Students and staff

Project results

Public events

  • First public lecture on Youtube. "Where do we come from? Where are we going? What does physics tell us about the origins of the universe, and is it compatible with what religion teaches?" From ancient times religions have offered their adherents narratives of the origins of the world. The Jewish and Christian traditions make especially concrete claims about the creation of the world. Beginning in the 20th century, physicists and astronomers have also been able to develop theories about the origins of the Universe that can be tested against observations. Were they surprised by what they found? Did it conform to what the Jewish and Christian traditions had taught? And what can we learn from this about the relationship of science and religion? The lecture took place on March 17, 2021 and is also available also on the LU TF Facebook page.
  • Second public lecture on Youtube. "The metaphysics of quantum mechanics". In this lecture Professor Vjačeslavs Kaščejevs of the Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Optometry endeavored to separate smoke from fire to view as clearly as possible the epistemological framework in which the laws of quantum mechanics were formulated. The empirically observed quantum intedeterminacy leads to ontological models (e.g., "hidden variables"), which are compatible with a large number of metaphysical conceptions. This conclusion is jarring in two ways: one the one hand, it seriously weakens the reductionist position of materialism and serves as a rich inspiration for many philosophical speculations; on the other hand it provokes many unfounded appeals to quantum physics in discussions of spiritual topics. The lecture took place on May 26, 2021 and is also available on the LU TF Facebook page.
  • Third public lecture on  Youtube. "Revelation as a lightning bolt from the sky". University of Latvia Theology Faculty docent and pastor Juris Cālītis discussed the importance of the concept of revelation in Christian theology. Why did there seem to be no interest in such a concept during the first six centuries of Christianity? And what has changed and why should we want to think about this question today? After the main lecture, there were responses by Lāsma Puķina-Slava, a Ph.D. student in the LU Department of Physics, Mathematics and Optometry, and from Father Ilmārs Tolstovs, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Lublin and the pastor of the catholic parish of Salaspils. The lecture took place on June 11, 2021 and is also available on the LU TF Facebook page.

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