In 2020, Universidad Austral selected 25 Austral-Templeton Scholars as the first cohort of the newly launched MA & PhD degrees in Philosophy and the Foundations of Science, as a step to develop a Spanish-speaking community working at the highest level on issues at the intersection of science, philosophy, and theology. These Scholars are expected to become major catalysts of more and better regional research on Science & the Big Questions.
Phase II seeks to continue the training of 23 Austral-Templeton Scholars in the final stage of their degrees, i.e., the research period leading to the writing of their dissertations (2023-2025). This project will involve 12 of them into 4 interdisciplinary research sub-projects led by Faculty Members at Austral University, and support 11 in an individual basis. After Phase II, these Scholars are expected to become major catalysts of more and better regional research on Science & the Big Questions.
These sub-projects, addressing issues pertaining to Science & the Big Questions, will provide them with the opportunity to be part of international research groups working for their theses in close collaboration with senior academics. The 4 selected sub-projects will be: 1) ‘The Philosophical Foundations of the Reciprocating Self’; 2) ‘Can Intellectual Wellness be an Essential Dimension of Human Flourishing?’; 3) ‘A Philosophical Pathway towards Ethical Realism (by) Facing Scientific Approaches’; and 4) ‘Providence and the Philosophy of Science. A Project on Science-Engaged Thomism’.
This project will, then, produce: a) 23 dissertations; b) 4 online research seminars; c) a methodology of research workshop; d) 70 conferences presentations; e) 45 paper manuscripts; f) 4 volumes; g) an in-person workshop; h) an Intellectual Wellness Scale.
By the end of Phase II, these scholars will have received their full training in interdisciplinary research, providing them with the capacity to develop research at their home institutions.
