On the Equality of All Things with Carlo Rovelli
Contemporary physics, and in particular quantum mechanics and general relativity, push us towards a profound revision of our understanding of reality that has vast philosophical implications. They push us towards a reading of the world constructed by processes and relations without entities having independent existence, metaphysical hard cuts (such as subjective/objective, matter/spirit, living/non-living), and towards giving up the idea of a preferred foundation. Eastern classical philosophy, such as that of Nagarjuna and Zhuang-zi (from which the title of this lecture is taken), together with Western philosophy, help us frame a worldview consistent with these recent advances in our understanding of the world.
Guest Speaker
Carlo Rovelli
Theoretical Physicist, Writer
Rovelli is known for his work on loop quantum gravity, on the nature of space and time, and on the relational interpretation of quantum theory. He has also worked on the history and philosophy of science. Born in Italy, Rovelli has worked in the United States, France and Canada. He is member of the Institute Universitaire de France, honorary professor at the Beijing Normal University, Honoris Causa Laureate of the Universidad de San Martin, Buenos Aires, member of the Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences. He is currently affiliated to the University of Aix-Marseille in France, the philosophy department of the Western Ontario University and the Perimeter Institute in Canada and is Fractal Faculty at the Santa Fe Institute for Complexity. Rovelli has been awarded the 1996 Xanthopoulos Award for “the best relativist under forty” and the 2024 Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing About Science. During the last decade, he has written global best sellers translated in more than fifty languages, including Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, The Order of Time, and Helgoland (on quantum theory). He has been included in the 2019 list of the 100 most influential “Global Thinkers” by Foreign Policy magazine and in the 2021 list of The World’s 50 Top Thinkers by Prospect magazine.
Moderator
Roger T. Ames
Humanities Chair Professor, Peking University
Co-Chair, Academic Advisory Council, Berggruen Research Center, Peking University
Professor Ames is the former editor-in-chief of Philosophy East & West and founding editor of China Review International. He has authored several influential works on Chinese philosophy, including Thinking Through Confucius (1987) and Human Becomings: Theorizing Persons for Confucian Role Ethics (2020). His translations of Chinese classics include The Art of Warfare (1993), The Confucian Analects (1998), and The Daodejing (2003). His work has been widely translated into Chinese, including his recent Sourcebook in Classical Confucian Philosophy (2022).
About The Berggruen Institute
About The Berggruen Institute
About The Berggruen Institute
About The Berggruen Institute
About The Berggruen Institute
About The Berggruen Institute
About The Berggruen Institute
About The Berggruen Institute
About The Berggruen Institute
About The Berggruen Institute
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