INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Perception and Reality
An International Symposium on Epistemological Foundations, Consciousness, and Mathematical Structures
15–17 April 2025 | Villa Monastero, Varenna, Lake Como, Italy
Symposium Programme
1
Historical and Philosophical Foundations
Ancient Conceptions of Reality and Perception
09:00–10:30
Professor Emile Durand, DSc (Sorbonne University, Department of History of Philosophy)
- Plato (Presented by Dr. Gabriella Montinari) “Truth Beyond Phenomenal Experience: The Metaphysical Status of Forms in Platonic Epistemology”
- Patañjali (Presented by Professor Rajiv Malhotra) “Perception as Epistemological Veil: Yogic Methodologies of Consciousness”
- Zhuangzi (Presented by Dr. Li Weiming) “The Dream-Reality Dialectic: Phenomenological Paradoxes in Classical Daoist Epistemology”
Medieval and Renaissance Epistemological Frameworks
11:00–12:30
Professor Maria Rossi, PhD (University of Milan, Department of Theoretical Philosophy)
- Avicenna (Ibn Sina) (Presented by Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr) “Mental Construction and Objective Reality: Epistemological Foundations in Islamic Philosophical Tradition”
- Thomas Aquinas (Presented by Professor John F. Wippel) “Sensory Perception as Pathway to Transcendent Reality: The Thomistic Synthesis”
- Roger Bacon (Presented by Dr. Amanda Powers) “Mathematical Structures as Ontological Foundation: Proto-Scientific Epistemology in the 13th Century”
2
Modern Scientific Epistemology and Mathematical Structures
Mathematical Foundations of Knowledge (19th-20th Century)
09:00–10:30
Professor Jean-Luc Moreau, Docteur ès Sciences (École Normale Supérieure, Institute for Philosophy of Mathematics)
- Leopold Kronecker (Presented by Professor Jeremy Gray) “Die ganzen Zahlen hat der liebe Gott gemacht: Finitism and the Ontological Status of Mathematical Objects”
- David Hilbert (Presented by Professor W. Hugh Woodin) “Formal Axiomatic Systems as the Foundation of Mathematical Reality: Epistemological Implications”
- Kurt Gödel (Presented by Professor John W. Dawson, Jr.) “Truth Beyond Formal Provability: Implications for Mathematical Platonism and Epistemology”
Quantum Theoretical Frameworks and Consciousness
11:00–12:30
Professor Elena Moretti, PhD (ETH Zurich, Institute for Theoretical Physics)
- Werner Heisenberg (Presented by Professor Anton Zeilinger) “The Observer’s Role in Quantum Measurement: Epistemological Implications for Objective Reality”
- David Bohm (Presented by Professor Basil J. Hiley) “Undivided Wholeness and Implicate Order: Non-Cartesian Ontology in Quantum Theory”
- Sir Roger Penrose (Presented by Professor Stuart Hameroff) “Mathematical Structures as Bridges Between Consciousness and Physical Reality: The Orch-OR Hypothesis”
Computational Intelligence and Perceptual Epistemology
14:30–16:00
Professor Alessandro De Luca, PhD (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, AI Ethics and Philosophy)
- Alan Turing (Presented by Professor Andrew Hodges) “Machine Perception and Cognition: Computational Frameworks for Epistemology”
- Noam Chomsky (Presented by Professor Barbara Partee) “Mathematical Structures in Linguistic Cognition: Universal Grammar as Epistemological Framework”
- Professor Yoshua Bengio, PhD “Learning as Mathematical Law: Bayesian Foundations of Machine Perception and Epistemic Structures”
3
Contemporary Perspectives on Digital Reality and Consciousness
Virtual Reality and Ontological Frameworks
09:00–10:30
Professor Luca Bianchi, PhD (University of Bologna, Department of Philosophy of Technology)
- Dr. Jaron Lanier “Human Phenomenology in Digital Environments: Ontological and Ethical Implications”
- Professor Karen Barad, PhD “Agential Realism: Measurement as Reality-Constituting Practice in Quantum Epistemology”
- Professor N. Katherine Hayles, PhD “Posthuman Ontology: Reconfigured Cognition in Technological Environments”
Neuroscientific Approaches to Consciousness
11:00–12:30
Professor Sofia Conti, MD, PhD (Max Planck Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience)
- Francisco Varela (Presented by Professor Evan Thompson) “Consciousness as Emergent Phenomenon: Enactive Cognitive Science and Neurophenomenology”
- Professor Christof Koch, PhD “Consciousness as Fundamental Property: Integrated Information Theory and Panpsychist Implications”
- Gerald Edelman (Presented by Professor Giulio Tononi) “Dynamic Core Hypothesis: Neurobiological Foundations of Phenomenal Experience”
- Plato (Presented by Dr. Gabriella Montinari) “Truth Beyond Phenomenal Experience: The Metaphysical Status of Forms in Platonic Epistemology”
- Patañjali (Presented by Professor Rajiv Malhotra) “Perception as Epistemological Veil: Yogic Methodologies of Consciousness”
- Zhuangzi (Presented by Dr. Li Weiming) “The Dream-Reality Dialectic: Phenomenological Paradoxes in Classical Daoist Epistemology”
- Avicenna (Ibn Sina) (Presented by Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr) “Mental Construction and Objective Reality: Epistemological Foundations in Islamic Philosophical Tradition”
- Thomas Aquinas (Presented by Professor John F. Wippel) “Sensory Perception as Pathway to Transcendent Reality: The Thomistic Synthesis”
- Roger Bacon (Presented by Dr. Amanda Powers) “Mathematical Structures as Ontological Foundation: Proto-Scientific Epistemology in the 13th Century”
- Leopold Kronecker (Presented by Professor Jeremy Gray) “Die ganzen Zahlen hat der liebe Gott gemacht: Finitism and the Ontological Status of Mathematical Objects”
- David Hilbert (Presented by Professor W. Hugh Woodin) “Formal Axiomatic Systems as the Foundation of Mathematical Reality: Epistemological Implications”
- Kurt Gödel (Presented by Professor John W. Dawson, Jr.) “Truth Beyond Formal Provability: Implications for Mathematical Platonism and Epistemology”
- Werner Heisenberg (Presented by Professor Anton Zeilinger) “The Observer’s Role in Quantum Measurement: Epistemological Implications for Objective Reality”
- David Bohm (Presented by Professor Basil J. Hiley) “Undivided Wholeness and Implicate Order: Non-Cartesian Ontology in Quantum Theory”
- Sir Roger Penrose (Presented by Professor Stuart Hameroff) “Mathematical Structures as Bridges Between Consciousness and Physical Reality: The Orch-OR Hypothesis”
- Alan Turing (Presented by Professor Andrew Hodges) “Machine Perception and Cognition: Computational Frameworks for Epistemology”
- Noam Chomsky (Presented by Professor Barbara Partee) “Mathematical Structures in Linguistic Cognition: Universal Grammar as Epistemological Framework”
- Professor Yoshua Bengio, PhD “Learning as Mathematical Law: Bayesian Foundations of Machine Perception and Epistemic Structures”
- Dr. Jaron Lanier “Human Phenomenology in Digital Environments: Ontological and Ethical Implications”
- Professor Karen Barad, PhD “Agential Realism: Measurement as Reality-Constituting Practice in Quantum Epistemology”
- Professor N. Katherine Hayles, PhD “Posthuman Ontology: Reconfigured Cognition in Technological Environments”
- Francisco Varela (Presented by Professor Evan Thompson) “Consciousness as Emergent Phenomenon: Enactive Cognitive Science and Neurophenomenology”
- Professor Christof Koch, PhD “Consciousness as Fundamental Property: Integrated Information Theory and Panpsychist Implications”
- Gerald Edelman (Presented by Professor Giulio Tononi) “Dynamic Core Hypothesis: Neurobiological Foundations of Phenomenal Experience”
- Professor Max Tegmark, PhD “Mathematical Universe Hypothesis: Ontological Implications of Formal Structures”
- Professor Carlo Rovelli, PhD “Relational Quantum Mechanics: Reality as Interaction-Dependent Phenomenon”
- Professor Maryna Viazovska, PhD “Optimal Sphere Packing and Geometric Structures: Mathematical Foundations of Physical Reality”
Perception and Reality
An International Symposium on Epistemological Foundations, Consciousness, and Mathematical Structures
INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
15–17 April 2025 | Villa Monastero, Varenna, Lake Como, Italy
Symposium Programme
1
Historical and Philosophical Foundations
Ancient Conceptions of Reality and Perception
09:00–10:30
Professor Emile Durand, DSc (Sorbonne University, Department of History of Philosophy)
Medieval and Renaissance Epistemological Frameworks
11:00–12:30
Professor Maria Rossi, PhD (University of Milan, Department of Theoretical Philosophy)
2
Modern Scientific Epistemology and Mathematical Structures
Mathematical Foundations of Knowledge (19th-20th Century)
09:00–10:30
Professor Jean-Luc Moreau, Docteur ès Sciences (École Normale Supérieure, Institute for Philosophy of Mathematics)
Quantum Theoretical Frameworks and Consciousness
11:00–12:30
Professor Elena Moretti, PhD (ETH Zurich, Institute for Theoretical Physics)
Computational Intelligence and Perceptual Epistemology
14:30–16:00
Professor Alessandro De Luca, PhD (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, AI Ethics and Philosophy)
3
Contemporary Perspectives on Digital Reality and Consciousness
Virtual Reality and Ontological Frameworks
09:00–10:30
Professor Luca Bianchi, PhD (University of Bologna, Department of Philosophy of Technology)
Neuroscientific Approaches to Consciousness
11:00–12:30
Professor Sofia Conti, MD, PhD (Max Planck Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience)
Plenary Session: The Future of Reality—Converging Perspectives
14:30–16:00
Professor Nima Arkani-Hamed, PhD (Institute for Advanced Study, Mathematical Physics)