A primeval desire to understand the cosmos has existed since antiquity and some of the mysteries of the early Universe and its evolution have been revealed as scientific knowledge and philosophical understanding have developed over the millennia. This conference will consider the profound questions that lie at the intersection of cosmology, metaphysics and epistemology - it will seek to scrutinise the origins of the Universe and theories on the cosmos and its evolution as well as the methodologies and models used to comprehend these.
Registration to attend this conference is free but booking is required to attend the conference either in person or online as below.
IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE INCLUDING THE CONFERENCE DINNER:
MORNING CHAIR: Dr Francine Baker (The Open University)
10.30 am WELCOME
10.40 am Dr Adam Mosley (Swansea University) - Cosmological Questions from Antiquity to the Renaissance [VIDEO]
11.30 am Professor Alastair Wilson (University of Leeds) - Explaining the Big Bang [VIDEO]
12.20 pm Professor Alastair Wilson (University of Leeds) - Does Fine-tuning Support the Existence of a Multiverse? [VIDEO]
1.15 pm LUNCH BREAK
AFTERNOON CHAIR: Dr Marina Debattista (University of Oxford)
2.15 pm Dr Matt Farr (University of Cambridge) - From Time to Spacetime to No Time: The Philosophy of Relativity Theory [VIDEO]
3.05 pm Professor Cora Uhlemann (Bielefeld University) - Testing Cosmological Models with Large Sky Surveys and Cosmic Variance [VIDEO]
4 pm TEA/COFFEE BREAK
4.30 pm SUMMARY OF THE DAY'S PROCEEDINGS - Professor Carlos Frenk CBE FRS (Durham University) [VIDEO]
There will be a special conference dinner at St Cross College in the evening following the end of the conference with an after-dinner talk by Professor Michael Rowan-Robinson (Imperial College, London) on Shakespeare's cosmology.
