The Philosophical Yearbook of the University of Navarra has published its second issue of 2013. This special issue, entitled “The Debate on Determinism: New Perspectives from Contemporary Science,” examines the fascinating contemporary discussion between determinism and indeterminism in various fields. The volume is co-edited by Professor Claudia Vanney, PhD in Physics from the University of Buenos Aires and PhD in Philosophy from the University of Navarra, whose background combines key elements for dialogue between philosophy and science.

The question of determinism is highly relevant today, after a century in which scientific discoveries have challenged fundamental and diverse concepts such as human freedom, the very internal structure of nature, and the origin of species, among others. Therefore, rigorous and in-depth reflection is essential to avoid confusion. As the editor points out, “it is necessary to correctly differentiate between epistemological, ontological, and methodological levels (…) and thus adequately address the recurring problem of reductionism.”

This issue includes a total of six articles (five in Spanish and one in English), which address the topic from the perspectives of quantum decoherence (Sebastian Fortin, Buenos Aires), the notion of possibility in contemporary physics (Olimpia Lombardi and Mariana Córdoba, Buenos Aires), neo-Aristotelian teleology (Andrew Pinsent, Oxford), systemic perspectives in biology (Marta Bertolaso, Rome), freedom (Juan José Sanguineti, Rome) and divine providence (Ignacio Silva, Oxford).

Also included is the In Memoriam of Professor Leonardo Polo by his student Fernando Múgica, who describes him as a true master, both as a philosopher for his thought and as a person for his care and attention to students and colleagues in the philosophy department, for which he did so much from its earliest years. Finally, the volume concludes with fourteen reviews of recently published works.