Giuseppe LONGO

Laws of the Gods, Men and Nature

This project is above all a questioning with a long-term, fundamental objective: to discuss the meaning that the notion of law in biology has, or should have, taking as the departure point the Theory of Evolution and up to the sense given to it by modern and contemporary physics. In view of the role of paradigm which other disciplines attribute to the mathematised laws of physics, the economy of the equilibria of financial dynamics, not to mention the quantification of many social areas, it would seem that a reflection which stems from within natural sciences might also contribute to a better evaluation of the strengths and limits of these transfers.

A first theory: the notion of the physical law, which has dominated all references to “the laws of nature” for at least four centuries, is profoundly impregnated with religious metaphysics and juridical references which have not only shaped it, but given it legitimacy. Whilst anticipating an objective which could be falsified, we believe that the historical and metaphysical bias that is normally implicit and which weighs upon the notion of the law of nature and mainly, if not exclusively, involves the (“well-deserved”) hegemony of physico-mathematical theorisation, currently presents an obstacle to original thinking on the dynamics of the living. We will therefore attempt to carry out a thorough questioning on intelligibility and normativity within the framework of life sciences, going beyond the preconceived metaphysical notions which govern physico-mathematical intelligibility. From this perspective, we also hope to contribute to the debate taking place within the human sciences, particularly as regards their relationship to “laws” such as those put forward by natural sciences.

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Interview on Complexity, Information and Diversity in Science and in Democratie is available in English and Interview also available in italian.