The professor and director of the group 'Science, Reason and Faith' (CRYF) of the University of Navarra, Javier Sánchez Cañizares has obtained the award Razón Abierta in the category of research with his book Singular Universe. The second edition of the competition brought together around 200 researchers and teachers from more than 30 countries.

Professor Sánchez Cañizares, also researcher of group 'Mind-brain' of Institute for Culture and Society (ICS), offers in his work a basic starting point, rooted in science, from which to begin philosophical reflection on nature. He also justifies the use of an expanded reason as a necessity of the human knowledge .

He explains that his work "goes into the context of contemporary physics to point out the singularities that occur in our current knowledge of the universe". He adds that "the existence of these singularities points to a nature in which there are real novelties, such as the human phenomenon. Such singularities make plausible the consideration of cognitive and ethical dimensions to understand the world we inhabit".

The awards, organized by the Francisco de Vitoria University and the Vatican Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI Foundation, recognize and promote innovation in the scientific research and academic programs of those teachers or researchers who establish a dialogue between the science they study and Philosophy and theology. The ceremony of submission of the awards was held on Monday, September 24 in Rome, at the framework of the International Symposium Open Reason.

A trajectory focused on Theology and Science

Javier Sánchez Cañizares (Córdoba, 1970) holds a PhD in Physics from the Autonomous University of Madrid (1999) and a PhD in Theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome (2006). He has been professor teaching assistant in the department of Theoretical Physics of the Condensed subject of the Autonomous University of Madrid, Associate Professor of Moral Theology in the School of Theology of the University of Navarra and, at present, he is Professor in the School Ecclesiastical of Philosophy of this same institution.

He has published more than 60 articles from research in physics, Philosophy and theology. Among others, he has published the following books: The revelation of God in creation: the patristic references to Acts 17,16-34 (EUSC 2006); Human morality and paschal mystery. La esperanza del Hijo (EUNSA 2011); Razón y fe: la plenitud de la vida moral (EUNSA 2013); Naturaleza creativa (RIALP 2018), together with Javier Novo and Rubén Pereda. His main interests focus on the relationship between science and religion, the Philosophy of nature and the relevance of quantum mechanics for the understanding of the human singularity in the universe.