If life can arise from inorganic matter or if epigenetic processes open spaces of indeterminacy are questions that challenge biologists, philosophers, and theologians. The Second Interdisciplinary Research Week on Determinism and Indeterminism provided a forum for dialogue among more than 30 academics from national and international universities. Below, we offer the videos of the two keynote lectures that took place on August 4th and 5th.

Miguel de Asúa holds a doctorate in medicine (UBA) and history (University of Notre Dame) and is currently a professor at the University of San Martín. He opened the event with the lecture «Beyond Darwin.» During his presentation, he referred to the possible dialogue between Darwinian theory and the theology of creation. «Are Darwin and the Bible mutually exclusive terms in a dilemma?» Miguel de Asúa explores the vicissitudes of the idea of organic evolution in its relations with Christianity.

On the other hand, Professor Rafael Vicuña, with a doctorate in molecular biology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (New York) and a professor at the Catholic University of Chile, spoke about «The Origin of Life on Earth.» It is most likely, Dr. Vicuña states, that life emerged through a series of stages of increasing complexity, all of them following the laws of physics and chemistry. We have no idea how it may have happened, although we will surely be able to offer a plausible and widely accepted hypothesis in the future. Today, there are too many hypotheses, reflecting our current ignorance. In any case, such a hypothesis will not serve us to rule out or affirm the existence of a creator. Furthermore, we would be in the same situation even if we were to fully understand, from a material standpoint, the functioning of the universe and life.