On the concepts of time, space, vacuum and domain of investigation among contemporary physics, philosophy and theological reflection

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

School of Science and School of Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy. School of Medicine, Applied Technical Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.

Abstract

Contemporary theology is realizing the importance of integrating the knowledge of
modern/contemporary physics into the metaphysical and ontological categories used
to consider God and the God-world relationship. Time is a complex notion with
different meanings, characterized by a plurality of uses. The concept of time opens up
to broader conceptions than those of physics, mathematics and philosophy and reveals
that the human being, the earth and the cosmos are not the center of space or time.
The concepts of space, time and matter, to which the concept of vacuum is connected,
are of central importance in any modern physical theory, and particularly in the
theories of unification. It is being discovered that spacetime is absent at the most
fundamental level and only emerges at an appropriate limit. This emerging image of
time leads to new conceptual challenges that must be faced in parallel with
philosophy and theological research to achieve its correct understanding. It is a
comparison of the viewpoints of the three investigative domains concerned with
understanding the nature of consciousness, namely science, philosophy and
metaphysics. This thought process is connected to the intuitions of the contemplative
and mystical traditions

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Philosophical Theological Research
Volume 26, Issue 1
March 2024
Pages 47-66

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