"Science and religion find in the Philosophy a common ground where they can dialogue, confront their positions and reciprocally enhance their virtualities". This was stated by Juan Arana, Full Professor of the University of Seville, who today gave a lecture at the University of Navarra's IV Mariano Artigas Memorial Lecture The conference was entitled "La Philosophy en el diálogo ciencia-religión: una discusión a partir de la obra de Mariano Artigas" ( in the science-religion dialogue: a discussion based on the work of Mariano Artigas).

Professor Arana assured that "the Philosophy financial aid helps science to overcome the partiality of its approach and to pose questions from a perspective of totality". For its part, religion "at least Christian religion, finds in Philosophy the appropriate platform to show that its truth affects all facets of human existence and not just a few".

On why throughout history the Philosophy has not been taken into account to favor this dialogue and now it is, he explained that "the fault" has been partly the fault of the philosophers themselves, "when they renounced their charisma of keeping open all the fronts of knowledge from an integrating perspective". However, "the Philosophy is an essential activity and always ends up rising from its ashes," he said.

During the session, Professor Arana recalled that in the dialogue between the two disciplines "it is as difficult to point out the limits of science as the confines of religion". Hence the need for philosophical reflection. And he recalled that both he and his friend and colleague Mariano Artigas were convinced that if it were possible to collect all the theoretical statements that true religion and true science sponsor, "there would be a few that would appear on both lists".

He also pointed out that what is "decisive" is to know how many answers both parties would have to agree on in order to avoid any conflict, "to speak of harmony, even synergy".

The event was presided over by Icíar Astiasarán, Vice President de research

The Mariano Artigas Memorial Lecture, now in its fourth edition, was presided over by the Vice President of research Icíar Astiasarán. She was joined at the table by the director of the group Science, Reason and Faith' (CRYF) Javier Sánchez-Cañizares, and the secretary of group, Rubén Herce, both professors of the School Ecclesiastic of Philosophy

The group celebrates the Commemorative Lectures every two years, in honor of its founder Mariano Artigas, with the participation of personalities who have made relevant contributions in the context of the dialogue between science and faith. Since the beginning of the lessons have participated: in 2011, William Shea, professor of the Chair Galilean of History of Science at the University of Padua, Italy; in 2013, Karl Giberson, physicist, specialist in the discussion creationism-evolutionism; and in 2015, Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti, professor of theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome.