On October 15, 2013, Dr. Andrew Pinsent visited the University Campus and gave a lecture entitled “The Second Person Perspective: Philosophy and Cognitive Sciences in Dialogue,” organized by the Institute of Philosophy and the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, with the participation of teachers and researchers from both academic units.

The discussion addressed the notion of "person," which, although it has an ethical connotation in modern Western philosophy, has a perhaps forgotten terminological origin in theology, which coined it to explain the Holy Trinity. The notion of person was crucial for recognizing human dignity, and Thomas Aquinas emphasized the essential nature of the person in relation to others.

Centuries later, Martin Buber was the first to speak of the so-called “second-person perspective”: an encounter between two minds that share attention to something. Current research in cognitive science has recognized the importance of this approach, opening new horizons for dialogue between science, philosophy, and theology.

Andrew Pinsent is Director of Research at the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion, University of Oxford, a Research Fellow at Harris Manchester College, and a member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at Oxford. He holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Oxford (UK), a Licentiate in Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome), and a PhD in Philosophy from Saint Louis University (USA).