Truth in Science and Religion:Balzan Symposium 2008

The question of the meaning of "truth" is central to many areas of contemporary debate, whether between those subscribing to a post-Enlightenment view of the world and those who seek fundamental truth in religious texts, or between those maintaining that there are absolute truths and those believing facts to be social constructs. For some, the ultimate truth is revealed through religious faith and textual authority. Can this view be reconciled with an evidence-based, materialist, post-Enlightenment perspective of the truth as embraced by the natural sciences? If religion holds the key to the truth, which religion and which truths? What is the attitude of the humanities to the meaning of truth?Truth in the sciences and the humanities as well as in religion and theology is the central theme of this book based on the proceedings of a conference organized by the International Balzan Foundation. It contains the speakers’ lectures, the corresponding reactions of the invited panel members as well as the general discussions. The reader can familiarize himself with views ranging from philosophy to religion, from mathematics, physics and cosmology to biological sciences, history, sociology and economics.The exceptional wide scope of the book, comprising arguments about truth in the sciences, the humanities as well as religion and theology together with the discussions between representatives of all these different fields, means that it is of interest to a professional as well as a general readership.

The Balzan Foundation is a high profile organization that has surrounded itself with a list of renowned and established scholars, among them Nobel Prize winners and nominees. They fund three annual prizes (one for literature, moral sciences and art; one for physics, mathematics, natural sciences and medicine; and one for humanities, peace and brotherhood amongst people) and organize a symposium (mainly attended by former prize winners) once every 4 years.The editor(s) for this volume are to be selected by Balzan and Springer.