Professor Daniel Esparza Olivero (Blanquerna Observatory, Ramon Llull University) participated in the International Conference on Nature, Religions, Science, and Technology co-organized by the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies of the University of Groningen, in the Netherlands, and by the Institute of Philosophical Studies, Science and Research Centre in Koper.

The conference, which took place on September 22 and 23, emphasized neglected areas that comprise the interdisciplinary field in which religion, science, and technology interact. This, by presenting original research, including scientific and technological perspectives on pantheism, animism, and paganism, especially (but not exclusively) in their «Western forms.» Lectures focusing on philosophical, theological, or written subjects from the discipline of religious studies (sociology of religion, anthropology of religion, history of ideas, and others) also had a place.

Dr. Esparza’s paper, To Forgive a Bull, explores the possible transhumanist aspects of the pardon granted to the bull in the bullfight, arguing that “The pardon granted to the bull is a kind of reverse sacrificial action in which man recognizes, if not his continuity with animal darkness, at least his being-at-the-limit of the boundary that separates (and therefore unites) animality and humanity.”