what content can contribute to
Media syntagmas such as “God’s particle” used without their accomplishment? Here an honest dialogue is needed,
understanding the metaphor also generate confusions. a dialogue among the representatives of the various
Tillich urges the theologians not to use “recent scientific confessions and the specialists in the field of education.
discoveries to confirm the faith truth”, since “the power
emission of quanta has no link to mystery understanding”. Secondly, it is necessary to eliminate epistemic
The faith truth cannot be confirmed “by the latest physics, conflicts. In reaching the targeted objectives and abilities,
biology and psychology discoveries - just as it cannot be I do not believe that it is beneficial to expose the student to
denied by them” [8]. incongruent and contradictory messages within the school.
I consider the American solution to issue anti-evolutionist
Another example of the fruitful dialogue between laws (in 15 American states in 2004) [16] to be a political
science and theology can be that of psychotherapy. The barbarism. I want to believe that for Europe the Inquisition
priest, by means of confession, has played the role of the times are long gone. If it is true to its specificity, science
modern physiotherapist for millennia, without even knowing follows its mission to technically explain the empirical
it. Yet, he did it according to his skills, in a good or a bad world, whereas religion follows its mission to build the
way, saving or killing people. Once scientific psychology transcendental meanings of the human existence. In this
appeared and developed, coherent theories on personality way conflicts are avoided a desired complementary situation
and scientific psychotherapy practices have been structured. can exist.
For many people even nowadays the words of the priest
ae enough to bring them comfort. For others, a rigorously
scientific practice cannot be replaced by anything else. Still, V. Conclusions
there are instances in which the two practices can prove to From the above mentioned, it is clear that the dialogue
be complementary, by emphasizing themselves. It is that between theologians and scientists can be beneficial when
meeting place we have mentioned before, linked to the the domains of epistemic authority are observed. We also
existential problem, to the tragic triad as it is called in logo- need objective data that have been verified and confirmed
therapy: suffering, guilt, death [9], or the sphere of the four in the empirical practice by scientific progress, just as we
fundamental … of existential psychotherapy as defined by need existential coherence, beliefs, hopes, love, and sense.
Yalom, death, liberty, isolation, and the lack of sense.[10]. The authentic dialogue can lead to a revaluing of the dignity
if theology and to a reorientation of the scientific research
The issue of losing the sense of life is considered by directions. The meeting of the two within the space of
psychologists as the origin of most of the existential ethics can contribute to a re-humanization of the policies
difficulties. C.G. Jung claimed that “the lack of sense in and of directions of the human development.
life plays a crucial role in the etiology of neurosis. Neurosis
must ultimately be understood as a suffering of the soul that
was unable to find its meaning (…) about one third of my
cases do not suffer of any neurosis that can be clinically Bibliography
defined, but of a lack of sense and purpose in life” [11] The
same stand can be found in Viktor Frankl, who considers
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are noogenic, derived from the lack of sense of life. In all stiinta-religie-nu-exista-conflicte-atat-timp-cat-ambele-sunt-
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the existential void and continues to develop in it” [12]. The [2] http://adevarul.ro/cultura/istorie/iisus-nu-existat-
creator of logo-therapy concludes that the existential void is niciodata-afirma-cercetator-analizat-126-texte-istorice-
“the mass neurosis of the present” [13]. And theology can 1_542d5b1a0d133766a89bc755/index.html, consulted on
find its role in filling this void. L. Marinoff points out that 4.10.2014.
“a great deal of the success that religion has enjoyed along [3] S. Kierkegaard, Şcoala creştinismului, Bucureşti: Adonai,
centuries is due to the fact that it offers sense and purpose 1995, p. 38 [Practice in Christianity, 1950].
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priests, theology has its meaning for “man is the creature 166 [Dynamics of Fait, 1957].
who invented the gas chambers in Auschwitz! But man is
as well the creature who entered these chambers head high [5] P. Tillich, Dinamica credinţei, Bucureşti: Herald, 2007, p.
with Holy Father or Sharma Israel on their lips” [15]. 117 [Dynamics of Fait, 1957].
[6] P. Tillich, Dinamica credinţei, Bucureşti: Herald, 2007, p.
One last domain of the dialogue between science and 118. [Dynamics of Fait, 1957].
theology, and maybe the most important one, looks at the [7] A. Einstein,”Ştiinţă şi religie”, în Cum văd eu lumea. O
objectives, the contents and the means of religious education antologie, Bucureşti: Humanitas 1992, p. 273 [Science and
to make practices compatible, to make the given information Religion, 1941].
coherent and to add educational approaches.
[8] P. Tillich, Dinamica credinţei, Bucureşti: Herald, 2007, pp.
- 118 -

120-121 [Dynamics of Fait, 1957].

[9] Frankl, V.E., În căutarea sensului vieţii, Bucureşti: Meteor
Press, 2012, p.151 [Manˈs Search for Meaning, 1984].
[10] Yallom, I.D, Psihoterapia existenţială, Bucureşti: Trei, 2012
[Existential Psychotherapy].
[11] Jung, C.G., Collected Works: The Practice of Psychotherapy,
vol. XVI, New York: Pantheeeooon, Bollingen Series, p. 83,
citat de Yalom, în Psihoterapia existenţială, Bucureşti: Trei,
2012, p. 487.
[14] Marinoff, L., Înghite Platon, nu Prozac, Bucureşti: Trei,
2010 [Plato, Not Prozac!].
Press, 2012, pp.146-147 [Manˈs Search for Meaning, 1984].
[16] Branch, G., Scott, E., Assaults on Evolution Have Evolved
as Well, apud Hatos A, Sociologia educației, Iași: Polirom,
2006, p.75.
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Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) , “déjà vu”

phenomenon and religious experiences
1. Sanda M. DEME(Author), Dana S. Ioncu(Co-Author),
Catalin Hreniuc(Co-Author) 3. Ani Docu-Axelerad(Co-Author),
Neurology Department Daniel Docu-Axelerad(Co-Author)
Western Vasile Goldis University of Arad Faculty of Medicine / Neurology Department
Arad, Romania Ovidius University of Constanta
sandademe@yahoo.com Constanța,Romania
2. Simona Dragan(Co-Author) 4. Dragos C. Jianu(Co-Author)

Cardiology Department Neurology Department
Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy
Timisoara, Romania Timisoara, Romania
Abstract: A lot of controversies appear regarding temporal lobe concepts, which are etymologically distinct : psychotic
epilepsy to bridge the gap between religion and neuroscience. déjà vu (in schizophrenia), temporal lobe epileptic déjà
TLE was described in literature in 1869 by Russian writer vu or TLE déjà vu (specifically in temporal lobe aura or
Dostoievski (who suffered from epilepsy), in his work ”The seizures) , subjective paranormal experience déjà vu (in
Idiot”, when the hero Prince Myshkin described his epileptic subjective paranormal experiences),and associative déjà vu
feelings of sublime sacredness of the inner light. Neurotheology (in ostensible ‘normal’ patients)(3).
is the science trying to understand the brain activities and to
find an integration in religion concepts. TLE aura or psychic II. The self and ‘déjà’ experience in TLE patients
crisis is defined by simple or complex hallucinations, mystic The concept of the self is a modern point of view from
divine experience, unpleasant experience of fear and déjà vu philosophy, sociology and biology, but there are many
phenomenon. Neppe and Funkhouser (2006) described the contradictions regarding this subject. René Descartes was
notion as already seen, but it means also already heard,met, the first philosopher who treated this subject in a new
heard or visited. The“déjà vu” phenomenon is always a manner, his concept of “I think therefore I am” became very
subjective experience which can appear in normal subjects or popular among scientists. He privileged thinking above
in pathologic states like TLE, schizophrenia or other types of being, a concept that defined thinking as a superior activity
psychosis. It can also be a subjective paranormal experience. of the brain which now longer needed the presence of a god
as its reality. In his work he stated that the mind or self was
Neppe’s definition is now universally used, defined as ‘any
separated from the body, as distinct and superior and the
subjectively inappropriate impression of familiarity of the body was considered inferior and impure (4).
present experience with an undefined past’ (Neppe, 1983).
Déjà vu has an impact on neuroscience and descriptions from Thinkers like Hegel and Freud have stipulated theories
history and literature and the multitude of descriptions from regarding the concept of the “self”, placing the self as a
experiences demand various scientific explanations. product of external and internal stimuli which are converted
to different sensations which lead to building images and
feelings stored in the memory of the unconscious self.
Keywords: temporal lobe epilepsy; déjà vu; the self;
The unconscious self cannot therefore determine if the
consciousness; memory; the human brain. experienced sensations are from outside or from the inside.
This lack of discrimination creates a process of optical
projection of images separate from the unconscious self.
This is the known process of building up an ego.
I. Background
Persinger states that overstimulation and unsyncopated
Manipulation of the limbic system has caused subjects reaction in one area of the temporal cortex can cause
to report feelings of ‘forced motion’, physical distortion and misinterpretation of “the self”. A neuronal imbalance in
hyper emotionality (1). Stimulation direct to the temporal the left hemisphere of the temporal lobe makes the brain
lobe can cause a sense of spiritual well-being experience, perceive the right hemisphere as a personified “other
paranormal experience and feelings of hyper-religiosity. The entity” or God (1).This physical reaction in the temporal
majority of the patients (80%) claimed to have experienced a cortex causes a chain reaction in the limbic system, which
feeling of ‘not being alone’ and sensed a ‘spiritual presence’ hyper stimulates the amygdale (seat of higher emotion)
when their temporal lobe was stimulated.(2) and hippocampus (seat of stored memory/experience).This
Déjà vu phenomenon can be classified in four modern can induce hallucinogenic visions and arousal feelings.
Hyperstimulation induces feelings of euphoria and rapture
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which are associated with high concentrations of opiate when they analyzed tibetan monks and franciscan nuns
receptors in the amygdala and the release of enkephalins in during deep meditation and prayer. In order to map the brain
large quantities (5). regions implicated in meditation they injected a radioactive
tracer to the subjects and the tracer detected brain areas
There are questions regarding a predisposition for where there was an increased neuronal activity and blood
some temporal lobe epilepsy patients for paranormal and concentration. The imagistic studies were taken with SPECT
religious experiences. Some patients claim of having intense (Single Photon Emission Computerised Tomograph) and
hallucinations and physical reactions regarding Christian the most active area of the brain was the prefrontal cortex
practices or figures from the Bible during their seizures. with an dramatically increased neuronal activity, an area
On recovery from seizure they experienced euphoria associated with attention and concentration. In contrast to
and intense spiritual enlightenment. Pacients with strong that, areas of the brain associated with space orientation
beliefs in the esoteric and agnostic can have experiences and time perception which are located in the parietal lobe
of alien encounter, abduction and near death experiences showed very low activity. This is very important because it
during their seizures. From the vast amount of experience topographically explains why the brain can`t distinguish the
descriptions from TLE sufferers it is posibile to consider limit between the self and the external world during trance
that their experiences are based upon their beliefs.Christians and meditation. It also explains why those involved in deep
with strong beliefs are more likely to encounter God or meditation experience a feeling of ”unity” with the universe,
other biblical figures during their seizures,while on the other overcoming time boundaries and connecting with God.(6)
hand agnostic pacients are more likely to have paranormal
experiences related to their esoteric beliefs. It can now be explained via neuroscience and brain
mapping what regions in the brain are involved in paranormal
It is known today that repeated epileptic seizures have experiences and déjà vu phenomenon. With the prefrontal
a cumulative effect and that they produce cerebral damage. cortex activated and low activity in the parietal lobe, the
Intractable epilepsy may be associated with widespread brain enters a state of trance where it cannot distinguish time
structural cerebral damage. The brain structures affected and space boundaries. Massive neuronal discharges during
mostly are the hippocampus, cerebellum, and neocortex. epileptic seizures in the left temporal lobe cause the brain
These structural damages occur only after a few years of to interpret the other cerebral hemisphere as another entity,
epilepsy history,however there have been detected some depending on it`s spiritual and cultural beliefs.
subtle changes after a 3.5-year period which were not
related to a history of overt seizures. Funkhouser notes the importance of the level of
consciousness involved in a déjà vu episode, many of those
A study performed in 2010 in County Hospital of Arad episodes being similar regarding this matter. The feeling
analyzed structural changes as a result from recurrent they leave of us right in the moment of occurrence is that
seizures in 43 subjects with the mean age of 20, 6 years. we are totally aware of everything that is happening and
The brain lesions were studied by serial magnetic resonance that it conforms with our ‘memory’ of it. This means that
imaging(MRI) with morphologic analysis of the temporal the entire brain capacity is not required to produce a déjà
lobes and volumetric analysis of the amygdala and vu experience, only a small portion of the conscious self
hippocampus. The study group included 8 pacients with and the I-function being needed to resemble the experience.
crytogenic TLE, 14 with symptomatic partial temporal (7),(8)
epilepsy, 21 with generalized epilepsy (5 idiopathic, 13
cryptogenic, and 13 symptomatic). Patients with temporal Although one person can sometimes effortlessly recall
lobe epilepsy (TLE) were significantly more likely to have in detail a déjà vu experience,that experience is nowhere
recurrent seizures than were those with extratemporal to be found in the memory of that person. So the events
or generalized epilepsy. One patient had preexisting ”remembered” are not a product of memory of specific
hippocampal sclerosis. The frequency of bilateral events that happened in the past. This matter has been
hippocampal or amygdala atrophy (p < 0.06) and combined explaind by Janet P. in 1942 as an ”overlap” between short
hippocampal-amygdala atrophy (p < 0.03) was higher in and long-term memory,resulting in percieving recent events
patients with temporal lobe developmental malformations. as events more distant in time. The theory that explains this
The presence of „déjà vu” was found only in two TLE process of overlaping memories is that the storing of those
patients and was persistent with a correct treatament. events happens before the conscious part of the brain even
recieves the information and processes it.(9)
Structural abnormality can best revealed with three-
dimensional analysis of volumetric MRI, these abnormalities There are controversies regarding this theory,especially
include bilateral amydala or amygdala-hippocampal for it does not explain how the brain stores these memories
atrophy which are associated with a higher risk of seizure without a sensory input first. The storing of sensory input
recurrence. Patients with temporal lobe developmental could be explained as a process of “memory-in-progress”,the
malformations are frequently associated with hippocampal reason why during the event itself we believe it to be
atrophy. Regarding cerebral damage as a result of epilepsy past memory. The déjà vu experience is a very common
we can conclude that it may occur before the onset of phenomenon and in a survey by Brown approximately two-
seizures or develop insidiously over a more prolonged thirds of the population have had déjà vu experiences(10).
period, except preexisting cerebral lesions or alcohol abuse. There are also studies that confirm that déjà vu is a common
Subtle changes were detected in individuals over a 5-year experience in healthy individuals, with a range of 31% to
period but were not related to a history of overt seizures. 96% of persons describing it. Wild E. consideres unusually
prolonged or frequent déjà vu experiences,or associated with
The relationship between the human brain and spiritual other symptomes such as hallucinations could be a indicator
experience was studied by Newberg and D’aquili in 2001,
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of neurological or psychiatric illness (11). Results from the sun” is just a way of recovering memories from our
studies certify that déjà vu experiences can be caused by the unconscious collective self. The text found in Ecclesiastes
consume of certain drugs and by some pharmaceutical drug 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also,
associations (12). he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot
find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
reminds us of how little of the entire brain capacity we are
III. The Bible and déjà vu using. We are unable to access our entire memory and brain
activity, because of our unconscious self.
Runehov questions the problems regarding explaining
religious experiences by contemporary scientists and she IV. Conclusion
analyses the research performed on religious experiences
by canadian neuropsychologist Persinger and the works In conclusion, TLE is a pathology related to déjà vu
of Newberg and d’Aquili. She questions whether religious phenomenon, but it cannot explain entirely the processes
experiences are o product of the human brain or experiences which lead to it to those without epilepsy. Certain areas in
of some type of ”ultimate reality”. The question raised is if the brain are activated during seizures and cause the brain
these religious experiences are sacred in the spiritual sense to enter a state of trance, experiencing hallucinations and
or just a result of neuronal processes. From a neuroscientific visions mostly of them according to the individual’s beliefs.
point of view these experiences are consequences of a Concepts like the self, consciousness, memory storing,
damaged,malfunctioning or mentally deranged brain distinguishing time and space, between what is real and
or they are part of some sort of existential crises. Some what is not are still under investigation by scientists and
neuroscientists explain religious experiences are part of the philosophers. The human brain is a complex micro cosmos
human brain as all human experiences are. The conclusion ready to be discovered step by step by mankind. No one
of Runehov`s research calls for interdisciplinarity,for can foresee what will be in the future, but if it develops
neuroscience only can explain religious experiences in a exponentially, maybe in the far future we will be able to
methodologically restricted way. Philosophy and theology discover more of that cosmos. As Charles Dickens wrote in
are also limited by their methods to explain religious David Copperfield in 1850”We have all some experience
experiences. These experiences are not sacred or neural,but of a feeling that comes over us occasionally of what we
sacred and neural and must be studied properly from are saying and doing having been said and done before, in
different point of views.(13) a remote time—of our having been surrounded, dim ages
ago, by the same faces, objects, and circumstances—of our
Historical and biblical figures seem to have suffered knowing perfectly what will be said next, as if we suddenly
from neurological disorders that went undiagnosed or remembered it.”
misdiagnosed because by that time they were not understood
and named. Researchers speculated that St. Paul of
Christianity may have suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy.
St. Paul`s conversion is described separately in the book of References
the Acts in the bible, one is third person narrative and one [1] Ford C, ”Neurotheology: Which Came
is a speech he have when he was arrested in Jerusalem(Acts First, God or the Brain?”, (2002)
of the Apostles 22:6-21 ). They both contain elements to http://www.serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/bio3/web3/
support a TLE interpretation, describing how he fell to the ford.html.
ground, seeing a blinding light and hearing a voice claiming
to be “Jesus of Nazareth”. After this episode which is very [2] Persinger. M. A (1997) cited in Ford. C, (2002)
suggestive for a TLE aura, he could not see and he did not “Neurotheology: Which Came First, God or the brain?”.
eat or drink for three days on his way to Damascus. This [3] http://www.serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/bio3/web3/
experience made St. Paul a devout follower and missionary ford.html.
of Christianity (14). Auditory hallucinations of divine [4] Neppe V. M. ”Déjà Vu: Origins and
voices, visions of divine figures, and physical collapse are all Phenomenology:Implications of the four subtypes for
common elements of TLE, and they are especially common future research” ;The Journal of Parapsychology 74. 1 (
in documented cases of sudden religious conversion in 2010): 61-97.
people with temporal lobe epilepsy. [5] Descartes R, “Discourse on the Method” ,(1644).
Another text from the Bible sums up the beliefs about [6] Joseph. R (1997) cited in Bradley. F, (1997) “On Neurological
déjà vu and the history of mankind repeating itself. “What Origin of Mystical Experience, the Limbic System et al”
has been is what will be, and what has been done is what [7] Newberg A. et al ”The measurement of regional cerebral
will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there blood flow during the complex cognitive task of meditation:a
a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been preliminary SPECT study”,Psychiatry Research:
already in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of Neuroimaging Section 106 (2001),113-122
former things, nor there any remembrance of later things yet
[8] Funkhouser, A. T. ”Deja experience research.” http://www.
to be among those who come after. “(Ecclesiastes 1:9-11).
deja-experience-research.org (2006)
Déjà vu can be considered from this point of view, a process
of “remembering” an ancient history of mankind trapped in [9] Funkhouser, A. T. ”Explanations for déjà experiences.”
our DNA. The fact that “there is nothing new under the sun” http://www.deja-experience-research.org(2006)
is just a way of recovering memories from our unconscious [10] Janet P. ”Les Dissolutions de la Mémoire”. Disorders of
collective self. The fact that “there is nothing new under Memory, 1969, p.152
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[11] Brown, A. S. ”The déjà vu illusion.” Current Directions in

Psychological Science, (2004),13, 256-259
[12] Wild, E. “Deja vu in neurology.”. Journal of neurology(
2005) 252 (1): 1–7
[13] Taiminen T. and Jääskeläinen S. “Intense and recurrent déjà vu
experiences related to amantadine and phenylpropanolamine
in a healthy male”. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience(2001)
8 (5): 460–462
[14] Runehov A,”Sacred or Neural? The Potential of Neuroscience
to Explain Religious Experience” ,European Journal of
Science and Theology, 2007, Vol.3, No.2, 71-74.
[15] Marissa Leow, James Noble, Carl Harris, Rachel Diamond,
Maya Weisinger. At http://www.macalester.edu/academics/
psychology/whathap/ubnrp/tle09/Religiosity.html.
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Media and Popular Culture and Controversies

in Comatose Patients
1. Ani DOCU-AXELERAD (Author) 3. Sanda M. Deme (Co-Author)
Department of General Medicine Neurology Department
“Ovidius” University Western Vasile Goldis University of Arad
Constanta, Romania Arad, Romania
sandademe@yahoo.com
2. Daniel Docu-Axelerad (Co-Author) 4. CIOCAN Tudor Cosmin (Co-Author)
FEFS, Kinethoteraphy Department Department of Theology
“Ovidius” University Ovidius University of Constanta
Constanta, Romania Constanţa -900527, Romania
ctc@rcdst.ro
Abstract: Comatose patients may have irrevocably lost all Families, with all their doubts and uncertainties, face a
brain function. This condition has been distinguished from difficult situation with a loved one in coma. Most have little
other comatose states by the term brain death. Its assessment to relate to, and some seek more information elsewhere.
has been known as the determination of death by neurologic Family members often first browse the Internet, only to
criteria. The clinical diagnosis of brain death implies that the discover that a few sites have posted accurate and relevant
person has died. When the clinical criteria of brain death are information. Hospitals may have an Information Center
providing booklets or other educational material.
met, it allows organ donation or withdrawal of futile support.
Without being unnecessarily hostile to the press, one can The public likely has been subjected to information on
argue that the representation of comatose states in the media coma before, and the newspaper and local television are
is concerning. Families confronted with this often unexpected the main media outlets. [Brantley M, 2006] It is important
loss of life understand this strictly defined neurological condi to know how the public gets informed and how could the
tion well. Unfortunately, the legal cases are surrounded by Media and other sources influence the public’s perception
of coma or if there is a potential influence on a credulous
misinformation and reluctance to understand the implications
public.
of these comatose states. Nevertheless, many legal cases are
settled in court without much attention. Exposure to the
media may solicit physician opinions, and these cases may II. Materials and Methods
easily become a spectacle. Bioethical issues do surface under Information collections regarding newspapers,
these circumstances. television, the screen writer, the internet and coma, and the
portrayal of coma in motion pictures.
Keywords: brain death, controversies, media and popular
culture III. Discussions
The daily newspaper remains an important source of
I. Introduction information, and its ready availability on the Internet might
Comatose patients may have irrevocably lost all brain only increase exposure. Newspapers print newsworthy
function. This condition has been distinguished from other information on comatose patients in three major domains.
comatose states by the term brain death. Its assessment has These are findings on new clinical or laboratory research,
been known as the determination of death by neurologic [Burns RB et al, 1995] awakening from coma, and legal
criteria. The clinical diagnosis of brain death implies that proceedings surrounding end-of-life decisions. Research in
the person has died. coma is sparse, but new developments could immediately
attract attention, particularly if the findings contradict
Brain death can be declared when a neurologist current tenets in neurology. Failure to correctly diagnose
examination of: brain stem reflexes, motor responses, and brain death is news and hard to pass up by reporters.
respiratory drive of a patient are absent in a normal thermal
condition, non-drugged comatose patient with a known, There have recently been reports concerning “miracle
irreversible, widespread brain lesion and no metabolic awakenings” and unexpected awareness in patients in
dysfunctions. a persistent vegetative state (PVS). (The stories in the
press are often compared to Rip Van Winkle, the fabled
Clinical neurologic examination is the gold standard Dutchman who fell asleep under a tree and awoke several
for determination of brain death, and clinical examination years later.) The most interesting recent coverage involved
should not be replaced by a laboratory test (doesn`t matter if the story of an unfortunate, severely brain-injured man Terry
is an ultimate generation). Wallis. He remained comatose initially, but then improved
gradually. More exceptionally, Wallis started to speak
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after 19 years of grunts. Newspapers and the blogosphere total of 340 stories with “coma” in the headline. [Wijdicks
covered it extensively, using eye-catching titles: “Miracle EFM, 2006] Therefore, it is perhaps not likely that the
in Arkansas,” [Brantley M, 2006] “Comatose man’s brain public’s perception is influenced by coverage of coma in
rewired itself, doctors say. While fibers were severed, nerve newspapers. Most stories involved violence, accidents, and
cells stayed intact allowing later recovery,” [Marchione drug overdose that was not evident by reading the headline
M, 2006] and “A man lay in coma-like state, his brain was alone. One of ten reports involved drug-induced coma
busy rebuilding.” [Kaplan K, 2006] The newspaper cover initiated by the physician to reduce intracranial pressure.
age remained cautious in some places, but its widespread A common theme in newspaper articles on coma was of
extensive coverage including a TV documentary, [Discovery physicians displaying no hope while the family disagreed or
Health Channel; 2005] suggested that the diagnosis of of family members disagreeing among themselves whether
PVS can be misleading. (Terry Wallis was most likely in a to withdraw support. However, it is evident that when coma
minimally conscious state but had not been examined by a is a topic, the editors of major US newspapers select stories
neurologist before his dramatic improvement.) that involve young persons involved in violence or trauma.
The general impression left by the daily newspaper is thus
Other cases have caught attention. One patient, Sarah different from the reality in the hospital (e.g. a recent study in
Scantlin, from Hutchinson, Kansas, suddenly “awakened the ICU found that coma is mostly due to drug intoxication,
from coma after 20 years.” However, her doctor said “that stroke, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and shock [Senouci
she could react to following things with her eyes.” During K, et al, 2004]. Coverage of coma in US newspapers is more
a therapy session, she said “okay” and then began to utter reflective of young individuals in a rehabilitation center
simple sentences. [Brown DL, 2005] In early 2005, a rather than severely injured elderly patients in an ICU, and
Buffalo firefighter apparently started to speak after he was thus offers a more positive outlook.
treated with “a new drug regimen that would take 6 months
to become effective.” Mr Herbert had a head injury after a Physicians and journalists have two entirely different
roof caved in and “a lack of oxygen” after rushing into a professional cultures, and the chasm between both
burning apartment. [Staba D, 2006] He remained in a coma professions is considerable. [Wang Z et al, 2007, Cohen
for 2.5 months, then apparently regained consciousness, L, 1988, DeVries WC 1988, Wahl OF, 2004] The most
but had speech and vision problems. Gary Dockary, from reserved and restrained approach of physicians to reveal
Tennessee, recovered over a few days after 7 years of “coma information can be contrasted with a highly competitive
or communicating at a lower level.” [Smothers R, 1996] industry where journalists not only are driven to write a
Gary Dockary had a gunshot wound to the left forehead, compelling story but also have to meet imposed deadlines.
damaging the left frontal temporal area. Although there was William Osier warned physicians “not to dally with the
dramatic improvement initially, he regressed to his prior Delilah of the press.” (Delilah begged Samson to reveal
state before he died. David Mack recovered after 20 months his strength and then betrayed him.) In Osier’s words,
in a PVS. A CT scan did not show any progressive atrophy. the press, when representing physician’s opinions, could
He regained consciousness after 22 months, although there potentially undermine the physician’s reputation and
is more evidence that it was after 15 months. [UPI, 1986] diminish the confidence of colleagues. [Osler W et al, 1905]
Without doubt, some physicians would like to repeatedly
For the public, it is difficult to understand the medical offer their opinion and do not object to being cast in the
facts, especially when they are also exposed to headlines role of a spokesperson. The choice of commentators not
that suggest that patients are more aware than they normally only depends on their availability but also on the desire of
should be. For the physician, obviously, the accuracy of physicians to be quoted and mentioned as experts. It may be
these reports should be questioned, but it remains difficult impossible for journalists to recognize experts with conflicts
to verify these cases and obtain sufficient information. A of interest that could bias their response and the true experts
systematic review of these cases would be useful, but the may be media shy.
amassed documents are likely fragmentary and difficult to
interpret. Common features of these patients are that they Surely, reporting on coma can be newsworthy and has
are not in a PVS, but in variable states of severe impairment journalistic appeal. Severe brain injury may occur against a
with marked impairment of mobility, mute but responding. background of medical errors, abuse, alleged police brutality,
What is most interesting is that, in many cases, a fairly or other assault. Journalists may have problems sorting out
dramatic improvement in communication skills occurs the vast information that is coming along and, in the worst
over a period of hours or days, but then—if we believe example of their writings, may resort to tabloidization.
the media coverage—patients often typically relapse into Catchy headlines on miraculous awakening from coma may
the previous state. Not uncommonly, dopamine agonists foster certain expectations with the public. When citing the
or antidepressants have been introduced prior to clinical medical community, it is uncertain if commonly used words
improvement, suggesting the possibility of neurotransmitter such as “shocked,” “spectacular and never seen before,” or
modulation in some patients in a minimally conscious state. “doctors cannot explain” truly represent their sentiment.
These cases may represent recovery (meaning that the Therefore, for example, portraying simple awakening in
diagnosis is correct and there is a true exceptional improve headlines, without examination of the true dimensions of the
ment) or discovery (in which the diagnosis is incorrect and problems facing comatose patients is potentially disturbing.
changed with a better examination). [Wijdicks EF, 2006] Although it remains unclear how much
the public carefully judges single sensational cases, the
The news coverage of comatose patients until recently message that readers may draw from the presentation of
had remained unexamined. Our review of US newspapers of comatose states and awakening may be distorted. The lack
each state in the United States, over a 5-year epoch, found of clarity in reporting has been recognized, [Lantz CL et al,
that coma is an infrequent news story, and we identified a 2007] and a better practice model has been proposed by the
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Association of Health Care Journalists. [Schwitzer G, 2004] Research—recently aired “son of a coma guy.”[Shore, D.,
2006] A patient in a PVS for 10 years suddenly awakens after
National newspapers and also medical societies have Dr House injects 1-dopa, immediately sits up in bed, and
professional medical writers. Their task is to prepare a news asks for a steak. In “Grey’s Anatomy”—another top-rated
release and interview the author and related peers. There series—an episode deals with a patient in a PVS for 16 years
is a considerable effort to present opposing views, often who was admitted from a nursing home after falling out of
using direct quotations that are typically verified by the bed. The medical team noted no atrophy on CT and believed
interviewee. Adopting a neutral and nuanced stance toward he was in a minimally conscious state. They suggested to the
recent news is warranted, particularly when the scientific upset family to start an “amphetamine drip” that awakened
finding has not been corroborated. [Larson A et al, 2003, him within hours. He became fully lucid (“How long have
Picard A et al, 2005] When news breaks, the true facts may I been out?”) [Horton, P., 2005], laughing and a bit amused
not be known, and it is the duty of physicians, particularly that he might be a major embarrassment for his family. “The
neurologists, to clarify, explain, and most importantly, Drew Carey Show” aired Drew Carey slipping into a coma
caution. More recently, monthly periodicals have appeared after an accident. [Helford B, 2001] While his family was
with in-depth coverage of neurologic conditions including considering withdrawal of support, Drew was in a dream-
coma, neuroethics, and other policies and the editors are like state, fed by beautiful women pulling off slices from
neurologists in practice. This reasonably ensures a consistent a pizza tree and drinking from a beer fountain. It remains
high quality, but the distribution is among physicians, and unclear what message, if “message” is the right word, the
only abstracts may appear in the Media or Internet. Separate screenwriter wanted to convey in this episode.
sections on health appear regularly in major national news
papers and are often co written by physicians. These articles Serious TV documentaries on coma are nearly
(eg, “Health and Fitness” in The New York Times) reflect a nonexistent. A recent documentary entitled COMA showed
wide spectrum of views in good measure; however, it is not a surreal abundance of pity, sorrow, and loneliness in head
clear if these columns attract the general public outside of injury survivors in a rehabilitation center, but without a
the academia. reasoned analysis of the causes that led to coma and what
to expect after recovery from coma. [Wijdicks EFM, 2007]
Recovery from coma is rarely breaking news on
networks.[ Pribble JM,2006, Pribble JM, Goldstein Kmey The influence of the World Wide Web is uncertain,
all , 2006] Dignitaries may receive attention, and less- the accuracy unexamined, and there is much miscellany.
known individuals may also get caught up in a major A patient’s family often seeks clarification of medical ter
news story. Occasionally, survivors of a major catastrophe minology from the Internet. Several Web sites provide
(eg, mine accident, traffic accident) may get additional information on rehabilitation after traumatic head injury.
attention. In addition, major TV networks employ medical Other Web sites provide support and an emotional outlet
correspondents and may frame recent discoveries into (www.braintalk.org).
brief documentaries. Finally, advertisements may use the
depiction of coma as an amusing means to sell their product. The use of Web sites to pay tribute or to follow
A recent Porsche advertisement that was aired on national improvement after a major brain injury is increasing. The
TV used awakening from prolonged coma to bring out the themes are “triumph over tragedy” (www.brookebecker.
surprise on seeing a new car model. com) and “from paralysis to power” (www.katesjourney.
com). These inspirational web sites emphasize not only
Most of the depiction of coma is seen in TV serials. unexpected recoveries but also physicians’ error. Photos of
Daytime dramatic television or “soap operas” do depict patients in hospital beds are contrasted with photos showing
coma and its recovery. A recent review of Web-posted story remarkable recoveries. The Terri Schiavo case has also been
lines of daytime soaps such as “General Hospital” “The documented fully on the family’s Web site (www.terrisfight.
Young and the Restless,” “The Bold and the Beautiful,” and org). Not only photos and video clips of her parents
“Passions” found that the recovery of coma was unreal.[ approaching her but also a hospital dismissal summary
Casarett D et al, 2005] Actors representing patients were in with medical details have been posted. The video clips of
a coma for approximately 2 weeks with full recovery in 89% her examination were particularly successful in convincing
and a mortality of 4%, significantly lower than expected some physicians and politicians that she was not in PVS. The
from scientific publications. site (renamed “Terri Schindler Foundation”) contains links
to “remarkable cases” of recovery from a severe disability.
There has been an increase in serial medical drama on Indirectly, Terri Schiavo’s family puts forth the notion that
US television. “ER” is an example of what has been called she was disabled and needed appropriate rehabilitation.
“medicine as a pop culture icon.” [Cohen, M.R. et al, 2004] Finally, since 2002, www.waiting.com has been providing
It depicts an emergency room that provides ideal health information about coma, among other information. After a
care, although it carefully avoids ridicule and displays video introduction of attorney Gordon Johnson Jr, the site
considerable compassion. “ER” has portrayed coma, most offers a plethora of medical information and multiple links,
of it drug-induced coma with a good recovery, and one including legal issues. The site, maintained by the “brain
episode with a discussion on brain death and organ donation. injury law group,” claims an educational purpose.
The script is accurate and most likely a reflection of the
comprehensive advice that screenwriters have obtained. No doubt, providing information to the patient’s family
However, more recently, there has been a noticeable may be improved by the presence of web sites, but little is
deterioration in the accuracy of representation of coma in available, and there is a lack of dependable sources. Easy
TV series. The popular series “House, MD”—watched by access to medical practice parameters may be helpful for
an estimated 25 million viewers according to Nielsen Media patients’ families to understand the complexity of decision
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making and prognostication. fantastical entertainment.

Coma is a useful plot device, and screenwriters use
actors to show a dream-like state with actual nightmares, to IV. Conclusions
show change in personality, to show revenge after recovery Sources of information to the public may involve the
from coma, to show relief when a patient awakens against newspapers, local TV, internet, and the movies. Without
all odds, or even more simply, to remove the character from being unnecessarily hostile to the press, one can argue
the plot. Films depicting coma are predominantly thrillers, that the representation of comatose states in the media is
with motor vehicle accidents, gunshot wounds, or violence concerning. Seldom do the media shape the information in
causing brain injury. Unconsciousness can also be a major a useful way and correctly convey the major consequences
theme of a movie (e.g. Critical Care), and even the title of of coma and rehabilitation to the public. In only a few
a movie (e.g. Coma). The progressive stupor in a child with instances is it an admirable combination of reportage and
adrenoleukodystrophy has been dramatically represented in essay. The credibility of news reports can be increased by
Lorenzo’s Oil. [Hudson JA, 2000] Cinema (and in particular specifically mentioning coma associated with sedating
DVDs) may become one of the most influential of all drugs initiated by the physician. Journalists should make the
arts. Thus, the depiction of neurologic disorders demands extra call to a physician rather than relying on police reports.
accuracy. Neurologic advice, similar to advice from Screenwriters do make a mockery of coma and awakenings,
historians and scientists, is indispensable if movie directors creating decidedly unflattering scripts. It is uncertain if that
are to limit a false impression of coma. [Knight J., 2004] can change.
Representation of comatose states in contemporary Coma is a consequence of a brain injury that often
cinema is inaccurate in most instances. [Wijdicks, E.F. et leads to a severe disability and agony to family members.
al, 2006] Rarely are actors—despite being comatose for There should be a sensible depiction in media outlets and an
months—tracheotomized, none display contractures, and attempt to frame it correctly. Journalists, screenwriters, TV
none have feeding tubes, reducing the depiction of coma to commentators and correspondents all have a responsibility
a sleep-like state. They all have a quiet pleasant look. PVS to be cautious. They ought to. The audience may be quite
has been represented in a few movies, most remarkably perceptive but is unable to draw the line.
showing beautiful actresses asleep in liable con Ella
(Talk to Her). Not showing the muscle atrophy, decubital Unfortunately, the legal cases are surrounded by
ulcers, bladder and bowel incontinence, and feeding tube misinformation and reluctance to understand the implications
may be a conscious decision by screenwriters to maximize of these comatose states. Nevertheless, many legal cases
entertainment, but is a disservice to the viewer. Moreover, are settled in court without much attention. Exposure to
in liable con Ella (Talk to Her), the physician suggests the media may solicit physician opinions, and these cases
that awakening after 14 years has been noted and uses a may easily become a spectacle. Bioethical issues do surface
magazine article showing a miracle awakening to convince under these circumstances. The physician involved with the
the friend of the comatose bullfighter to continue care. care of comatose patients should understand and respect
different values but maintain optimal professionalism.
The most notable misrepresentations are the miraculous
awakenings from coma. Sudden awakening from coma
follows a characteristic pattern. Patients in coma for several References
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Post-Pope:
A postcolonial approach to
religious pluralism in Argentina
Lic. Miguel M. Algranti
University of Buenos Aires
CAEA-CONICET
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Abstract: In this paper I will review the impact of the Portuguese colonies imposes a western symbolic frame
designation of Jorge Bergoglio as the Catholic Pope on the to the category of ‘religion’ that organizes and regulates
field of religious heterodoxies in Argentina. From a post- the social emergence of new religious agents. Since
colonial approach, i will consider his designation within the Latin American modernity was constructed with a strong
historical relations between the State and the Catholic Church network between political and religious symbolic universes
in South America and its capacity to organize one of the most -especially Catholics- the impact of a catholic specialist
reaching a position of “universal” power, as Pope of the
hegemonic and constitutional socio symbolic frames in which
Catholic Church, makes him a significant political actor in
religious practices and beliefs struggle for legitimation and the religious field. It is not mere opportunism or an act of
negotiates their position on Argentina’s religious field. In instrumental reason (links between Latin American heads
this context the concept of religious pluralism, proposed by of state to head of state of the Vatican) but a real effect on
the social sciences, operates as a device that regulates and the beliefs and political representations of the vast majority
administrates religious diversity rather than protecting it. of Christian parties and leading political groups, governing
states in the region, who legitimately believe in his symbolic
Keywords- Religion; Pope; Argentina; Pluralism and charismatic power. The beliefs and subjectivities share
imaginary and symbolic universes that brings them together
in the so-called “building the common good” concept of
I. Introduction pure Catholic and Thomistic tradition. An Argentinian Pope
The so called post-colonial theoretical approach unthinkable as it is drastically change the landscape for
supposes and suggests the possibility to establish egalitarian religious interactions; what he does or doesn’t, what he say,
dialogs between sets of knowledge produced by populations write or mute, will now be read in local key for different
and dissimilar groups, starting from the re-localization of groups of media power, political, religious and economic.
the dominant European/ North-American theory production
center, to expand into different zones or regions of the The Argentinian secularization expresses itself in a
globe. The proposition is basically a geopolitical and restructuration of creeds and the plurality of beliefs within
geocultural vision on the production of knowledge that a catholic-impregnated culture as in a long-term symbolic
avoids some perspectives, from the contingency of history, effectiveness on the national identity. In this sense the
to be transformed into hegemonies, as it happened (and Catholic Church in Argentina is more respected as a social
still happens) with western reason. Observing that modern institution than as the dispenser of salvation goods or agent
reason is conceived as a logical operation without any of religious power. Ease of Use
sensitiveness or localization interference. 1
When it comes to religion this perspective renounces II. The construction of a “catholic nation”
to the possibility of establishing a transcultural and The Catholic Church is not the official one in Argentina,
transhistorical definition of the phenomenon, and rejoices but several authors, Catholic or otherwise, agree that it does
in the inquiry of religious practices, symbols and ideas enjoy a very special status in the country (Marostica 1997,
through the recognition of historical and socially determined Navarro Floria 2000, Baamonde et al. 2001). Legally, this
genealogies of religious power. Allowing at the same time position is supported particularly by three regulations. Most
the emergence of an epic definition of religion.2 notably, by Article 2 of the National Constitution, which
declares, “The Federal Government sustains the Roman
In the case of Argentina, as in most parts of Latin Catholic Apostolic worship”. This clause was in the original
America, the Christian heritage from Spanish and 1853 Constitution, and maintained after the 1994 Reform.
1 Dussel, 2003; Mignolo, 2000:106. A special status is also upheld by the 1869 Civil Code,
2 Asad, 2010 which recognizes in its article 33 the full legal standing of
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“the Church”, considering it a “legal entity” (persona jurídica the State. The Minister of Foreign Affairs appoints the
). In April of 1968, Law 17.711 reformed the Civil Code, Secretary of Cult, and the National Register of Cults is part
and article 33 now specifies that “the Catholic Church” is of his Secretariat. The office of the director of the National
one of the “public legal entities” (“persona jurídica” de Register of Cults, however, is not a political position, but
“carácter público” ) (our emphases). Finally, in 1966 the a more technical one, awarded after an open selection of
nation signed a treaty with the Vatican (“Acuerdo entre la candidates.
Santa Sede y la República Argentina ”) that specially rules
the relationship between the State and the Catholic Church. Apart of its legal/ institutional conceptualization, the
In sum, the Catholic Church is a person of public law, its idea of a “Catholic Argentina” is both the product of a
relationship with the State is ruled by specific legislation, historical social situation that exceeds the academic field or
and, according to the Constitution, must be sustained by it. situations specifically related to the dominant modes among
social scientists.
Non-Catholic religious groups are not mentioned in the
Constitution. Article 14 of the 1853 Constitution, however, First, and beyond the fact that is the religion of the
awarded all inhabitants of the nation the right to “freely majority, it is obvious that the hegemonic intentions of
practice their religion”. The 1994 Reform upheld this right, Catholicism and the fact that in significant stretches of the
and bolstered it by awarding constitutional status to several national history was linked to elites who promoted social
international human rights treaties (article 75, paragraph and political processes at a national level made Catholicism
22). Law 21.745 promulgated by a military government in a crucial factor in the political and social life. However, this
1978 provides the most important and still current regulation process that has implicated, with no lack of overestimation,
of non-Catholic groups. This decree re-created the National the creation of a Catholic Nation is neither an eternal or a
Register of Cults in which groups have to enroll, providing homogeneous reality. Partly because neither “Catholicism”
information about their doctrine, rituals organization, nor “nation” are or were unified entities over time and social
history and the names of their authorities locally and abroad space. And partly because the hegemonic pretensions of
-among other items. Catholicism must be put in perspective for eventual catholic
hegemony can not evaluate without resetting the analysis
According to this law, registration is mandatory but contingency attending this claim and commitments that
does not, at the same time, bestow full legal standing. It lock between academic look and that claim (even when that
is presumed that after enrollment religious institutions can gaze academic clearance). I do not deny the influence that
apply to other government offices to obtain legal entity as Catholicism may have at this level, but in no way accept
civil associations, to do this, however, they have to develop that entails the tacit assumption that what happens with
a parallel organizational structure to comply with the Catholicism is what happens with Argentina. With that
requirements of civil associations. After enrollment in the argument we have already entered the academic gaze and
Register and registration as civil associations non-Catholic she must say more: if she tends to assume the premise of
religious groups can obtain the status of “private legal “Argentina society Catholicism” is not only because as
entities”. The Catholic Church -we have seen- exists as a we said up here reflect uncritically, as if it were a fact, the
“public legal entity ” by virtue of the Civil Code laws. claims of the catholic hegemony
Considering that the Argentine military have been, But on a much deeper level, the claim of the Catholic
since the 1930s, closely associated with the Church in their nation is possible because very common ways of
efforts to build a Catholic nation, it comes as no surprise conceptualizing the relationship between society and state
that Law 21.745, which had the goal of “supervising” accompanying assumptions of Catholic ontology. Many
and “establishing an effective control” over non-Catholic of the large matrices in which sociological theories that
groups was sanctioned by a de facto government. Such a analyze midrange religion are mounted, and especially
regulation merely reflects the “national security” doctrine those matrices that are the basis of the sociology of
that saw “foreign ideologies” as enemies of the “national Catholicism presuppose the notions of religion seeking
being”. Its intention, however, was not followed by the to analyze. What Carl Schmitt notes to the concept of
creation of the means to enforce its threats of loss of rights political and state, is also true for the concept of religion in
to groups that did not enroll or lost its registration. Thus, sociology: the metaphysical picture of the world is shaped
there were few actual cases of prohibitions of religious a certain time is transposed to the political organization
groups under the last military government (1976-1982) -for that resolves apparent that time. The idea of civil society
different reasons, the Hare Krishna, Jehova’s Witnesses, as communitas or assembly that is retrieved, retranslated
The Children of God, and a few others. Members of non- and are represented by the state, has more to do with the
Catholic religious groups, however, had to keep a low profile Catholic ideas of what we think and is both the course and
and probably limit the visibility -perhaps the frequency- of the phenomenon that they intend to establish, measure and
their public meetings, as did most Argentine citizens during analyze the dominant paradigms. It would be unfair to ignore
the period. The military dictatorship, which produced the emerging paradigms, as those inspired by the experience
30000 ”disappeared” individuals (desaparecidos), severely of the American society that presuppose another ontology
curtailed the expression of many forms of popular culture, (naturalizing, for example, the market and the individual).
and religion was certainly among them. But it would also not be fair to ignore that the prevailing
position of the paradigms previously referred is primarily
The Secretariat of Cult (used here as synonymous with based on the problematization of the relationships between
religion) within the National Ministry of Foreign Affairs, religion and politics that is the area where the thesis of a
Commerce and Cult, is the institution that mediates between Catholic Argentina is usually verified . Thus, this thesis not
religious organizations -including the Catholic Church- and only supposed biased perceptions arranged by the hegemony
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or social environment, but above all,supposes philosophical to do so enjoys benefits that excluded ones don’t. Since
assumptions that inhabit the sociological theory that , in the the designation of Pope Francis brought a new wave of
end, are questioning what they are already assuming the social suspicion regarding sects, and media stigmatization
same organization). This template was designed for two of the non Christian religions, non-registered groups are
affiliations. more prone to social persecution or stigmatization. This
process translates in a moderation of ritual practices and
religious identities among the religious periferia and a
III. Pluralistic but not diverse registered tendency of religious minorities for establishing
Since Jorge M. Bergoglio became Pope Francias his theological and institutional links to Christian associations
attitude towards ´religious pluralism´ has changed a lot. and symbolic universe. The fears of secularization that the
While he previously presented the religious pluralism as a catholic church faced during the nineties had a correlation
challenge for Argentina and the product of an individualistic with the diversification of the religious field in Argentina,
and consumer oriented society in his paper -“Argentina: una with this new horizon set by a Latin American Pope the
mirada general”- (Bergoglio, 2007), now, Francis, promotes Vatican has made the first step forward to inverse that
religious pluralism and interfaith dialogs. ´Pluralism´ has tendency and regain cultural hegemony.
been re-signified within a Christian threshold, but diversity
has been seriously compromised.
IV. Conclusions
Catholicism, Catholics and Catholic churches. The plural For Argentina the designation of Jorge Bergoglio
is appropriate to describe the unique reality of contemporary brings a reinforcement to, already deep, catholic hegemony
Catholicism. The desire remains catholic but is always pretensions. Rooted in a history of colonies and religious
confronted with a wide variety of modes of feeling and being assimilation, usage of the concept of ‘religious pluralism’
catholic in contemporary society. In sociological jargon, in social sciences hides the homogenization process that
this means that the internal differentiation of contemporary operates among religious heterodoxies along the territory.
Catholicism, from parishes to ecclesial movements, from a ‘Pluralism’ supposes the recognition of a variety of creeds
less dense and quieter surroundings of theology to various but ignores the relations of power between them. On the
sensitivities criticisms in the ranks of the clergy, from the ground, pluralism’s discourses have imposed a Christian
monastic world to women’s religious orders , has reached blueprint on every alternative religion expression. Further,
a level of complexity that no authority seems to have been for some groups such as the Evangelicals, those years of
able to reduce and redirect it to unity. The Roman form of discussing the subject seem to have pushed them towards
the unity of the Church Catholicism met during the history the understanding that even attaining the status provided by
of Christianity does not seem to ensure effective theological Register of non-Catholic cults is not enough. Many have
communion and a unitary way of being church. The different now started to crave a legislation that would put all religions
Catholic churches outside Europe, face specific cultural and -including the Catholic one- under the same law regime
social histories of countries and large continents like Africa, and not two different ones as is the case today, or as the
Asia and Latin America. In these countries the various draft laws indicate it will continue to be. The appointment
Catholic communities are measured with new Protestant of Jorge Bergoglio as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church
churches, with its religious and liturgical impulse, are has revived cultural coordinates dating from the time of
writing a page of the postcolonial history of entire peoples. the Spanish colony. Christian fervor of the media and
Catholic communities, those shepherds also guided by the political class resets to a colonized Christian identity
reflecting the restoration line inaugurated by John Paul II, governed by Eurocentric and Western values that undermine
aimed at restoring the “virtue” of obedience of the clergy the sovereignty and cultural diversity that lurks in every
and bishops to the Pope’s authority, also look for their own corner of Latin America.
way of being church : Catholic but not Roman, faithful to
the authority of Peter but relatively distant from European
theology formally respectful of liturgical canons as were References
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tolerance limits on the forms of pre-Christian spiritual Reasons of power in christianity and islam. The Johns
expressiveness that emerge vividly in the new Pentecostal Hopkins University Press. London
churches or Catholic charismatic movement trend.
[2] BAAMONDE, J.2001. Libertad religiosa, cultos y sectas en
However, pluralism among Catholics doesn’t have a la Argentina: Análisis del anteproyecto de Ley de Libertad
counter part of non Christian religions. In fact, The very Religiosa de la Secretaría de Culto. Buenos Aires: Fundación
existence of a Register for non catholic religions could SPES.
create, as some groups fear, “first class” and “second class” [3] BOURDIEU, P. (1986). La disolución de lo religioso. En
religions. The churches that can comply with the formal Cosas dichas (pp. 104) Gedisa. Buenos Aires
requirements needed for registration, will gain the juridical
[4] BOURDIEU, P. (1971). Genèse et structure du champ
status of “religious persons” . Small Pentecostal churches or
religieux. Revue Française de Sociologie, 12(3),295-334.
temples of Afro-Brazilian who cannot enroll, on the other
hand, will lose the little legality they possess. The result [5] DUSSEL, E. 2003. Europa, modernidad y eurocentrismo,
may be a class-based discrimination due to which the poorer E. Lander (compilador), La colonialidad del saber:
practitioners of certain religions will not be able to attain the eurocentrismo y ciencias sociales. Perspectivas
legal status that other, wealthier and more formally educated latinoamericanas, pp.41-53. CLACSO-UNESCO. Buenos
of their counterparts will. Although the law does not Aires.
oblige religious institutions to register, those in a position [6] CASANOVA, J. (1994). Public religions in the modern
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world. University of Chicago Press. Chicago

[7] DAVIE G. (2002). Europe: the exceptional case. Darton,
Longman & Todd. Londres
[8] FATH, S. (2008). Dieu XXL. Autrement. Paris
[9] HERVIEU-LÉGER, D. (1999). Le pèlerin et le converti.
Flammarion. Paris
[10] HERVIEU-LÉGER, D. (2003). Catholicisme, la fin d’un
monde. Ed. Bayard. Paris
[11] MALLIMACI, F. (2013) The Argentinean Catholicism of
Bergoglio and the papacy of Francis. A first approach from
Argentina. Sociedad y religión. vol.23 no.40 Buenos Aires
[12] MIGNOLO, W. 2000. Local Histories/Global Designs.
Coloniality, Subaltern Knowledges, and Border Thinking.
Princeton University Press. Princeton.
[13] MAROSTICA, M.1997. Pentecostals and politics:
The creation of the Evangelical Christian movement in
Argentina 1985-1995. Ph. D. dissertation. Political Sciences
Department. University of California, Berkeley.
[14] MICHEL, P. (1995). La grande mutation. Albin Michel. Paris
[15] NAVARRO FLORIA, J. 2000 El reconocimiento de las
confesiones religiosas en la Argentina. Paper presented at
the Congreso Latinoamericano sobre Libertad Religiosa.
Instituto de Derecho Eclesiástico del Perú. Lima, Perú,
September of 2000.
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Study of Impact of Culture on

Women throughout the World
DR. MANISHA MATHUR

Department of Zoology,
G.N.Khalsa College, Matunga ,Mumbai, India
manishakmathurs@yahoo.co.in
Abstract: This article reviews the impact of cultural factors democratic freedoms(7,8). When women’s health has been
on mental health of an Indian women. Marked gender addressed in this region, activities have tended to focus on
discrimination in India has led to second class status of issues associated with reproduction, such as family planning
women in society. Their mobility, work, self-esteem and self- and childbearing, while women’s mental health has been
image, in fact their worth and identity, seem to depend upon relatively neglected.
the male members of a patriarchal society. Women’s lack of A culture of peace requires that we confront the violence
empowerment and both financial and emotional dependence of economic and social deprivation. Poverty and social
have restricted their self-expression and choices in life. This, injustices such as exclusion and discrimination weigh
along with family, social and work pressures, has a definite particularly heavily on women. Redressing the flagrant
impact on women’s mental health. This paper discusses some asymmetries of wealth and opportunity within and between
recent advances in the area of movements that has gained countries is indispensable to addressing the root causes
tremendous impetus in the humanities and social sciences of violence in the world(9) .Efforts to move towards a
culture of peace must be founded in education; as stated in
is the rediscovery of the role of women in history and their
UNESCO’s Constitution: since wars begin in the minds of
contributions to human culture. These diverse collections men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace
demonstrate the far-ranging impact women have had on must be constructed. Even in the new millennium, women
all aspects of culture. From innovative women artists and in South Asia are deprived of their socio-economic and
pioneering scientists and technologists to the woman who legal rights(10,11). They live in a system where religious
campaigned for universal suffrage and social equality, injunctions, tribal codes, feudal traditions and discriminatory
their stories provide a window on to women’s multifaceted laws are prevalent. Thy are beset by a lifetime social and
contributions to our shared heritage psychological disadvantage, coupled with long years of
child bearing. They often end up experiencing poverty,
Keywords: Women, Culture, Anthropology, mental health, isolation and psychological disability. In some urban
cultural violence. regions of South-Asian countries, women’s social roles have
changed to some extent. They have now comparatively more
opportunities for education, employment and enjoyment of
civil rights within society. However, the de-stereotyping of
the gender roles which have been traditionally assigned by
I. Introduction our society is still far away.
India is facing enormous social, economic and
health challenges, including inequality, violence, political In India, most of the societies the customary thought of
instability and high burden of diseases. Women continue to people is that “girls are born to be fed throughout their lives”
experience systematic violations of their human rights and and “boys are born to earn and support the whole family”.
to be largely excluded from decision-making. In situations This thought is reflected through certain discriminative
of war and military occupation, women are to an alarming behaviors of people. Sex selection during pregnancy is
degree the victims and targets of atrocities and aggression(6). still rampant in India, where women are forced to abort
To combat war as the ultimate expression of the culture of a female fetus .The birth of a baby boy is celebrated with
violence, we must address issues such as violence against great enthusiasm even in very poor families, and they look
women in the home, acts and reflexes of aggression and for every possibility for celebration on the occasion of birth
intolerance in everyday life, the banalization of violence in of a male child. On the other hand, the birth of a baby girl
the media, the implicit glorification of war in the teaching is not welcomed. The situation is even worse in some rural
of history, trafficking in arms and in drugs, recourse to areas of India where the girls are even deprived of their
terrorism and the denial of fundamental human rights and right to live. In one of the rural areas of India, it happened
that, when a woman came home from hospital cradling her
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newborn daughter, her mother-in-law mashed a poisonous vulnerable to depression when under stress.(13,14)
coriander into the dollop of oil and forced it down the
infant’s throat. The reason behind it was that sacrificing a Now a days, almost 80% females are into jobs. But
daughter guarantees a son in next pregnancy. The couples along with them they have to fulfill all the requirements of
are often forced by elderly members of family, particularly the family members. Have to perform all the house hold
mother-in-laws, to keep on taking chances for the birth of a jobs along with the job where as men only do the job and
baby boy, which in many cases results in the birth of five or dominate on females and force them to do all house hold
six girls. activities. In some regions of India violence has reached
staggering levels; in a recent population-based study from
Non-governmental organizations, women rights India, nearly half of women reported physical violence
movements, Amnesty International and human rights (6) .In ;India, only women are thought to be responsible
workers periodically manage to follow-up the victims for producing the next generation, and the blame for the
of violence and bring the culprits to justice. In India, absence of the desired number of children is unquestioningly
some ancient traditions and customs are still followed placed on them, leading to a destabilization of their social
promoting various forms of violence against women. status (9-11). Studies have revealed that severe emotional
These include honor killings, exchange marriages, dowry, harassment is experienced by a large number of these
female circumcision, questioning women’s ability to testify, women in their marital homes in the form of ostracism from
denying their right to choose the partner, confinement to family celebrations, taunting and stigmatization, as well as
home . The most frequent causes for acts of violence are beating, and withholding of food and health care (12,13).
domestic quarrels due to the inability of a woman’s family A study carried out in Karachi explored the experiences
to make dowry payments at time of marriage. In some among women suffering from secondary infertility: 10.5%
rural areas of India, girls are deprived of their marriage of them reported they were physically and verbally abused
rights only to keep the property in the family. In India, very by husbands and 16.3% by in-laws. Nearly 70% of women
often young unmarried girls and women suffer tremendous facing physical abuse and 60% of those facing verbal abuse
physical and psychological stress due to the violent behavior suffered severe mental distress (14).
of men. The nature of violence includes acid throwing, rape
, wife-beating, murder of wife, kidnapping and physical. There are several types of violence against women,
Besides that, many women and young children from South- not all of which take the form of brutal assaults. Demands
East regions are trafficked and forced into prostitution, by society on widows, however young they were, to lead
undesired marriages and bonded labor. Illiteracy, political a rigidly austere life, socially isolated and without any
forces, a feudal and tribal culture, misunderstanding and access to men, have been condoned for ages as necessary
misinterpretation of religious principles, and above all a measures to keep them from temptation and sin(15,16). The
girl’s low status in the society encourage and sustain sexual practice of “sati” in certain parts of India, by which the wife
exploitation of women. The trafficked victims face violence, threw herself into the funeral pyre of her husband, has been
intimidation, rape and torture from the employers, brothel documented in the not too distant past. Such behaviors of
owners and even law enforcement agents. This sexual self-denial, torture and even death are indeed sanctified and
servitude is maintained through overt coercion, physical glorified and there are even temples erected for the goddess
abuse, emotional blackmail, economic deprivation, social of sati(17).
isolation and death threats. Customs and traditions are often The rate of mental distress has been reported to be high
used to justify violence. The present scenario in India is also in working women in India, and cultural factors are
still dramatic particularly in the rural areas, where the tribal among the contributing variables (15). This mental distress
chief remain in command. usually remains unacknowledged (16). Finally, the recent
An analysis of various studies in different regions of economic reforms in India have been accompanied by a rise
India revealed an overall prevalence rate of mental disorders in the incidence of reported domestic violence, rape and
in women. Women had significantly higher prevalence rates alcohol abuse (17). In ancient India, vedic people established
for neuroses, affective disorders and organic psychoses than a social system in which father,instead of mother became
men . A study carried out in India (6) showed that factors the head of the family. Throughout ancient history,women
associated with depressive disorders in upper and middle were obliged to abide by the laws made by men.
class women were marital conflicts conflict with in-laws However, it is also true that vedic society had a number
(13%), financial dependency (10%), lack of meaningful job of women in key positions and that certain austerities could
(14%), and stress of responsibilities at home and at work not be performed without their wives even in the early
(9%). Another study conducted in India revealed that the ritualistic period. In fact according to legends Lord Brahma
most frequent factors forcing women to commit suicide was forced to take up a girl named Savitri as his consort for
were conflicts with husband and in-laws. The women who a special worship, in the absence of his wife Saraswati. The
face domestic violence from husband and in-laws have no ritualistic vedic culture was indeed male dominated. Women
way out, because the system considers these acts of violence folk only helped in the preparation of things for the rituals
as acceptable. (12) The police and law enforcement and fire sacrifices and did not conduct rituals themselves.
agencies are normally reluctant to intervene, considering it Intellectual revolution followed as the fire sacrifices of the
a domestic dispute. If the woman abandons her marriage, vedic culture was challenged by thinkers including women,
she has to face innumerable problems, like nonacceptance who speculated on the nature of religion (Mazumdar, 2004).
from society, financial constraints and emotional problems
of children growing up without father. The tendency of Independence of India heralded the introduction of
women to internalize pain and stress, and their lower status laws relating to women.The Constitution provided equality
with less power over their environment, render them more to men and women and also gave special protection to
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women to realize their interests effectively. Special laws with skills and insights essential to peaceful human relations
were enacted to prevent indecent representation of women and social development. Women subscribe less readily than
in the media and sexual harassment in workplaces (Nair, men to the myth of the efficacy of violence, and they can
1996). The law also gives women equal rights in the matter bring a new breadth, quality and balance of vision to a joint
of adoption, maternity benefits, equal pay, good working effort of moving from a culture of war towards a culture of
conditions etc. At the international level, the UN Charter, peace. Girls and women constitute a large majority of the
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Convention world’s educationally excluded and unreached. Ensuring
on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against equality of educational access and opportunity between the
Women (CEDAW) sought to guarantee better legal status to sexes is a prerequisite for achieving the changes of attitudes
women. However, certain contentious issues like the Jammu and mind-sets on which a culture of peace depends. Even
and Kashmir in the new millennium, women in India are deprived
of their socio-economic and legal rights. They live in a
Permanent Resident (Disqualification) Bill 2004 system where religious injunctions, tribal codes, feudal
(which deprived a woman of the status of permanent traditions and discriminatory laws are prevalent. Thy are
residency of the State if she married an outsider) and the beset by a lifetime social and psychological disadvantage,
Supreme Court judgment in Christian Community Welfare coupled with long years of child bearing. They often end up
Council of India (in an appeal over the Judgment of the experiencing poverty, isolation and psychological disability.
High Court, Mumbai). The latter has permitted, under In some urban regions of India, women’s social roles have
certain circumstances, the arrest of a woman even in the changed to some extent. They have now comparatively more
absence of lady police and at any time in the day or night. opportunities for education, employment and enjoyment of
These instances have once again brought to the forefront civil rights within society. However, the de-stereotyping of
the traditional male domination (Mazumdar, 2004), who the gender roles which have been traditionally assigned by
speculated on the nature of religion .Despite major changes our society is still far away.
that have occurred in the status of women in some parts of
the world in recent decades, norms that restrict women to
the home are still powerful in India, defining activities that
are deemed appropriate for women(18,19,20). They are, by
and large, excluded from political life, which by its very Reference
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mechanism of male dominance is the propagation of gender
ideology through sanctions of religious practices and their [1] Crawford, Philip Charles. “An Enlightening Look at the
gender-selective interpretation by the community leaders. Feminist Ideals that Informed This American Icon”. School
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rape. Theoretically Government of India regards man and [3] Margot Lovejoy, Digital Currents: Art in the Electronic Age,
women as equal. However,the states concern to preserve the Routledge, 2004, p108. ISBN 0-415-30780-5
existing patriarchal social order is clear from the ways laws [4] T.J. Demos, Dara Birnbaum, Technology/Transformation:
operate in respect to violence against women. Wonder Woman, MIT/Afterall Books, 2010, p1. ISBN
1-84638-066-9 moma.org.uk
[5] “Lasso of Truth”. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
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creator”. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
Equality, development and peace are inextricably linked. [7] “1969”. Comics Sightings in TV and Film. Marvel
There can be no lasting peace without development, and Masterworks.com. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
no sustainable development without full equality between
men and women. The new millennium must mark a new [8] Wertham, Frederic (1954). Seduction of the Innocent.
beginning. We must dedicate ourselves to averting violence New York: Reinhart & Company. pp. 192, 234–
at all levels, to exploring alternatives to violent conflict and 235. ISBN 1-59683-000-X.
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others. Always provided it involves the full participation of as a Woman’s Community”. Papers. Girl-wonder.org.
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the promotion of cross-cultural dialogue and the redressing [12] CEDPA & PRIDE (1997), Devadasi system continues
of socio-economic injustice, women can be the source of to legitimize prostitution: the Devadasi tradition and
innovative and much needed approaches to peace-building. prostitution, India: Annual Report.
Women bring to the cause of peace among people and nations [13] Chakraborthy, Kakolee (2000), Women as Devadasis: origin
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[14] Friedman, Robert (1996), “India’s shame: sexual slavery and

political corruption are leading to an AIDS catastrophe”, en
The Nation, New York: The Nation Associates.
[15] Giri, V. Mohini (1999), Kanya: exploitation of little angels,
New Delhi: Gyan. International Labour Organization (ILO)
(2000), “Globalization’s losers become its movers”, en
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The value of human life

and the attitude towards abortion
A christian and bioethic approach
1. Gabriela ANDREI, assistent lecturer 2. Ana ION, assistent lecturer, Ph.D.

Faculty of Navigation and Naval Transport, Department of Fundamental Faculty of Navigation and Naval Transport, Department of Fundamental
Sciences and Humanities, Sciences and Humanities
Maritime University “Mircea cel Batran” Naval Academy
Constanta, Romania Constanta, Romania
e-mail: andregabriela@yahoo.com e-mail: ana_ion_ana@yahoo.ro
Abstract: Abortion, the cruel reality of the contemporary why, all his life, a man is struggling for life. Unfortunately,
mankind, bites with no mercy our life and lacerates the this battle, instead of being full of love and thanksgiving,
humanity face, relativizing life’s ultimate value. We fight for directed towards harnessing this great gift, nor rarely it
the animal’s lives and rights, but we kill our children in womb. becomes a fight for survival and fulfillment in temporal life,
We are confused and living up to the rules imposed by us, and succumbed finally to death, forgetting that the purpose of
we fail, because we do not see the „Light of the world” (John life in the flesh is not survival, but eternal life, which Jesus
8,12) - Jesus Christ, losing sight of the reference frame – the
Christ Himself, our Savior was sacrificed.
divinity. We have declared God dead [1], the fountain of life The biological life begins simultaneously with the
, and we put ourselves in His place. We lost indiscriminatingly spiritual life. Human nature, after the primordial fall,
the values of “as Gods” ( Genesis 3,5) and “as God’s image” involves the embryo involves state, as the beginning of life,
(Genesis 1, 27) drifting on the gradient of big fails, as big and this condition begins with the fertilization of the egg
as God we have chased but never listened. So, that, from the cell, not with the adherence of the blastocyst to the uterine
survival outlook and lacking of love in our life, the fight wall. Holy Scripture, the writings of the Holy Fathers,
for survival targets against the somebody ‘s else life, and contemporary science, confess this, through the voices of
no illustration is more eloquent and tragic as the mothers,
true scientists.
families and society’s fight against the procreation generally, This is the man: intellect in a useful and appropriate
and particularly against the unborn child. body (nous kai endedemenos prosphoro prepo sarki).
He emerged from the maternal bosom (en tois metroois
plattetai kolpois) sustained by the most reasonable and
wise master, God almighty. He, in the time of birth pains
Keywords - abortion, right to life, life, homicide, murder,
goes towards the light in those dark chambers” [3].
live, Christianity
St. Gregory of Nyssa, making a comparison with the
„For you created my inmost being; grain of wheat which embraces all that plant’s species, says:
you knit me together in my mother’s womb. “... it’s not fair to say that the soul is prior to the body” or that
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully body is without a soul, but both have a unique beginning,
made.” according to His higher will, in God’s primary purpose “[4].
(Psalms, 138, 13, 14) Moreover, as St. Basil the Great accounts for (A.D 329-
379), the placing of the soul into the body, or the condition
“I see, in each and every human being, which has its of the fetus formation is not relevant for this traditional
beginning in their mother’s womb, a person that God Christian judgment: “Women who deliberately kill their
created out of His unlimited love for us. I see his longing to own unborn children are guilty of murder. From our point
lead us from the moment of conception until the moment of of view there is no analysis of whether the child was or not
death, when we would prepare for His kingdom, on the way formed “(Letter 188, 1995, vol. VIII, p. 225)” [5].
to holiness, to all, not just one ... But I can also see His pain Professor Balthasar Staehelin, a psychiatrist and
for each child killed in the womb, for the old or the who are psychotherapist in Zürich, Switzerland, said: “Our
sick euthanized. I see His pain to him who dies in sin, who psychotherapy practice shows that the body is closely
does not confess their sins, who kill their neighbor, who kill related to its psyche through the Spirit of God. Each man
their child or others’ children, which helps encourages, or and each embryo carries with itself, since conception, the
approves of stopping a human life. ”[2] image of Christ. So, human liveliness occurs at conception,
We all want life for ourselves, for our own good. Once and not later in the pregnancy” [6].
we are living our life, we do not want it to stop, that is
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Professor Erich Blechschmidt, a renowned German Christ the Saviour being in the womb of the Virgin Mary,
embryologist and anatomist from Göttingen, noted, in his just conceived, with the grace of the Holy Spirit.
work on the beginning of human life, that . The embryo does
not become human, it is human from the very beginning. “ Abortion means murder and there is nothing to justify
He is a human being in every moment of its development it. Killing a life without the slightest possibility of defense
from conception [...]. Already the first cell (the fertilized from the victim’s part is abominable. And, more, when the
egg) is a human individual. This is demonstrated by research killer is the very one who should have to defend it, wear it
of nucleus and chromosomes contained in it” [7]. in the womb, help it to grow, love it, i.e the one that should
be called mother , things become difficult to understand.
Professor Rudolf Ehmann, a gynecologist and director Not even the most ferocious, bloodiest animals would do
at Department of Obstetrics - Gynecology of the Stans such a thing.
Cantonal Hospital in Switzerland, said: “A child’s life
belongs to him, and nobody else’s ; we do not have the Not rarely, are material causes cited; however,
right to decide on anyone’s life. I have no doubt that human “abortion can never be justified, morally, or in relation to
existence begins at conception, during the fusion of the other factors such as: the economical status of the family,
sperm with the egg cell. A scientific evidence for this is in misunderstandings between partners, career damage of the
vitro fertilization. Any other definition of the beginning of future mother, or her physical appearance.”[10]
life is unfounded.” [8] The problems of human life cannot be solved by death,
However, in the 60s, (the year when the hormonal nothing which has to do with life finds the solution in death;
contraceptives and the intrauterine device, the IUD, appeared the solution in none else but God’s kindness and mercy.
on the market), the medical world decided to “assess”, as We should be sure of that with life, God sends all that is
“beginning” of human life the blastocyst attachment to necessary for this. Man must come with his share of love
the uterine wall, and hence the beginning of pregnancy and sacrifice, while for other necessary things, it is only God
was considered to start in this point. This compromise that takes care of. No man can take, through death, which
consider new perspectives of medicine without God: the God gives them through life, so take heed!
use of contraceptive methods, of abortion in the period “You look for happy life in the kingdom of death? It is
of preimplantation, the techniques developed later (in vitro not there. For how could happy life in a place where there is
fertilization, the sick embryos which were considered sick no life at all? “ [11]
were eliminated), the IUD use, and the use of chemicals for
the elimination of healthy, but unwanted embryos, etc. In reality, material, family or social problems invoked
are often exaggerated. Our grandparents used to grow as
Thus, modern medicine easily exculpates from any many children as God allowed in a much smaller house, as
charge and “when people have to be killed, they are first compared with ours today; with a plot of land not bigger than
assigned, by definition, an inferior, non-human status. This our wages they managed in hard times of war and natural
is how the fetus is considered: to be able to legally kill it in disaster. Children learned to care for one another, to help,
their mother’s body, it is decided that it will not be attributed to love and become real, strong souls, with God in mind,
any specific human qualities. The idea also applies to the whom they began to know from their mother’s prayers and
fertilized human egg up to its complete implantation, given stories. In our homes now have no place children, any more,
that early human life was established purely out of utilitarian and it is not the house which is the problem, not the low
reasons, to be considered at the end of implantation “ [9]. income, not the family disagreements, but our hearts that
“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and have become too small and cannot love any longer, cannot
bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus.” (Luke allow anyone else inside them, because we took God out of
1:31), are the words of the Annunciation for all humanity, there.
sent to a maid who impressed heaven by her soul’s humility Therapeutic abortion, a demonic death mask, hide sin
and purity. By these, man’s redemption begins, along with and crime under the guise of a human right. Therapeutic
the whole creation, and they say “you will bear a son in abortion for medical reasons (healthy child and sick mother
your womb” so, in the womb of the Virgin, the Son, and or sick child and healthy mother) or social reasons (healthy
not anything else, was conceived, from the very beginning. mother and healthy baby) is a criminal therapy that allows
“In those days Mary arose and went in haste into the killing of the fetus even in advanced stages of intrauterine
hill country, to a city of the tribe of Judah. She entered life.
the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when “If the genetic investigation finds that an unborn baby
Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby moved in her will be abnormal, the recommendation is to give birth to
womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit “(Lk that child, respecting his right to life, but the decision will
1.39 to 41). Elizabeth’s unborn baby felt the presence of be made only by the family, and only after that family was
God and “rejoiced” (Luke 1.44), even though he was in his told about the moral and spiritual implications, both by the
mother’s womb. doctor and by the confessor. All these need to be resolved in
So, one can have a dialogue with God, since their womb terms in relation with the redemptional significance of the
life, which can be as effective as an adult’s dialogue with presence of a handicapped human being in the life of every
God, because they who are in the womb bear God’s the person in the life of the community. “[12]
image from the moment of conception. Elizabeth, too, was Community and man sometimes needs burdens, so as
filled with the Holy Spirit, and they all were happening “in to make them strong, to make them learn sacrifice, love,
those days”, i.e. immediately after the Annuciation, Jesus and to help them carry their own crosses. If God decided
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so, it is for soul’s salvation, that child will be saved by the woman became aware of her extraordinary place before all
suffering and helplessness they wore, and along with him, creation, in which dignity was laid participating with God
those who received it as a challenge to love, as a gift God to create and to spread love, she would never abdicate give
made them. It is neither simple nor easy, but Jesus, the Son up this role.
of God Himself assumed human infirmities and bore them, What is the man’s responsibility, if he consents to an
to show how much he loves us. Moreover, there not few are abortion?
the situations in which mothers chose to give birth to such
children, and healthy children were born, which indicates As a father, and a husband, the man is responsible for
that prenatal diagnosis was false, and it is likely to kill a the whole family and should be concerned about its spiritual
healthy child. orientation. His duty is to love his wife and children as
Christ loves His Church, until sacrifice.
“If a mother’s life is at risk by pregnancy or birth, priority
should be given to that woman’s life, not because her life When the woman comes and tells her husband that they
has a higher value in itself, but because of the relationships are going to have a child, she is waiting for some sort of
and responsibilities which that woman has towards other blessing from him, as a confirmation of love between them.
people who depend on her” [13]. A woman will never go to have an abortion if the child’s
father expressed his joy that a new life will be born, if he
It is the case of therapeutic abortion, having maternal assumed responsibility to do whatever it takes to grow and
causes, but even here, the woman must be very responsible educate it, and believed that God put hope for the fulfillment
... There are mothers who understood that nothing is of these duties.
accidental, and chose not to oppose life, even in these
situations, and go forward with any risk, assuming the A woman needs confidence, stability, peace, and love;
sacrifice to the end; these women had the surprise and joy to once she has felt these realities, she will never think of
bear healthy children, and they, themselves, were healed of abortion. Creating this balance in a woman’s life depends
their diseases and infirmities. This is where faith, obedience, largely on the attitude of the man, because, no matter how
prayer, God’s plan of salvation for each of us intervenes. different the feminist views are a woman, subconsciously
wants to live under authority: “ Your desire will be for your
In what social reasons are concerned, we can mention husband, and he will rule over you.” (Genesis, 3, 16).
the case of schoolgirls or students who become pregnant,
and resort to abortion as a desperate solution ; the solution Therefore, man’s attitude towards life, taking
is not contraception, but an education based on Christian responsibility of the role of guiding the family to Christ
moral principles. If, however, they become pregnant, there is will lead to a correct attitude of the woman towards all
the alternative of adoption, since there are childless families aspects of existence, “ because the husband is the head of
who are willing to adopt them, to love them and raise them. the wife as also Christ is the head of the church--he himself
being the savior of the body” (Ephesians 5:23). Moreover,
“Contraception is opposed to the divine command of it strengthens the relationship between spouses in love,
Fc 1, 28: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and because through the birth of children, this love goes beyond
subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the life in the flesh, the mystery of love becomes creative,
birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves calling to life and tending toward more life and love; and we
on the earth.” Man slips slightly to extremes - on the one all know that love and life beat death, and conquer eternity
hand we have the example of Ham, who begot Canaan,
in flood conditions, when abstinence was required (cf. A man who consents to abortion, sending the woman
Genesis 9, 18) and on the other hand, the example of Onan, to have an abortion, the man goes under his man status,
who did not want to have children with his wife whom he or head of the family, leaving behind his authority; he is
had under the levirate (Genesis 38, 8-9). Today the same only a male interested in his bodily needs, and, from the
extremes are perpetuating, the same sinful guidelines, on perspective of this attitude, the woman is seen as an object
the one hand, by exploiting the laws of procreation through of pleasure, lust. A man should not be surprised if, later, his
in vitro fertilization, and on the other hand, abusing sexual children and wife will stand against him, and walk the path
pleasure without assuming responsibility for children born, of disobedience, of infidelity, or lust. The cause is here in
through contraceptive measures (both abortive risks or with his disobedience to God, the fact that he considered his wife
possible side effects of abortion). Christian theologians a whore, then, again, he should not be surprised that his
recommend moderation in sexual activity, in marriage, daughter or wife, try to walk the path of unhealthy habits,
accompanied by birth of children, some admitting certain that his son is against him, that there is not harmony and
natural contraceptive measures, obviously with no danger understanding among family members, at an age when he
of abortion” [14]. needs tranquility, peace and balance.
The woman “will be saved through childbirth, if she “Abortion is the deadly wound of love, he is the last
continues to abide in faith, in love and holiness” (1 Timothy stage of conviction in the disappearance of conjugal love,
2, 8-15). with the role of assassin of God’s image, from the safest
place, which is the womb of his mother, i.e. conjugal love
This is the fulfillment and mission of a woman, regardless temple“ [15].
of her social status, education, or training, because thus, she
can make the most of love and can spread love around the A woman is truly a woman when she remains as God
family, and society, making her being an instrument of love, created her, virgin and mother. Virgin, by behavior, moral
always filled with faith in God, the source of everything. standing, dignity, humility, obedience and mother, by love,
True love begins with life and they just go together. If a wisdom, faith, by fulfilling her role in creation.
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God Himself, the Creator and Providence need a Destiny in The Romanian Bioethic Review, Vol. 8, Nr. 4,
virgin to make her a mother and to take flesh, and come October – December 2010, p. 71.
into the world as its Savior. Heaven and earth are united in [5] Mark J. Cherry, Bioethics and public Forum: why should
the womb of a Virgin, and thus, in the attitude (heart) of a christians involve in public moral debates, in The Romanian
woman begins the path of obedience, the way of salvation”. Bioethic Review , vol. 7, n. 1, January – March, 2009, p. 50.
Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according [6] Pius Stössel, Myriam, de ce plângi? – Trauma avortului,
to thy word” (Luke 1, 38); this was the answer that contains Ariel Publishing House in cooperation with Pro Vita Medica
all beauty, greatness and responsibility of freedom. This Timişoara Foundation, 1998, p. 131 apud C. T. Gross, Ph.D.
answer supposed high risks, up to the stoning, after the Old Professor priest, Ph.D. Ilie Moldovan, works cited, p.39.
Testament Law, but opened the door of eternity, and knotted
the dialogue between God and man, in obedience, where [7] Erich Blechschmidt, Wie beginnt das menschliche Leben.
Adam interrupted it by disobedience. Vom Ei zum Embryo, Christiana Verlag, Elveţia, 2008, p. 31,
apud Dr.C. T. Gross, Professor priest Ilie Moldovan, Ph.D .,
However, God does not reject the woman who had works cited,., op. cit., p. 40.
an abortion, and does not reject anyone who wants [8] Dr Rudolf Ehmann, Ph.D. – obstetric gynecologist , cantonal
forgiveness and correction. “I take no pleasure in the death hospital Stans, Elveţia, CH – 6370, in cooperation with Otto
of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and Döpper, Contraceptive Aids. Untold Fatal Side Effects
live. For I do not desire ... death of the wicked, says the . A critical track-record of a gynecologist.The article is
Lord; So go back and live “(Ezekiel 18, 23,32). the enlarged and reviewed text of the conference held
Beyond sin, ignorance, weakness, unbelief, wickedness, by Dr Rudolf Ehmann pe 22.09.1990 in Dresden, at the
deceit and urge of devil, and beyond tears and remorse International Congress “World Federation of Doctors Who
there exist genuine hope of forgiveness and love and Respect Human Life”, p. 20, apud Dr.C. T. Gross, Professor
reconciliation. priest Ilie Moldovan, Ph.D. works cited, p. 40.
[9] Ibidem, p. 35.
God, through His sacrifice, reconciles us with Him, and,
as a source of love, He can reconcile us with the children whom [10] BOR official site, Socio-charitable work, Bioethics, Abortion,
we killed. Let us try to find God, as our unique opportunity http://www.patriarhia.ro/ro/opera_social_filantropica/
for eternity, and let us not despair. Sincere repentance, deep, bioetica_1.html, 30 may, 2014.
sustained and conscious future involvement in the struggle [11] The Blessed Augustin, Confessiones, in Scrieri alese, Partea
for life, for the will of God in creation, hope in His mercy întâia, PSB 64, EIBMBOR 1985, p. 110.
can be like a return to life, or a resurrection in the authority [12] BOR Official site, works cited.
of Him who motivated repentance, God Jesus Christ, who [13] Ibidem.
has the power to restore our spiritual profile and gives us the
strength to face those children hoping to be healed, and, at [14] Serban George, Paul Drugaş, Antropologia şi probleme
least at that time hoping to love them. actuale de bioetică , in Revista Teologică, no 1/2008, p.229-
249.
Therefore in order to get healing we should learn how to [15] Calinic Botosaneanul, Tanatologie şi nemurire, Cantes
forgive; forgiveness should be sought, in the holy confession; Publishing House, Iasi, 1999, p. 80.
no forgiveness can be given to a soul that is not clear of sins.
By the Cross and His sacrifice, God, Jesus Christ, brought
forgiveness, while through His Church, He brought healing.
Let’s go, then, to God, Jesus Christ in our lives; let us be
parents, mothers and fathers of our children and not their
executioners.
“Behold, I have set before you today life and death,
good and evil, life and death ... I have set before you
today blessing and curse. Choose life, that you and your
descendants to live” (Deuteronomy. 30 15, 19).
References
[1] Nietzsche, Le gai savoir, Paris 1950, aphorism 125, apud
Gheorghe Istudor, Introducere in misiologia ortodoxa,
Domino Publishing House, 2009, p. 369.
[2] Dr. C. T. Gross, Pr. Prof. Dr. Ilie Moldovan, Îndrumarul
medical şi creştin despre viaţă al Federaţiei Organizatiilor
Ortodoxe, Renașterea Publishing House, 2008, p. 19.
[3] Saint Basil the Great, Despre a nu ne lipi de cele lumeşti, in
Scrieri. Partea întâia, PSB 17, EIBMBOR 1986, p. 557
[4] cf. Professor priest Ilie Moldovan, Ph.D., Teologia Iubirii,
vol. I, Publishing House of the Orthodox Episcopacy of Alba
Iulia, Alba Iulia, 1996, p. 233 apud Adrian Gh. Paul, The Sin
of Abortion and Its Anthropological Implications on Human
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Orthodoxy and Science
Niculcea Adrian
Department of Theology,
Ovidius University of Constanta,
Constanţa -900527, Romania
E-mail: Niculcea_adrian@yahoo.com
Abstract: The relationship between “orthodoxy” and “science” therefore begin by answering two fundamental questions,
has recently become a research topic. The orthodox area namely: What is science? What is Orthodoxy?
has never remarked through scientific concerns. The recent
Through “science” in the modern sense of the term we
concern is generated by intense discussions that are taking must understand the special concern for the nature of our
place in the West on this issue; therefore Orthodox concerns material world through careful observation of the sequence
in this direction do not seem to have been generated from of the spatial-temporal events that compose it, and the effort
internal reasons, it is a form of imitation, of forced adaptation to find out the laws by which this sequence of events that
to modernity, a modernity that we are forced to adapt to by make up the world develops, which governs the relations
the European world in which we came and where we want between the different parts that make up this diverse
to integrate deeper. This does not mean that the Orthodox material world in the midst of which we live. Shortly, the
concern for the relationship between religion and science “science” is fundamentally a concern for the intrinsic nature
would necessarily be alien to the essence of “orthodoxy”. It of the physical world we belong to in order to discover
the rationality that governs it. The final target of the entire
just means that the concern for this issue is recent and has not
scientific effort is not only researching the nature of the
arisen as a consequence of internal historical development of physical world and discovering its profound rationality, but
orthodoxy, as it is the case in the West, where modernity is a using it through technology to improve the comfort of our
process deeply rooted in the history of ideas itself of this part lives.
of the world.
Then what is “orthodoxy”? Very briefly, throughout
Keywords: science, Modernity, uncreated, patristic, its history orthodoxy (and I mean here the Greek patristic
cosmology,
Christianity from which the Orthodox claim today) was a
huge effort to argue the real presence of God in the world.
The period of Ecumenical Councils, that completed with
I. Introduction “the dispute around icons” was nothing but a huge effort
If, however, it is time to give our opinion on this topic, to answer the question: what exactly could the apostles
even if it is not a priority for the Orthodox consciousness, of Jesus Christ “see” and “touch” in Godhead. The final
it is necessary to analyze carefully and with a rigorous answer was given by Theodore the Studite who said:
thinking the premises of whose position we can answer the his divine person. There followed a period in which the
question: what is the real relationship between “orthodoxy” doctrinal effort focused on the question: what exactly is
and the modern “scientific phenomena”. The attention “seen” by the hesychasts, the practitioners of “unceasing
and rigor required by a serious approach of this topic are prayer” during “their mystical views “? After an extensive
motivated by the shallowness of the so-called “orthodox argument with a representative of the Italian Renaissance
scientists” engaged in this line of research, who prove, in (Barlaam of Calabria) the answer was given by the great
fact, shallowness both in the use of the “orthodoxy” concept Gregory Palamas who said: they see Jesus Christ himself
and - surprisingly - in the use of “science” concept. This as he is surrounded by “the glory he had before the world
is particularly true for those who state with no rigor that was”, in other words by “His uncreated glory”.
“science” existed in antiquity, as well (and give in this Today orthodoxy is still striving - with more or less
respect the example of the ancients’ gains in terms of success - to argue in the middle of the modern world and
mathematics and geometry), and the fathers of the Church for a modern world in process of desecration that God is
would have viewed favorably the scientific concerns (citing present in our material world. One facet of this sense
as evidence works as Hexaimeron by St. Basil the Great). of the real presence of God in the material world we are
That is why a rigorous effort to define this relationship must part of as people is precisely the issue of “the relationship
be based on a good understanding of the two terms; he must between Orthodoxy and science”. The question we should
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ask ourselves – as a continuation of the great questions the out of “the hand of God”? This question is also answered by
Christian consciousness asked in the patristic period - is: the Psalmist when he says:
what can we exactly “experience” in the Godhead when
investigating “scientifically” the physical world in all its “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You
aspects? What is the relationship between laws that govern know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my
the physical world and which were discovered by “modern thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying
science” on the one hand, and Orthodox concept of “God” down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before
on the other? It is a profound question, because it refers a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it
to what we “see” or “feel” in the Godhead itself in our altogether...Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is
efforts focused on understanding the nature and rationality high; I cannot attain it...For you formed my inward parts;
of the created world. It is a specific orthodox question in you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise
accordance with both the questions the patristic asked in the you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful
Greek East, and with the Scripture itself (John XVII, 5; Luke are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was
IX, 32; Acts XXVI, 13; I John III, 2). Who is not aware of not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,
the precise nature of this question, the nuances involved and intricately woven in the depths of the earth...How precious
its exact meaning will never understand the true nature of to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of
“the relationship between Orthodoxy and science.” them!” (Psalm 139.1-18)
In what follows I will seek the premises of this The text is complex, so the answer to the above question
“relationship”, first analyzing the concept of “science” in seems quite difficult. However, the psalmist’s suggestion
biblical texts and then at the Greek Fathers. would be that all finite objects that make up the world,
including the components of each organism, are associated
based on a “great science” that God has in himself from the
II. The Meaning Of ”Science” In Biblical Texts depths of eternity. This “science” keeps an eye on beings
The Biblical authors see the created physical world as from the moment of their formation and supervises their
a stark contrast with the infinite God who created it. It is a evolution until they die. God’s acute sight does not miss any
vision that the psalmist emphasizes very well when he says: being, any movement. For Him there is no area shrouded
in ignorance, because in God’s eyes “the night shines as
“O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed the day and the darkness shines as light.” What useful idea
with splendour and majesty, covering yourself with light as could we draw from this text for our topic? The basic idea
with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. He promoted by the psalmist is clearly that the laws by which
lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes every being comes into existence into the finite world after
the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; he and develops her existence until her death are deeply rooted
makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire. in the “thinking / mind of God”, that is the unfathomable
He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be depths of His eternal thinking. This idea will be developed
moved. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the both by the New Testament authors’ thinking and later
waters stood above the mountains.” (Psalm 104.1-7) patristic thinking.
But the largest contrast that the psalmist emphasizes is However, any “scientific” approach of the world is
the one between God and man: “O Lord, what is man that based on human knowledge of the laws by which the world
you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? is evolving; the assertions “... such a wonderful science
Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. is beyond my power, it is too high to comprehend”, and
Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down! Touch the “how incomprehensible to me your thoughts are, God,
mountains so that they smoke!...” (Psalm 144.3-5) and how great their number is” seemed to undermine any
contingency of the psalmist’s opinions about knowledge
Is this a “scientific” vision of the world? I could answer of the world created by God with the modern “scientific”
yes, if we think that in the biblical authors’ vision the world approach of knowing the physical world! A world that
created by God is a world that exists fundamentally on the cannot be known cannot be “object” of science! And yet,
condition of time and space, and thus on the condition of if we are careful, what the psalmist says with this phrase is
finitude. Through its finitude in time and space the world is not necessarily that he cannot understand any of the “God’s
in a stark contrast with the infinity of God. We understand, thoughts” regarding this world, but that in reality they are so
therefore, that the cosmic world that God created and in the many (actually infinite), that his knowledge powers - finite
midst of which we live is a finite one in its materiality in as the entire being and all the powers that are in it – they
contrast with the spirituality of God who is infinite precisely themselves are finite. The psalmist admits that man, just
through this, that is beyond time and space. These details like all the other beings that make up the created world,
are very important, since “science” may have as “object” is finite through his being and the powers that derive from
nothing else but objects, finite beings. The infinite God it. Thus, the suggestion would be that man, no matter how
transcends the concerns of science. Now it is the time to ask much effort will make, will never be able to know “God’s
the question: can one know the laws that lead the created thinking” in its entirety, since it is infinite!
world? The question is crucial because the simple empirical
acknowledgement of the components of the material world
in the midst of which we live and of which we are part is III. The Meaning Of ”Science” At The Greek Fathers
not “science”; in fact, it is not the “scientific knowledge” The Fathers of the Holy Church from the patristic period
of it. Does the psalmist authorize, for example, an effort of saw themselves faced with the same problem as the biblical
knowing the legalities by which this finite world is led being authors. The Greek philosophers of their time were still
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supporting the ideas of the pre-Socratic philosophers of debates about the origin of the world, he says:
nature according to whom the world we live in has sprung
from an eternal matter they identified either with the “fire” (as “You heard on the previous days of the ineffable wisdom
Heraclitus of Ephesus) or “air” (as Anaximenes of Miletus) of the artificer of all visible realities, and how he produced
or “water” (as the famous Thales), even with “ground” (as everything solely by his word and desire. He said, remember,
Xenophanes of Colophon did). Others saw this “primordial “Let it be made,” ’ and it was made, and immediately all
matter” as composed of atoms, and the resulting cosmic the elements were produced; (77b) his word sufficed for
world composed of the periodical “union” or “separation” the sustenance of all created things, not simply because it
of them. All these “assumptions” excluded from the start the was a word but because it was God’s word… You recall
idea of “creation out of nothing”, divinizing this “original the arguments we brought to bear against those saying that
matter” in its various forms. It is the thing St. Basil the Great existing things came into being from underlying matter and
complains of when he says that: substituting their own folly for the dogmas of the Church.
You learnt why, on the one hand, he produced the sky in
“‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the finished form, but left the earth shapeless and incomplete.
earth.’ I stop struck with admiration at this thought. What We gave you, remember, at that point two reasons for this:
shall I first say? Where shall I begin my story? Shall I show firstly, so that you might team the power of the Lord from
forth the vanity of the Gentiles? Shall I exalt the truth of our the more complete thing and not weaver in your reasoning
faith? The philosophers of Greece have made much ado to with the thought that it was created out of lack of power;
explain nature, and not one of their systems has remained and secondly, since the earth has been created as mother
firm and unshaken, each being overturned by its successor. and nurse for us, and from it we are nourished and enjoy
It is vain to refute them; they are sufficient in themselves to all other things, and to it we return in the end, being as it is
destroy one another. Those who were too ignorant to rise to a for us all both homeland and tomb, (77c) he shows it to us
knowledge of a God, could not allow that an intelligent cause shapeless from the beginning in case the very pressure of
presided at the birth of the Universe; a primary error that necessity, if nothing else, should lead us to conjure up some
involved them in sad consequences. Some had recourse to grandiose ideas about it, instead of learning even through
material principles and attributed the origin of the Universe these very things that all the above-mentioned advantages
to the elements of the world. Others imagined that atoms, are to be attributed no longer to the nature of the earth but to
and indivisible bodies, molecules and ducts, form, by their the power of the Creator.” [2]
union, the nature of the visible world. Atoms reuniting or
separating, produce births and deaths and the most durable Therefore, the Church Fathers, continuing the biblical
bodies only owe their consistency to the strength of their authors’ idea, state the finite nature of the material world
mutual adhesion: a true spider’s web woven by these writers in time and space to which we belong. This means that the
who give to heaven, to earth, and to sea so weak an origin world does not exist from eternity, but was created “out of
and so little consistency! It is because they knew not how nothing”. But if it was “created out of nothing”, it means
to say “In the beginning God created the heaven and the that it is in danger to return in the “nothingness” it came out
earth.” Deceived by their inherent atheism it appeared to of. This is because a finite world in time is a prospective
them that nothing governed or ruled the universe, and that world, in a constant change, so that something that did not
was all was given up to chance. To guard us against this exist there is now; therefore, based on the same becoming
error the writer on the creation, from the very first words, that masters it implacably, the world that exits today may
enlightens our understanding with the name of God; “In not exist tomorrow, returning again “into nothingness”.
the beginning God created.” What a glorious order! He first If, however, the world exists, what keeps it from falling
establishes a beginning, so that it might not be supposed that apart again into the “nothingness” it came out of? This is
the world never had a beginning. Then he adds “Created” the big question St. Athanasius the Great asks, when he
to show that which was made was a very small part of the says: “Seeing then all created nature, as far as its own laws
power of the Creator. In the same way that the potter, after were concerned, to be fleeting and subject to dissolution,
having made with equal pains a great number of vessels, has lest it should come to this and lest the Universe should be
not exhausted either his art or his talent; thus the Maker of broken up again into nothingness, for this cause He made
the Universe, whose creative power, far from being bounded all things by His own eternal Word, and gave substantive
by one world, could extend to the infinite, needed only the existence to Creation, and moreover did not leave it to be
impulse of His will to bring the immensities of the visible tossed in a tempest in the course of its own nature, lest it
world into being. If then the world has a beginning, and should run the risk of once more dropping out of existence
if it has been created, enquire who gave it this beginning, ; but, because He is good He guides and settles the whole
and who was the Creator: or rather, in the fear that human Creation by His own Word, Who is Himself also God, that
reasoning may make you wander from the truth, Moses has by the governance and providence and ordering action of
anticipated enquiry by engraving in our hearts, as a seal and the Word, Creation may have light, and be enabled to abide
a safeguard, the awful name of God: “In the beginning God always securely.” [3]
created”--It is He, beneficent Nature, Goodness without “But by Word I mean, not that which is involved and
measure, a worthy object of love for all beings endowed with inherent in all things created, which some are wont to call
reason, the beauty the most to be desired, the origin of all the seminal principle, which is without soul and has no
that exists, the source of life, intellectual light, impenetrable power of reason or thought, but only works by external art,
wisdom, it is He who “in the beginning created heaven and according to the skill of him that applies it—nor such a word
earth.” [1] as belongs to rational beings and which consists of syllables,
The same views are found at St. John Chrysostom. and has the air as its vehicle of expression—but I mean the
Speaking about the Greek philosophers of his time and their living and powerful Word of the good God, the God of the
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Universe, the very Word which is God John 1:1, Who while modern world and how compatible the orthodox view of the
different from things that are made, and from all Creation, material world nature could be with the laws which govern
is the One own Word of the good Father, Who by His own this notion, given the biblical and patristic foundations we
providence ordered and illumines this Universe.” [4] have talked about so far.
What does St. Athanasius the Great want to say?
He wants to say that the cosmic, the material world that IV. The Meaning Of “Science” In The Modern World
surrounds us, is a world that appeared “out of nothing”, as The modern science was born under the auspices
the biblical authors teach us, a world forged from various of a succession of philosophical currents. Starting with
components which are in contradiction with each other. If nominalism and English empiricism, going through
the world had been left by her Creator on the strength of Kantianism and phenomenology and ending with the logical
its own diversity, it would have ended up disintegrating. positivism of the “Vienna Circle”, the term “science” has
Divine wisdom or the Word of God has arranged everything focused more strongly on eliminating the metaphysics’
to gather in a general harmony within which none of these notions from the research space of the physical world. Some
components eliminates the other, but they all support each aphorisms offered by great names from of the “science
other forming the symphony of the universe. This harmony philosophy” illustrate the best this tendency that made
is given by the laws that lead the diverse material world, possible the emergence of the modern science.
which is finite in time and space; laws that are nothing else
but the famous “divine reasons”. The argument, the ultimate All the aphorisms that philosophers like A. Compte, I.
source of these “reasons” is, therefore, the Word of God. Newton, L. Wittgenstein, J. Sebestik and other said about
This means that the ultimate argument, the most original, of human knowledge, prove that modern science emerged
the laws that govern the evolution of the material universe in a gigantic effort of the Western thought to establish
we live in is not inside it, but outside it. This is the great knowledge of the physical objects that make up the world,
affirmation of St. Athanasius’ cosmological thinking, who objects that are in a reciprocal relationship, against Aristotle
says: and in the detriment of the absolute notions of its “physics”:
the absolute space, time, and motion. This means that
“Who that sees things of opposite nature combined, and modern cognitive approach refuses the absolute knowledge
in concordant harmony, as for example fire mingled with the ancient were promising (pre-Socratic philosophers of
cold, and dry with wet, and that not in mutual conflict, but nature or Aristotle himself), of eternal entities that would
making up a single body, as it were homogeneous, can substantiate our being and knowledge of our physical
resist the inference that there is One external to these things world, and accepts only a relative knowledge, that is the
that has united them? Who that sees winter giving place to knowledge of the material world just the way it appears to
spring and spring to summer and summer to autumn, and us. Modern philosophy of scientific knowledge is based on
that these things contrary by nature (for the one chills, the the idea that there is no “real/being” outside the space and
other burns, the one nourishes, the other destroys), yet all time in their quality of transcendental categories. All we can
make up a balanced result beneficial to mankind—can fail know are only the things just the way they appear to us, as
to perceive that there is One higher than they, Who balances “phenomena” and not as “things in themselves”, meaning
and guides them all, even if he see Him not? 2. Who that in a “noumenal” state. Shortly, we know reality only as
sees the clouds supported in air, and the weight of the waters it appears to us, and not as it exists - independently. This
bound up in the clouds, can but perceive Him that binds means that as finite beings, conditioned in time and space,
them up and has ordered these things so?” [5] we cannot know this reality except only in the transcendental
This theory of Sf. Athanasius the Great, according to categories that determine our intellect. This is why Husserl
which the various elements that make up our physical world says: “As much appearance, that much being!”
are governed by laws whose origin and ultimate basis is What do all these mean? It means that modern philosophy
outside matter, that of finitude that characterizes creation, of science says that we cannot know anything outside space
was developed in the Greek patristic by great names and time under the condition of which there is our physical
like Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (divine paradigm universe; we cannot know what it was before it emerged,
theory), Maximus the Confessor (divine rationality theory) as we can never know what will be after its disappearance.
and Gregory Palamas (uncreated energies theory). Thus, Knowing under the condition of transcendental categories
according to the Greek Fathers the world is made of a matter cannot be extended to metaphysics; it is effective, limited to
that is ephemeral in time and limited in space, a diverse the physical world. Is that what A. Compte when he stated
matter whose components tend to fall apart, to get away that true knowledge of the phenomenal world is to “giving
from each other, in order to return into the “nothingness” up, as mandatory unnecessary, to any search for causes
they came out of. What holds them together and explains (metaphysical) itself, whether initial or final, limiting us to
the universal harmony in which there are hold “the contrary study the invariant relationships that constitute the actual
ones” (contrary to each other) is a power outside of our laws of all phenomena observable” [6]
material world: it is the “power” of God’s Word, that is of
the “Supreme Reason” from which derive all the special This statement hides in its depths the recognition that
“reasons” which master the bigger or smaller various the absolute origin, as well as the eschatological ultimate
“regions” of the cosmic world. All these “theories” are purpose of our material world, transcends any human
the “heart” of the Orthodox vision of today’s world and its cognitive effort made within a world that exists under the
destiny. condition of spatial-temporal finitude. Thus, the world
has its real beginning in the original “nothingness” and its
Let’s see what the meaning of “science” is in our final end beyond our cognitive possibilities. Both ‘causes’,
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efficient and final, transcend human knowledge limited to It is clear that the interpretation of mathematical
phenomena. This is where modern philosophy of science structures through the eternal status of Plato’s “ideas”
meets ancient biblical and patristic conception, as we approaches the modern mathematical thinking - at least
mentioned above. the Platonists’ - the so-called divine “paradigms/ reasons/
uncreated energies”, that patristic theological thinking
Let’s see what the modern philosophy of science says claimed as governing our world and expressing the proof of
about the nature of laws that govern this finite world we God’s immanence in our physical universe.
belong to and in the midst of which we live. The fact that
human intelligence discovers more and more laws by which
the physical world evolves, proves that it is not prey to A. Orthodoxy And Science
chaos, uncertainty or pure contingency as empiricist D. As it is known, Orthodoxy has its roots in the Greek
Hume believed. The world is dominated by “order”. This is Fathers’ theological concept. They formed their mentality
what modern consciousness has argued from Galilei, who regarding the relationship between God and our material
said: “God wrote the book of the universe in the language of world in the biblical authors’ wake. For this reason they
Mathematics.” [7] rejected the vision of the ancient philosophers of nature about
the origin and destiny of the physical world. Unfortunately,
However, there is a question that arises: whether the their reaction to the old philosophers was too radical, for
matter the physical world consists of is finite, does it exist they were not satisfied to just reject the theory of eternal
only on the condition of time and space, which is the true matters as the fundamental cause of the universe, but went
nature of its mathematics, numbers and formulas? Are so far as to reject the philosophy itself, meaning the whole
“mathematical objects” (numbers, equations, geometric rational approach of understanding the cosmic world. Even
figures, etc.) some “works” that also appeared in time and worse, they placed this process in a flagrant opposition to
space, as all objects in the material universe? Or do they the cosmological claims of the Scripture, causing a radical
come from “outside” our world, from the depths of God’s break between the pre-Christian and Christian conscience.
uncreated thought? We know that the roots of this latter
assumption in the ancient Pythagoreanism, and then at Inaugurating this train of thought, St. Basil very much
rationally stated that the rational research of the causes and
Platon. Pythagoreans believed that everything that makes phenomena existence is actually futile, endless and even
up the universe, including the universe in its entirety, are damaging to the soul!
... “numbers”! Numbers, they said, are “the causes and
principles of all things.” These enigmatic philosophers of “If we were to wish to discover the essence of each
antiquity associated the idea of “number” with the one of of the beings which are offered for our contemplation, or
“harmony”, so that the whole universe was not a chaotic come under our senses, we should be drawn away into long
world, but a nicely organized world, a harmonious world. digressions, and the solution of the problem would require
This is why they named the universe the “cosmos”. Each more words than I possess, to examine fully the matter.
of the cosmic “elements” was associated by them with To spend time on such points would not prove to be to the
a geometric “figure”: the “earth” was associated with the edification of the Church. Upon the essence of the heavens
hexahedron (cube) “figure”, “water” was associated with an we are contented with what Isaiah says, for, in simple
icosahedron, the “air” with an octahedron and the fire with language, he gives us sufficient idea of their nature, “The
a tetrahedron (pyramid). They were geometrically related heaven was made like smoke,” that is to say, He created a
shapes, as all could be built on a fundamental triangle. subtle substance, without solidity or density, from which to
The founder of the Pythagoreans’ “sect”, Pythagoras, form the heavens”. [9]
discovered the law which puts in an eternal relation the
sides of a right triangle with its hypotenuse: the square of St. Basil eventually urges his readers to reject even the
the hypotenuse was equal to the sum of the squares of the rational arguments if they are opposed to faith: “There are
sides. The irreducibility of this geometric “law” made the inquirers into nature who with a great display of words give
Pythagoreans believe that these are divine laws, of celestial reasons for the immobility of the earth. Placed, they say, in
inspiration, hence eternal. As far as the physical world, the middle of the universe and not being able to incline more
sublunary, embedded these celestial laws, it really was not a to one side than the other because its center is everywhere
chaotic universe, but a true “cosmos”. This view about the the same distance from the surface, it necessarily rests upon
nature of “harmonies” present at various levels of the cosmic itself; since a weight which is everywhere equal cannot lean
universe has been taken up and developed considerably by to either side. It is not, they go on, without reason or by
the great Plato. This is why we are talking even today about chance that the earth occupies the center of the universe.
a so-called “Platonism” in mathematics, meaning that the It is its natural and necessary position… Do not then be
entire mathematical structure through which the physicists surprised that the world never falls: it occupies the center
describe the material world is seen by some of them as the of the universe, its natural place. By necessity it is obliged
eternal nature. to remain in its place, unless a movement contrary to nature
should displace it. If there is anything in this system which
The first who tried to understand the material world, might appear probable to you, keep your admiration for
through mathematics were Galileo and then Newton. the source of such perfect order, for the wisdom of God.
Einstein was also - more or less explicitly - a supporter Grand phenomena do not strike us the less when we have
of the Platonic metaphysics. They and many others after discovered something of their wonderful mechanism. Is it
them formed the group of modern ‘Plato’ philosophers otherwise here? At all events let us prefer the simplicity of
regarding the nature of mathematics. “The essence of the faith to the demonstrations of reason.” [10]
Idea overrides the understanding of the Idea” [8]
St. Basil was did not do with disputing the philosophical
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rational, relative explanations to the first cause of the giving this creature a neck longer than his feet, so that he
universe; he vehemently rejected even the theories on may throw it like a line, and take the food hidden at the
the side causes, that is the relative phenomena within the bottom of the water.” [12]
cosmos. Today his words seem downright incredible to us:
Therefore, the Christian must leave any rational,
“Have you never thought, when standing nears spring philosophical concern regarding the physical world, must
which is sending forth water abundantly, who makes this abandon all earthly things he lives with and to focus his mind
water spring from the bowels of the earth? Who forced it only on the heavenly ones. Looking at the natural ones, he
up? Where are the store-houses which send it forth? To what should stop not even for a moment to them, but to think
place is it hastening? How is it that it is never exhausted about the heavenly ones, for there is the true homeland, and
here, and never overflows there? All this comes from that not this world:
first command; it was for the waters a signal for their
course... (3) And God said: “Let the waters be gathered “Truly, if such are the good things of time, what will
together unto one place and let the dry land appear.” He did be those of eternity? If such is the beauty of visible things,
not say let the earth appear, so as not to show itself again what shall we think of invisible things? If the grandeur of
without form, mud-like, and in combination with the water, heaven exceeds the measure of human intelligence, what
nor yet endued with proper form and virtue. At the same mind shall be able to trace the nature of the everlasting?
time, lest we should attribute the drying of the earth to the If the sun, subject to corruption, is so beautiful, so grand,
sun, the Creator shows it to us dried before the creation of so rapid in its movement, so invariable in its course; if its
the sun.... (5) “And God said Let the earth bring forth grass, grandeur is in such perfect harmony with and due proportion
the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after to the universe: if, by the beauty of its nature, it shines like a
his kind, whose seed is in itself.” It was deep wisdom that brilliant eye in the middle of creation; if finally, one cannot
commanded the earth, when it rested after discharging the tire of contemplating it, what will be the beauty of the Sun
weight of the waters, first to bring forth grass, then wood as of Righteousness? If the blind man suffers from not seeing
we see it doing still at this time. For the voice that was then the material sun, what a deprivation is it for the sinner not to
heard and this command were as a natural and permanent enjoy the true light!” [13]
law for it; it gave fertility and the power to produce fruit for At the end of these considerations the conclusion of
all ages to come; “Let the earth bring forth.” The production the great shepherd is quite the obvious: ““seek those things
of vegetables shows first germination. When the germs which are above where Christ is.” Raise thy mind above
begin to sprout they form grass; this develops and becomes the earth; draw from its natural conformation the rule of thy
a plant, which insensibly receives its different articulations, conduct; fix thy conversation in heaven. Thy true country
and reaches its maturity in the seed. Thus all things which is the heavenly Jerusalem; thy fellow-citizens and thy
sprout and are green are developed. “Let the earth bring compatriots are “the first-born which are written in heaven.”
forth green grass.” Let the earth bring forth by itself without [14]
having any need of help from without. Some consider the
sun as the source of all productiveness on the earth. It is, In the wake of his great predecessors, St. John
they say, the action of the sun’s heat which attracts the vital Chrysostom rejects more and more vehemently the
force from the center of the earth to the surface. The reason philosophical, rational research of the universe origins,
why the adornment of the earth was before the sun is the arguing that the second causes are not truly known, much
following; that those who worship the sun, as the source of more the first cause of the physical world. He says:
life, may renounce their error. If they be well persuaded that ““If the enemies of truth insist on saying it is impossible
the earth was adorned before the genesis of the sun, they for something to be produced from nothing, let us ask them.
will retract their unbounded admiration for it, because they The first human being— he made from the earth, or did
see grass and plants vegetate before it rose”. [11] he come from somewhere else? To a man they’ll say from
The watchword of all spirituality in the Greek East, the earth, and make no bones about it. So let them tell us
established by St. Basil, remains that a good Christian how the substance of flesh came into existence from the
should radically reject any curiosity about how the natural earth. I mean, from the earth you get clay, and bricks, and
world works and even the entire rational approach to explain pottery, and potsherds so how would you get the substance
the phenomena it consists of, and to have in mind only the of flesh? How would you get bones and nerves and arteries,
God who made them all simply by His Word: ““You have fat and skin, nails and hair, and all the qualities of different
then heaven adorned, earth beautified, the sea peopled with substances from one underlying material? They wouldn’t be
its own creatures, the air filled with birds which scour it in able to open their mouth in reply.” [15]
every direction. Studious listener, think of all these creations Following in St. Basil’s footsteps, John Chrysostom
which God has drawn out of nothing, think of all those takes the same way to understand the second causes of
which my speech has left out, to avoid tediousness, and not phenomena in the universe and says:
to exceed my limits; recognize everywhere the wisdom of
God; never cease to wonder, and, through, every creature, “There are some people who try to ascribe these things
to glorify the Creator...During the day, also, how easy it to some of the stars. For this reason the Holy Spirit teaches
is for you to admire the Creator everywhere! See how the us that before the creation of these elements the earth heard
domestic cock calls you to work with his shrill cry, and how, his word and command and brought forth the plants, with no
forerunner of the sun, and early as the traveler, he sends need of anything else by way of assistance. In other words,
forth laborers to the harvest! ...Notice how the swan plunges in place of anything else the earth had need only of that
his neck into the depths of the water to draw his food from word that was spoken, “Let the earth put forth a crop of
it, and you will understand the wisdom of the Creator in vegetation,’’...Who could fail to be absolutely astonished at
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the thought of how the word uttered by the Lord, “Let the Fervently adopted in the following centuries, it will get in
earth put forth a crop of vegetation” penetrated to the very time in the orthodox East the drapery of a total rejection
bowels of the earth and, as though with a veil, adorned the of the science about the things created for the benefit of
face of the earth with a variety of flowers? In an instant you hesychastic mystical experience of the divine. Also in the
could see the earth, which just before had been shapeless and eighteenth century another coryphaeus of Athonite thinking,
unkempt, take on such beauty as almost to defy comparison Athanasius of Paros, was affirming that the Orthodox must
with heaven.” [16] reject everything that comes from Europe, must cover their
ears to everything that is propagated by those who were
A millennium later, the horror for the philosophical impressed with the western modern world, but especially
research of the universe is shared with the same force by to give up any scientific concerns ... not to jeopardize their
St. Gregory Palamas, who puts the ancient science and the salvation!
Christian theology in a more radical antithesis. The ancient
science, he says, comes from empirical observations of If Palama’s diatribes against “natural philosophy”
phenomena that make up the world, as they are followed the seemed at some point the ultimate expression of patristic
conclusions drawn by the mind and imagination. All these, thinking organically related to ancient philosophy, with
the great Father suggests, are nothing else but creations, Nicodemus and especially Athanasius of Paros this
fantasies of the natural mind. But the true science about rejection of the physical nature research in terms of rational
things comes from outside the mind, comes from God, and thinking has made the leap across time structuring the
the natural philosophers have not had this science before. orthodox thinking in the new era it entered after the fall of
the Byzantine capital. In this new period, the opponent of
“But not only data relating to the moon, but also those orthodoxy will not be the ancient philosophy and ancient
related to the sun, its eclipses and conjunctions of their time science, but the philosophy and modern science coming
the changes and distances of the other planets in the sky, from the West. Unfortunately, this vision endures today,
various bands together and make them, in short, all that we because the strange revolt of the Athonite environments
know about heaven then reasons of nature, all the arts, crafts against the so-called “biometric passports” equipped with
and simply speaking, all knowledge of all collected from memory chip to store personal data cannot be regarded
partial observations we have gained from the senses and otherwise than as the latest expression of this long, very
the imagination in mind. None of these, however, cannot long Orthodox tradition against science and philosophy.
be called spiritual, but rather natural, because it does not
include those of the Spirit.” [17]
V. Final Thoughts
What are the pieces of knowledge that come from God
and the natural philosophers could not find? St. Gregory I would not want to be misunderstood. Orthodoxy is not
exemplifies with the man himself whose composition restricted to this tradition of rejecting natural philosophy in
cannot be reduced to the physical nature’s elements in favor of a wisdom solely based on the ones revealed by the
order to be understood/explained only through the efforts Scripture.
of the human mind; in his constitution he also has elements There is a second school of thinking - unfortunately
from the spirit world, that are beyond the science and the weakly explored in relation with Modernity - namely the
understanding of natural philosophy. He says that the cause theory of divine paradigms truly opened by Dionysius,
of natural philosophy errors is the mind slavery in relation continued by Maximus the Confessor and finalized somehow
to the sensory knowledge, the fact that the cognitive effort by Gregory Palamas himself. If the horror of philosophy
is limited to those observed through senses: inherited by Palamas from his great predecessors, St. Basil
“So are these (i.e. the Greeks philosophy, the wisdom the Great and John Chrysostom, is an important current
that comes from natural knowledge of logic methods, nm) Orthodoxy today, under which some Orthodox schools
compared to true wisdom and, above all, to the teaching of rejected Modernity radically in the way of rejecting any
the Spirit. Not only truly knowing God, as far as possible, concerns for a rational understanding of the natural physical
exceeds matchless philosophy the Greeks, but also to know world, the second current, represented by the same Palamas,
what place has the man before God surpasses all the wisdom but in the line of Dionysius and St. Maxim, is the opportunity
of those.” [18] for Orthodoxy to reconcile with the same Modernity. The
rejection of “modern science” by the orthodox thinking
The patristic period comes to an end in Orient on this rigorist false patristic, is a historical fact that cannot be
note of radical opposition between Christians, followers of denied, if we want to remain in objective; the reconciliation
“true wisdom”, of the “doctrine of the Spirit”, and of the of the same orthodoxy with modernity in general and with
great ancient philosophers, “those who were philosophizing “the modern science” in particular, however, is only a hope
through their nature”, that were practicing “wisdom whose fulfillment requires hard work and struggle in the
from those subject to senses”. The two groups were future on behalf of the Orthodox theologians.
deeply despising each other, the theologians accusing the
philosophers of ignorance, and the profane philosophers The problem of the attitude of Greek Fathers towards
considered the biblical cosmology as being a “humble the science of their time and to the research of the cosmic
wisdom”, that is a science that offers absolutely mediocre nature, in fact of the physical nature in general, is a deep
explanations regarding the natural phenomena. one that needs to be circumscribed by a rigorous analysis. It
is the first task that the Orthodox theologians of tomorrow
This diatribe against the natural sciences and even will have to assume it. This is because, for example, phrases
mathematics and geometry used by astronomers did like “May your simple faith be stronger than your logical
not fade with Palama and the fall of Constantinople. arguments”, “not to say that the sun is the cause of dry
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earth, the Creator has prepared the dry land before the sun”, [14] Ibid, 9.2.
“Because some consider that the sun is the cause for rising [15] St. John Chrysostom, Homilies...2.11.
steeply the earth, because by the attraction of its heat rise [16] Ibid, 5. 13.
on the earth’s surface the power of germination, which is
deep down into the earth, that’s why God gave the earth this [17] St. Gregory Palamas, Capita 150 (“One hundred and fifty
ornament before the sun”, “the sun is newer in its making in chapters”). Edited and translated by Robert E. Sinkewicz.
relation to the grass and plants” and also others, unwillingly Studies and Texts 83. 1968; xii, 271]
ignore the causal succession of things in the universe, the [1] Ibid.
created character, therefore finite and thus conditioned by
space and time of items like “sun” or “grass of the earth”.
Divinity is an infinite, absolute reality, and so unconditional
by no relationship outside them. In contrast to that all created
things that make our world are interdependent, meaning that
are placed by their own way to be finite in a web of mutual
relations, which determines its existence. To say that “it is not
the heat of the sun that makes plants sprout from the earth”
but mere arbitrary will of the Creator means to understand
the created world exclusively under the sign of the divine
pure arbitrariness. Moreover, it is to deny the reality of
“reason / paradigms / divine energies”, uncreated, the
intimate fabric of this finite, material world. For it is evident
that the physical world is not ruled by chaos, arbitrariness,
but by the divine reasons whose ultimate roots are in the
depths of the “eternal thought of God Himself.” It is time
for the Modern Orthodox thinkers to abandon this extreme
view in favor of building a “cosmology”, a “biology” and
even an “anthropology” based on the great theory of “divine
reasons” whose sketch is found at Dionysius, the Maxim
and even Palamas himself. Only when these unexploited
resources will become an expanded orthodox theory
regarding the physical and biological world, only then
we will be able to speak among the orthodox theological
thought and modern science about a real, true, into the spirit
of the Scriptures relationship.
References
[1] St. Basil the Great. The Homilies on the Hexaemeron. Homily
I: In the Beginning God made the Heaven and the Earth. Cpt.
2. In the romanian collection “Părinţi şi scriitori bisericesti”,
Bucuresti: Editura Institutului Biblic si de Misiune, vol. 17,
p. 72-73.
[2] St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Genesis. In the romanian
collection “Părinţi şi scriitori bisericesti”, Bucuresti: Editura
Institutului Biblic si de Misiune, vol. 21, cpt. 9.3-4.
[3] Saint Athanasius (Patriarch of Alexandri], Against the
Heathen, tom. 41. traduced by pr. prof. D. Stăniloae, in
colection „Părinţi şi scriitori bisericeşti”, Bucuresti: Editura
IBMBOR, 1987, vol. 15, p. 78.
[4] Ibid, tom. 40.
[5] Ibid, tom. 36.
[6] A. Compte, in „Dicționar de istoria și filozofia științelor”, D.
Lecourt (edit), Bucuresti: ed. Polirom, 2005.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] St. Basil the Great, Homilies On The Hexaemeron, 1.8,9. vol.
17, p. 79, 60, 81.
[10] Ibid, 1.10.
[11] Ibid, 5.1.
[12] Ibid, 8.7.
[13] Ibid, 6.1.
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Conditions for a Possible Dialogue

between Theology and Science from the
Perspective of the Concept of Frontier
Călin Săplăcan
Faculty of Greek Catholic Theology
“Babeş-Bolyai” University
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
E-mail: calinsaplacan@hotmail.com
Abstract: Is there a way without conquests and wars to be The contentual significance of the frontier discussed here
found in the relationship of theology and science? This relation can be defined by analogy with the mathematical concept
is analyzed from the perspective of the concept of frontier of frontier in topology. In what follows, the mathematical
in order to establish the conditions for a possible dialogue. “part” of analogy will be presented very briefly and only
Paradoxically, the frontier unites and divides at the same insofar as it is of interest for the characterization of the
time. On the one hand, the frontier marks the differences, on frontier in this presentation.
the other hand it appears as a crossing, a passageway. The
frontier is an in-between, a huge space in which the two sides
are called together to explain each other, and in order to
create a passage between the two sides. The methodological
framework of analysis is the approach of analytical theology
to distinctions in language and significance. As a frame
of reference, the possibility conditions for a philosophical
dialogue between phenomenology and analytical philosophy
have been considered.
Keywords - scientific language, theological language,

frontier, difference, dialogue, passage, ethics
I. Introduction. The Frontier As A Paradigm
The concept of frontier. For the sake of simplicity in

presentation, only two “differences” will be considered.
In a certain context, the frontier does not separate, it unites
differences, it is a “bridge” between “differences”, a passage
that cannot exist outside these differences, only through
them.
The frontier however is not a “no man’s land”, meaning
that it does not belong to any of the differences. Its basic
nature is that it belongs to one of the differences but in such
a way that it cannot exist without taking into consideration
the other difference, the “presence” of the other difference.
Synthetically: the frontier belongs to one of the differences
but by its nature it does not belong to it in such a way that
it excludes the other difference. The concept of frontier
defined this way may seem abstract but in fact it is not, as it
proves useful and strong in a multitude of analyses: on the
level of languages, interdisciplinarity, science, ecumenism,
anthropology, ethics, etc.
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The concept of frontier is defined by a paradox: the any geographical reading – which describes the surface of
frontier unites and divides at the same time. In addition a phenomenon – sends us to an archaeological reading on
to its geo-political use, its use in theology is almost non- its appearance and a teleological reading regarding its end.
existent. Still, biblical and theological readings hide terms However, the origin and the end are constellated places
which are suitable for such a use. In the Book of Genesis, which interrogate our identities. What kind of origin and end
God’s creation differentiates: man and woman, human and are we talking about: biological, psychological, spiritual,
animal, sky and earth, night and day, etc. The appearance of social? The need for an analytic clarification of languages
life is closely connected to the appearance of frontiers. The is obvious.
following examples are illustrations for this: • The act of
creation in Genesis introduces and reflects the significance
of the frontier in each of the six stages (days): day/night, III. The Frontier In An Analytical Perspective
land/water, human/animal, man/woman, plant/animal – each There are many words, terms or concepts that have the
day is distinct from the previous and also closely connected same “vocabulary form”, but which have different meanings
to it.• Binomials such as separation-alliance, “arche-telos”, in a natural scientific language or a theological language. For
man-woman, human-God, creation-eschatology, etc. justify example: “scientific” truth, truth “of the faith”; “biological”
the use of this concept in theology. •In biology, for instance, origin, “divine” origin; “animal” human (biological), man
the frontier plays a role in the genesis of life by the originary by “the image and likeness of God”. The natural language
differentiation between an “inside” and an “outside” which stands at the basis of all types of languages, as a common
are the limits of an organism (the body surface). •Also, any meeting place for scientific and theological language.
organism must protect itself by a frontier (such as the skin) While the scientific language describes the world of facts,
which acts as a barrier against intrusion. •Similar is the the theological language describes the world of values and
frontier in psychology, as anguish against the other who is existence.
threatening or invasive.1 Often reduced to limit, border or
front, the concept of frontier can question the relationship of Turning to Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-
science and theology, especially the conditions of a possible Philosophicus, one can say: “How the world [the objective
dialogue between these. of scientific truths, author’s note] is, is completely
indifferent for what is higher. God does not reveal himself
in the world.” [God is not a fact of this world, the truth
II. The Frontier In A Phenomenological Perspective about God (the religious truth) is not that of the facts (the
The reading of the frontier of man, the world or history scientific truth), author’s note].2 Physics or biology, for
– whether scientific or theological – is a phenomenological instance, will not find God in their researches on facts, and
reading in the broad sense of description. The neither will they among or within facts. The truths of the
phenomenological approach seems quite easy, although it faith cannot be expressed in a scientific language. “Darwin’s
is just as difficult: it appears as a return to the ways things theory has no more to do with philosophy than any other
offer themselves and are regarded (perceived). The interest hypothesis in natural science”3 This aspect is also valid for
in phenomenology came from an immediate regard of the theology, as it can be stated that Darwin’s theory has as
world, from the way how reality presents and offers itself. little to do with theology as any other hypothesis of natural
Obviously, this is revealed through discourse. Starting from sciences. (Creationism has just as little to do with Darwinist
this description of reality, other representations will also evolutionism as the theory of evolution with theological
be elaborated, inscribed into one or another interpretive creationism or the Genesis.)
approach. Science elaborates thus a series of representations Recognizing differences is the first condition for
starting from the description of the reality of man, the establishing a relation between theology and science
world, and history through observation and experience in which would exceed the perspectives of concordance
order to find models and laws that govern its organization. or discordance4 that can lead to indifference, disputes
Similarly to science, theology also elaborates a series of or violence. The best example is the passionate debates
representations that describe reality, but distinctly from between the creationists and the evolutionists (following
science, it is developed starting from a confessed reality, the the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species). The
Kingdom of Heavens. fear of the different other and the fear of the other when it
What is problematic in this approach is how reality is reduced to the self: intolerance and hatred are located in
offers itself and how we see it. For example, where theology this interval.
sees man as the creation of God, science (biology) sees man It is necessary to find the possibilities for bridging
as a subject of evolution. Is it legitimate to ask if there is a these fields in order to enable mutual communication and
difference in recognizing what we see? We do not only find understanding; they also attempt to identify the fields with
that science and theology have different takes on reality, but strict frontiers where the infringement of these frontiers
they do not agree with the reality they see. [This is not a may lead to confusion and misunderstanding. The activity
matter of perception; it is a matter of interpretation]. This
is also the origin of differences in perspective, marked 2 L. Wittgenstein. (2010, October 22). Tractatus Logico-
by tensions and disputes. These differences are not only Philosophicus, [Online]. Available: http://www.gutenberg.org
found on the level of phenomenological reading, but they [EBook #5740], P 6.432.
concern both the origin (“arche”) and the end (“telos”), for 3 L. Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, P 4.1122.
1 Ph. Fontaine, “Des frontières comme ligne de front : une 4 D. Lambert, Sciences et théologie: les figures d'un dialogue.
question d'intérieur et d'extérieur. Éléments de sociotopologie,” Namur: Presse Universitaire de Namur /Bruxelles: Lessius,
Cités, vol. 31, pp.120-122, 2007. 1999, pp.74-105.
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of correct and relevant communication of a theme in a field the requirement to keep the correctness of their scientific
directed to its adequate presentation and assimilation in meaning, is a form of explication. In this respect there are
another field is hereby called the explication of theme. constraints in the action of explication. Another example is
for instance the philosophical interpretation of theological
results. In order to be considered explication in the sense
proposed here, it cannot be so arbitrary as to violate certain
IV. Crossing The Frontier: Explanation/Explication theological meanings, it cannot be incorrect or unacceptable
As Conditions For A Possible Dialogue Between from a theological point of view, such as for instance the
Theology And Science violation of certain truths of the faith.
As regards the particularities of theological vs. scientific The theological explication implies the remodeling
language, the dialogue between them seems hindered and reinterpretation of certain results of the science in
precisely by the difficult access to these languages. In order agreement with the requirements of the theological field.
to unblock the dialogue, it is essential to distinguish between In the activity of explication, the stress falls on the target
explanation and explication. field of explication. If in the process of explication, or more
generally in our dialogues and proposed solutions we were
We can say, with its specific character as a discipline more sensitive not to our field but to the target field, the
charged with giving an account of faith, the concern of way of dialogue would not be a dead end. Metaphorically
theology could also be to justify and expound the relationship speaking, one must take care not to silence God by speaking
between theological language and scientific language. An about Him.
example is explication from religious language to scientific
language, relevant for an scientific approach, as well as There are interpretations of certain scientific results
the passage from scientific language to religious language, indifferent to their scientific value or significance, just as
important for conceptual clarifications in theology (for there are interpretations of theological results indifferent to
example: evolution / creationism). their theological value or significance. Such interpretations
are not associated with explication.
A. Explanation Example. The images of “man” as forms of theological
The following statement is a general and schematic vs. scientific explication are different, partly due to the
characterization of this context of explanation as an differences of explanation within these disciplines, and
approach: Explanation, whether scientific or otherwise, partly because of the differences of language in explication.
is in the first place an approach by which phenomena, What a theologian “sees” in a man is different from what a
events, etc. are correlated, meaning that certain events are biologist or a psychologist “sees”. What could be relevant for
considered the basis to make assertions about other events. a man of science from the theological image? And reversely,
(The answer to the question: “Why doesn’t the Moon fall what could be relevant for a theologian from the scientific
on Earth?” is an explanation and not an explication).It is image? The levels of explanation seem to be irreconcilable,
important to note that these correlations are inherently while the levels of explication look for a place of encounter
specific to the discipline where explanation happens, and do as long as the man of science faces existential problems and
not have the legitimacy to transgress this discipline to other the theologian goes to the doctor.
fields. Consequently, a scientific explanation in biology
belongs to this science exclusively and it is not legitimate, V. The Frontier As Passage: Anthropological And
for instance, in the field of theology. The restriction is also
valid interchangeably: the theological explanation is foreign Ethical Perspectives
from biology and must not be mixed up or overlapped with Can we find a way without conquests and wars5 in
scientific explanation. the relationship of theology and science? The concept
of frontier, limited to the aspect of difference, cannot tell
B. Explication what is happening between the parties. The anthropological
and ethical perspectives are those which can keep the
Let us start with an observation: explication is the autonomy of science and theology and at the same time
activity to clarify certain results (new or difficult) within open up to places of dialogue and common action. For
one discipline, in the particular language of that discipline. instance, the extraordinary development of bio-sciences,
In this sense it is closer to explanation. Explication is cognitive sciences, nano-science and information science
however also a complex cognitive activity aiming at target the improvement of human functions and abilities
the modeling and interpretation of certain results by the which could be repaired, transformed or enhanced. These
interdisciplinary transgression of disciplines on the level technologies (as are, for example, genetic surgery, human-
of language. In this sense it is closer to interpretation. Any machine hybrids, or human-computer interface) touch the
field of activity that creates a form of knowledge has its human body and identity and ask ethical questions about
own language. This specific cognitive activity of correct benefits and risks, such as how they are used, and what are
and relevant communication, of taking results from one the social, psychological and economic consequences of
specialized language into another is termed explication. these technologies. The requirements of scientific research
The role of interpretation in explication must once again be are increasingly oriented, and there comes a time when the
emphasized: it is the action which prevents the reduction of man of science cannot avoid moral questions, especially
explication to merely a form of popularizing the results of a
5 L. Chevalier, La frontière entre guerre et paix. Du signe au
discipline. For instance, the remodeling and reinterpretation
of results of biology in the field of theology, respecting sexe, le théâtre sacrificiel de l'homme. Paris: L'Harmattan,
2003, p.7.
- 151 -

the question of choice. Ethics is what lights these choices The frontier appears as an ethical space, a dynamic in-
and can become a place of dialogue and common action between, mutating between science and theology. In this
between theology and science. perspective there is no need to reject any of the approaches
– for we would have less regards on man, the world, and
An important observation must be made. Such an history – but to share them. Ethics, this function critical
explication also implies an ethic responsibility: truths cannot with humanization, appears as a common place of dialogue
remain half-said, there are things that cannot be silenced, between science and theology, which respects the autonomy
lied about, misinformed or manipulated by interpretations, of both8.
etc. A further warning must also be said: when explication
is nothing else than a mixture of languages, it may turn into
a source of transdisciplinary conflicts. Finally, any kind of References
discourse about science or faith must also be an ethical one. [1] Chevalier L. La frontière entre guerre et paix. Du signe au
And when we do not know what to do, we have to sexe, le théâtre sacrificiel de l’homme. Paris: L’Harmattan,
ask ourselves who we are. The anthropological question is 2003.
connected to the ethical one. How will the man of tomorrow [2] Lambert, D. Sciences et théologie: les figures d’un dialogue.
look like? Which are the frontiers we should not cross? Namur: Presse Universitaire de Namur /Bruxelles: Ed.
These questions concern both the theologian and the man Lessius, 1999.
of science. [3] Sibony, D. Entre-deux: l’origine en partage. Paris: Seuil,
1991.
VI. Conclusion [4] Wittgenstein, L. (2010, October 22) Tractatus Logico-
Philosophicus. Available: http://www.gutenberg.org, [EBook
The frontier seemed to make any unity an illusion,
#5740],
differentiating between the perspective of theology and
science. From this point of view the frontier is characterized [5] Philippe Fontaine, “Des frontières comme ligne de front:
by separation and division. The frontier permits the une question d’intérieur et d’extérieur. Éléments de
differentiation of languages as well as the distinction of the sociotopologie” [Borders as frontline: a question of inside
world of facts and the world of values (in a Wittgensteinian and outside. Elements of the sociotopology], Cités 31, no. 3
sense), of sciences (exact sciences) and theology. The (2007): 120-122 (translation by author).
clarification of languages of science and theology leads to [6] Gemignani, M. C. Elementary Topology (second ed.). New
the clarification of one’s own field of research. It lays the York: Dover Publications Inc., 1990.
basis of the time and space of an identity in relation with an [7] Einstein, A. Out of my later years. New-York: Philosophical
alterity, giving way to theology and science to find their own Library, 1950, p.21-30.
identity. Any confusion between theological and scientific
language would risk the loss of their identity and a blend of
fields of research. This is the risk of return to the same, to
undifferentiation.6
But the urgent matters are born on the frontier, on ill
separated fields. Even if the idea of difference is essential,
it is limited, since it does not take account of the huge
space between the parties, of this in-between. Cannot we
possibly approach the frontier differently? I have broadened
the concept of frontier in order to think of it as a meeting
place through which we can travel together. Explanation/
explication makes it possible for every discipline
(theological or scientific) to clarify its own field of research
in the first place, and then the other’s.
The objective of explication can be summarized in this
way: in the analysis of the explication, the criticism of forms
of explication it is necessary.
“We feel that even when all possible scientific questions
have been answered, the problems of life remain completely
untouched.”7 Placed between the origin and the end, the
frontier appears as a crossing, a passageway. It is only by
leaving this much needed origin that we can meet, explain,
understand the differences and demands that accompany it. 8 I keep distance from positions such as that of A. Einstein
Finally, this frontier is an in-between, a huge place where (A. Einstein, Out of my later years. New-York: Philosophical
the two sides are summoned to explain themselves by their Library, 1950, pp.21-30.), for whom reason has a "sacred" load,
origin, and to elaborate a passageway between the two sides. an almost absolute role. I tend to share Wittgenstein's position
This passage lies on an anthropological and ethical level. that logic and the truth criteria of empirical sciences are not
6 D. Sibony, Entre-deux: l'origine en partage. Paris: Seuil, 1991, "necessary conditions" of theological language, nor are they
p. 11. criteria of religious truth (the truth of faith).
7 L. Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, P 6.52.
- 152 -

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Proceedings of the Conferences on the Dialogue between

LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

The First Virtual International Conference on

Organized by the RCDST

held from 6 to 11 November, 2014

Publication Series: Dialogo

Conference Sponsors and Parteners

Research Center on the Di-

Maritime University of The Alexandru Ioan “Vasile Goldis”

The Institute for the Study of Christianity in an

Faculty of Educational Sciences Action-research in Contemporary Cul-

Conference Sponsors and Parteners

Faculty of Theology in Faculty of Orthodox Theology Faculty of Medicine in UOC,

International Scientific Committee, Reviewers and Contributors

Christoph STUECKELBERGER IPS Teodosie PETRESCU

International Scientific Committee, Reviewers and Contributors

Petru BORDEI Richard Willem GIJSBERS

Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN - SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME OFFICER

Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN

The image of the universe as a cultural choice

author) Documenti e Studi sulla Tradizione Filosofica Medievale, 1 (1990),

How Does God Act in the World?

The Anthropic Principle from a

Fr. Lect. Adrian Vasile, PhD

analyze the axiological system of different scientists who References

Golden Root Geometry Structuring the Polyhedra

[T,0,0],[0,T,0] and [0,1/T, 1/T^2], having as base, on the

B. Proposed New Interpretation:

F19 One of these two is the “Isosceles” Orthogonal

should result into alternating currents running within them.

Structures built upon the form of the two

Via the Golden Root Geometry we get relationships of

The Unique Hoyle State of the Carbon Atom

Keywords: Nucleosynthesis; Anthropic principle

Figure 2. The triple-alpha reaction, where three helium nuclei (He)

III. Triple- marvel

gateway. V. Hoyle’s design inference

VI. Discussion and Conclusion

Mathematical Language / Scientific

anything theological (as also it is not the image of anything

[1] Wittgenstein, Ludwig, ”Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus”,

Consciousness, Free Will, and Transformation

Pratibha Gramann Ph.D.

An Aristotelian Account of Evolution

Mariusz Tabaczek, O.P.

while no one would dream of attributing it to Spencer, B. The Problem of Species

References [19] Darwin, Charles. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin,

[40] Mayr, Ernst. “Teleological and Teleonomic: A New

Scientific Consensus, Public

Technology, & Human Values 35 (2010) 783-811. P4O.HTM

Quantum reality explains mystical

Darwinism in the Light of Orthodoxy:

prof. Gheorghe Istodor, PhD

III. Genetics approach of death in general

A. What is life span?

telomerase? If so, would that increase our risk of getting Conclusions

The Sacramental and Moral-Educational

Archimandrite Associate Professor Vasile Miron, PhD.