Clément Vidal
Biography
Clément Vidal is a research assistant at the Free University of Brussels (VUB, Belgium). He has a background in Philosophy, Mathematical Logic (master’s degrees at the University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, France) and Cognitive Sciences (MSc, EHESS/ENS/Paris5/Paris6, France). He has broad interdisciplinary interests in philosophy of science, complexity sciences, cognitive sciences, praxeology, etc. His current research at the transdisciplinary center Leo Apostel focuses on the problem of the origin of the universe and its natural laws and constants. In 2008, he co-founded with John Smart the “Evo Devo Universe” research community.
Research
In the last few decades, science and cosmology provided us great insights about our place in the universe. However, the scientific worldview strive to be value-free; we thus need to extend it to give a meaning to our lives. A broader philosophical worldview answering our existential questions is such an extension. This worldview will provide people a meaning of life, in harmony with past and future cosmic evolution.
Research Problems
How can we construct a consistant and comprehensive worldview, informed by recent insights in science and cosmology, answering fundamental philosophical questions:
- (1) What is? Ontology (model of the present);
- (2) Where does it all come from? Explanation (model of the past);
- (3) Where are we going? Prediction (model of the future);
- (4) What is good and what is evil? Axiology (theory of values);
- (5) How should we act? Praxeology (theory of actions);
- (6) What is true and what is false? Epistemology (theory of knowledge).
Bibliography
- Vidal, C. (2008) The Future of Scientific Simulations: from Artificial Life to Artificial Cosmogenesis. In Death And Anti-Death, Volume 6: Thirty Years After Kurt Gödel (1906-1978). In press., ed. Charles Tandy.
- Vidal, C. (2007) An Enduring Philosophical Agenda. Worldview Construction as a Philosophical Method. Submitted for publication.
Recommanded readings
- Chaisson, E.J. (2000) Cosmic Evolution: The Rise of Complexity in Nature, Harvard U. Press. ISBN 067400342X
- Chaisson, E.J. (2003) A Unifying Concept for Astrobiology, International Journal of Astrobiology, 2:91-101.
