A constructive elaboration of Leo Apostel's scientific metaphysics on the basis of his theory of causality, his systems theory and the concepts of symmetry and symmetry breaking.

Period 01-10-2001 to 30-09-2005
Type Postdoctoral Fellowship
Fellow Dr. Wim Christiaens
Funding agency Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)

My goal is to unify the core elements of Apostel’s metaphysics; i.e. his theory of causality, his systems theory and the concepts `symmetry’ and `symmetry breaking’, into a coherent and systematic set of theoretical principles. This will constitute an ontology which can be used as a basis for a worldview. This worldview will allows us to answer both metaphysical questions concerning for instance unity-plurality and determinism-freedom, as well as classical philosophical questions, e.g. “why is there something rather than nothing”, or “what is the meaning of life”. I will mainly consult Apostel’s earlier work on logic and epistemology, in particular his magnum opus `Matière et Form', and material related to Apostel’s metaphysics from other authors, e.g. Mario Bunge’s `Treatise on Basic Philosophy' and Alfred Whitehead’s `Process and Reality'.