The Quest for “La Sapienza”: Elaborations on Roy Bhaskar’s Critical Realism

During the last several decades, critical realism has proven to be a fruitful site of convergence fort those interested in the dialogue of science and religion. As a methodological framework, it aims at presenting an alternative to both poststructuralist and foundationalist modes of reasoning by conjoining a realist conception of reality with that of epistemic fallibilism implied in constructivist accounts of knowledge. In this paper, I will focus on selected key postulates of Roy Bhaskar’s critical realist perspective by briefly delineating their significance for the stated dialogue, including questions of theological methodology and ethical responsibility. The discussion itself will be placed against the backdrop of pope Benedict XVI’s controversial nonappearance at the “La Sapienza” University of Rome in 2008 and the controversy that subsequently ensued.