NEW LARGE RESEARCH GROUP CLEA-CLPS
From 2024, the VUB research centres CLEA and CLPS (the Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science) have been integrated into a large research group, called CLEA. Prof. Karen François is appointed head of the group (director), Prof. Francis Heylighen is the contact person for research (research director). You can consult the new directors team here. For the time being, both CLEA and CLEA-CLPS will continue to communicate through their existing websites and communication channels.
DEEP INTERDISCIPLINARITY
The Centre Leo Apostel (CLEA) is a transdisciplinary, interfaculty research centre at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). CLEA’s mission is to bridge the different scientific, social and cultural disciplines. It was founded in 1995 under the impulse of the Belgian philosopher Leo Apostel (1925-1995). He formulated the goal of CLEA as the integration of the different disciplines into a coherent worldview, so as to counteract the current fragmentation into ever more specialized approaches. Next to worldviews, our research addresses fundamental interdisciplinary issues, including complexity, systems, evolution, quantum entanglement, cognition, artscience and well-being.
We call our research philosophy "thinking beyond boundaries". Thanks to this philosophy, CLEA has attracted and trained a large number of talented researchers from the humanities, social sciences, physical sciences and engineering, representing countries from across the globe. CLEA is now internationally recognized as a unique, transdisciplinary research centre with a steady output of high-level, innovative publications.
Next to our research, we offer diverse educational programs and activities, including an interdisciplinary PhD, the School of Thinking postgraduate, courses, and public seminars and lecture series.
Upcoming events
- Practical info-
CLEA SEMINAR. Second Renaissance: A Time Between Worlds - by Rufus Pollock & Life Itself
The period between the decline of an old regime and the rising of a new way of life offers a space of both risk and opportunity. How do we present what is happening and some key ideas of this “space" in an accessible way, also to people not yet "in the space"? In this talk, Rufus Pollock and the Life Itself Research Collective will present the concept of a Second Renaissance and explore what's needed for a radical transformation. For more info, please click the title. - Practical info-
CLEA-CLPS SEMINAR. Ancient Wisdom in Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica - by Stephen Snobelen
While Isaac Newton is widely celebrated for his contributions to physics and mathematics, he also wrote extensively on religious and theological matters. In this seminar, Stephen Snobelen will explore two manuscripts - Newton's Classical Scholia and General Scholium - to gain a deeper understanding of Newton's worldview and the connections he perceived between science and religion. For more info, please click the title.
News
CLEA at Science Week 2024, Morocco
CLEA director Francis Heylighen and researcher Shima Beigi are invited to speak at the Science Week in Morocco from 12 - 16 February, organised by the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P).Highlights of CLEA in California for the noosphere's 100th anniversary
In 2023, CLEA travelled to California to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the noosphere, the "sphere of thought" enveloping the Earth. We have compiled the conference's highlights to give you a better grip on the noosphere. For more info, click the title.Review of CLEA lectures at the Universities of Oxford and the Philippines
In January 2024, CLEA researchers Tomas Veloz and Stefan Leijnen were invited to speak at the conference “Causal Cognition in Humans and Machines” at the University of Oxford. The gathering was organized by Quantinuum where former CLEA member Prof.