Dialectical Physics and eschatological theology

1. Entity type Lemma
2. Original titleΔιαλεκτική φυσική και εσχατολογική θεολογία.
3. Language term Greek, Modern (1453-)
4. lemma author Katsiampoura, Gianna
5. lemma category Orthodox theological tradition and practice > Eschatology - Modern physics :QM - History and philosophy of science - Various approaches to the problem of correlation between science and theology
6. Publication date 13-11-2017
7. lemma work Begzos, Marios [Author]. Dialectical physics and eschatological theology
8. lemma manifestations Dialectical physics and eschatological theology
9. Keywords Physics - Modern physics - physics and theology - Heisenberg, Werner Karl
10. Citations
    1. <p>Begzos, Marios, <em>Διαλεκτική φυσική και εσχατολογική θεολογία</em> (<em>Dialectical physics and eschatological theology</em>), PhD thesis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 1985</p>
11. Lemma body

    1. Marios Begzos, in this dissertation, deals with the contemporary philosophical dialogue between modern physics and Christian theology on the basis of the scientific work of Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976). The fundamental thesis is that the dialogue of physics and theology can take place as a kind of an encounter of the dialectics of nature with the eschatology of the Christian faith.

       In the modern natural philosophy, Begzos notices a shift from the dualistic ontology, as it is expressed in the Cartesian metaphysics and in the Newtonian physics, towards the dialectics of nature; at the same time, the Christian theology turned from the apologetics to the eschatology of the Christian faith. The turning point of both of them, i.e. of the philosophy of nature (sic) and of the philosophy of religion, makes possible, according to Begzos, a new, fresh and fruitful encounter between science and faith today.

       Begzos’ argument is that the two main scientific achievements of Werner Heisenberg, namely the principle of uncertainty and the unified field theory of elementary particles point out to a totally new epistemological and ontological situation. The principle of uncertainty means a profound revision in the subject of the objectivity of the determinism and of the hermeneutics. The unified field theory brings to light a profound revision in the metaphysical premises of the entirescience, in the sense that it means a shift from the individuality to the relationality, from the necessity to the possibility, and from the space to the time. On the other hand, the eschatological understanding of the Christian faith, which is the major feature of the Christian theology in the 20^th century in all Christian confessions and churches, means a turning point in the history of modern Christian philosophy of religion, because the eschatology emphasizes the shift from the individualistic to the personalistic understanding of the reality, from the necessity to the freedom, and from the Cosmos to history.

       Concluding, the writer’s opinion is that the coincidence of the three ontological priorities of the modern natural philosophy with that of the contemporary Christian philosophy of religion is a sign of the new situation in the faith-science dialogue today.