Dr Louis Caruana SJ
Biography
Dr. Louis Caruana SJ is Reader in Philosophy. He obtained a B.Sc. (Mathematics and Physics), from the University of Malta, an MA in Philosophy from Heythrop College, University of London, the STL from the Institut Supérieur de Philosophie et Théologie, Centre Sèvres, Paris, an M.Phil. and Ph.D. both from the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge. He was ordained priest in 1991. At present, he is also Adjunct Scholar at The Vatican Observatory (since 1997), and Member of the Editorial Board of European Journal for Philosophy of Religion (since 2009).
Louis Caruana’s previous service includes:
Visiting Fellow at the Center for the Philosophy of Religion, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA (2009)
Visiting Lecturer at Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing China (1998; 2000)
Visiting Lecturer at Arrupe College, Harare, Zimbabwe (2002; 2004)
External Examiner to the Department of Classics and Religious Studies, University of Zimbabwe (1997-2000).
Member of the Pontifical Gregorian University Library Council (2000-2005)
Philosophy Lecturer at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome (1996-2005)
Current teaching
At present, Louis teaches courses in metaphysics and philosophy of science, and is the MA Philosophy degree tutor. His main research is centered on how philosophy of science may relate to ethics, to philosophy of mind and to philosophy of religion.
Research interests
His current work is on: (1) evolutionary explanation and its impact on philosophy of religion; (2) naturalism and the concept of nature; (2) rational agreement and disagreement. Louis welcomes approaches for supervision from prospective PhD students who want to work in these areas.
Publications
Books
1. Science and Virtue: An Essay on the Impact of the Scientific Mentality on Moral Character, Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy (Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2006). More details
2. The Philosophical Basis of the Natural Sciences: an introduction (in Italian), (Roma: Pontificia Università Gregoriana, 2000).
3. Holism and the Understanding of Science: integrating the analytical, historical and sociological, Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy (Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2000). More details
Edited books
Darwin and Catholicism: The Past and Present Dynamics of a Cultural Encounter (Louis Caruana editor) (Continuum, October 2009). More details
Anorexia Nervosa, a multi-disciplinary approach: from biology to philosophy, edited by A. Mancini, S. Daini, L. Caruana (New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010). More details
Recent Papers
1) ‘Is Religion undermined by Evolutionary Arguments?’ European Journal for the Philosophy of Religion Vol. 2, No. 1 (May 2010).
2) ‘Somatic Semantics: anorexia and the nature of meaning’, in: Anorexia Nervosa, a multi-disciplinary approach: from biology to philosophy, edited by A. Mancini, S. Daini, L. Caruana (New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010).
3) ‘The Force of Counter-Evidence in Science and Religion’, International Philosophical Quarterly Vol. 49, No. 3, Issue 195 (September 2009).
4) ‘Darwinism, Mind and Society’ in: Darwin and Catholicism: The Past and Present Dynamics of a Cultural Encounter, (Louis Caruana editor) (Continuum, October 2009).
5) ‘The Jesuits and the quiet side of the Scientific Revolution’, in: Thomas Worcester, SJ (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Jesuits (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008).
6) ‘Science and Ethics: tracing parallels and contrasts between Science, Relativism and Utilitarianism’, Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia 62 (2006), pp. 119-36.
Other Work
‘Restoring the Person: towards a new Christian Humanism’: paper written for the international conference entitled “Networking Jesuit Higher Education for the Globalizing World: Shaping the Future for a Humane, Just, Sustainable Globe” (Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México, 22-25 April 2010).
‘Faith evolving’: paper presented at the Research Seminar of the Center for Philosophy of Religion, University of Notre Dame (13 November, 2009).
‘Darwin and the foundations of morality’: paper delivered at the 9th international symposium Echoes of Darwin, Institute of Humanities, Unisinos, São Leopoldo, Brazil, (9 – 12 September, 2009).
‘Darwin and Theology’: paper delivered at the Faculty of Theology, University of Malta (15 February, 2009).
‘The Evolution of Belief’: paper delivered at the Heythrop Philosophy Department Research Seminar (14 January, 2009).