The Bible or Experience: Two Sources of Natural Knowledge in Early Modern Europe

The conference is aimed at interrelationships of science, philosophy and religion in the Early Modern Age. It concentrates above all on convergences and divergences between religious and philosophical/scientific interpretation of nature in the 16th and 17th century. Yet in the 16th century there was a widespread belief that the Bible and natural philosophy are in concord. During the 17th century this strong belief was gradually losing its strength. The conference wants to express causes of not only refusal of the Bible as an epistemological authority in interpreting nature, but also efforts to preserve the authority of Bible (“mosaic physics” etc.). Papers should be thematically focused on the biblical hermeneutics in relation to investigation of nature; the theological conditions of natural philosophy; the religious consequences of the development of scientific knowledge; conflicts between religious and philosophical reflection of nature; efforts to harmonize or separate natural philosophy and religion; the problem of Adam’s knowledge etc. Papers focused on interpretation, criticism and support of contemporary interpretative strategies of the relation between the Bible and Nature in the Early Modern Age (for example hypotheses of Peter Harrison) are welcome.

SPECIAL GUESTS:

Doz. Mag. Dr. Sergius Kodera (Universität Wien)

Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Schmidt-Biggemann (Freie Universität Berlin)

Doc. dr. Matjaž Vesel (Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti, Ljubljana)