Ongoing Research
The worldviews of transhumanism and the new spirituality (Mikael Stenmark)
The project aims to rationally reconstruct central beliefs and values in transhumanism and the so-called new spirituality. Both are relatively new expressions of a secular and a religious worldview, respectively. The project is part of a larger, more long-term inquiry that intends to identify the intellectual content of some religious and secular worldviews that appear to represent – from a philosophical perspective – ‘live options’ in contemporary Western society.
Religious and secular commitments after the turn to practice (Ulf Zackariasson)
Within the philosophy of religion, as in other disciplines in Religious Studies, there is a growing interest in lived religion and also lived secularity, i.e., how worldviews express themselves in people’s lives. The project examines what consequences a turn towards lived religiosity and secularity can have for how we philosophically articulate and respond to questions about rationality, criticism, and different forms of epistemic and existential justification of worldviews.
Within the framework of the interdisciplinary projects “Artificial intelligence, democracy, and human dignity” and “The artifical Public Servant” (Wallenberg Foundation), two philosophical sub-projects are conducted:
AI, consciousness, and free will (Oliver Li). The starting point for the sub-project is the philosophy of consciousness and the free will debate. A central question is what is required from a philosophical point of view for artificial intelligence (AI) to be considered conscious and in possession of free will and agency. Within the framework of the sub-project, possible ethical and worldview consequences for people because of their interaction with AI and how they perceive AI are also investigated. These consequences are linked, directly or indirectly, to issues of democracy, law, and human dignity.
Worldviews, narratives, and AI (Johan Eddebo)
The sub-project’s focus is primarily on philosophical aspects of AI, where, not least, the question of the metaphysical possibility of artificial subjectivity is central. Within the framework of the study, science-philosophical and political-theological questions connected to AI and technological development are also investigated, such as how myth formations and narratives of artificial intelligence and its role in society underpin political and economic power relations.
Rationality in the Flesh (Elena Kalmykova, European Research Council)
The purpose of the project is to critically examine established theories about rationality and irrationality. The hypothesis advanced is that we need to develop a more embodied theory of rationality to understand better people’s belief formation and behavioral dispositions. This hypothesis is tested by analyzing different instances of irrationality with positive and negative outcomes. Religious belief and behavior are also analyzed in light of this hypothesis of embodied rationality.
A thematic study of the role of imagination in the alchemical project (Ingrid Malm Lindberg)
The aim of the research project is to identify and philosophically analyze and evaluate the role of imagination in the emergence and development of alchemy in different time periods. The project relates to the discussion of potential interfaces and tensions between religion and science (reflected in the distinction between alchemy as a spiritual and a natural philosophical tradition). A central question to be investigated is e.g. the role of imagination in relation to an esoteric and an exoteric approach to knowledge. The theoretical framework of the project is drawn from both historical and modern philosophical research on imagination.
The Logic of Worldviews (Lauri Snellman, Academy of Finland)
The project investigates the logic of world-views. World-views are interpreted as systems of signs that offer a general interpretation of the world or some important field of human action or phenomena. World-views contain a symbolic system and a framework of values, function at different levels of interpretation and can be good responses to reality and the human condition. The project also investigates, how religious and metaphysical frameworks function as metatheories for scientific knowledge and how world-views and metaphysical categories are connected in interpretative practices.