Dialogues at the Border Between Science and Philosophy

The seventh edition of ScienzaNuova, hosted as usual at the Akademie Meran venue from July 24 to 29, will feature some of Italy's most prestigious philosophers, physicists and intellectuals under the title Dialogues at the Limit. The "seminar of research and experimentation on the fundamental concepts of today's sciences" is curated by a scientific committee on that includes Gino Zaccaria, a theoretical philosopher at Bocconi and co-founder of ScienzaNuova along with Ivo De Gennaro, a moral philosopher at the University of Bolzano.

The title unites the two elements around which the event will revolve. The concept of limits, in fact, defines the human experience as a constant search for and exploration of one's boundaries. But this search cannot be pursued alone, and here is where the dimension of dialogue comes into play. Dialogue between like-minded people, certainly, but also dialogue among people with different areas of expertise as happens, for example, between physicists and philosophers, or between different schools of thought within the same discipline.

Among the topics that will be covered in this multidisciplinary context will be a discussion about artificial intelligence, dealing withethics and law. Artificial intelligence, which is much talked about, also has limitations that relate it not only to laws but also to human intelligence, which is itself multifaceted. It is therefore necessary to wonder whether artificial intelligence proposes a model of intelligence above others, and what that is.

"Even philosophers have occasionally overstepped the boundaries of their own expertise, it must be acknowledged," said Gino Zaccaria, "and in order to see and focus on one's real boundaries, a very rigorous reflection on the method of research is indispensable. I am glad to be able to see it in action on this occasion. We are in a period of great contrasts and profound changes; one of the ways to deal with all this is to create more and more opportunities for discussion and comparison among the various forms of knowledge. With a critical mindset, we can all work togetherto better understand the path our knowledge is taking."

The event is also made possible thanks to contributions from Fondazione Cariplo and Stiftung Sparkasse Bolzano.