Dr. Stefano Bigliardi
Stefano completed his undergraduate studies in Philosophy (2004) in Bologna, with a thesis about the Kantian elements in the philosophy of language of R. B. Brandom, written under the guidance of prof. E. Picardi. Later on, he obtained a PhD in Philosophy of Science (2008) at the University of Bologna in a joint supervision with the University of Konstanz (Germany), with a thesis about the concept of belief, written under the guidance of prof. M. C. Galavotti and prof. W. Spohn,– leading European experts in the fields of probability and formal epistemology, respectively.
His postdoctoral research complements a Western/analytical philosophical outlook with the study of Islam and of the science/religion relationship.
His postdoc project was initially supported by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Konstanz (Excellence Cluster EXC-16 “The Cultural Foundations of Integration”), where he also worked as a language teacher for five years at the Language Institute (SLI). He later joined the faculty of CMES at Lund University, Sweden where he served as a researcher and a lecturer. (2011-2013). He has been working Tecnológico de Monterrey (Campus Santa Fe, Mexico City) as a philosophy teacher (2013-2015). Between 2015 and 2016 he was a Fellow of FIIRD (Foundation for Interreligious and Intercultural Research and Dialogue), Geneva, Switzerland. Since August 2016 he is an assistant professor of philosophy at AUI.
Research interests and expertise
Religion and science/religion and pseudoscience (with a focus on contemporary Islam and new religious movements)
Publications
Peer-Reviwed Articles
“Santo Daime Narratives in Italy: Walter Menozzi, Stella Azzurra, and the Conceptualization of Ayahuasca and Science” accepted by Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review, April 11, 2017.
“On an Anomalous Piece of Scientology Ephemera: The Booklet Scientology and the Bible” Temenos - The Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion, 53 (1), 2017, 113–142.
“A Gentleman’s Joyous Esotericism: Jean Sendy Above and Beyond the ‘Ancient Aliens’” Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review, 8 (1), 2017, 1-35.
“The ‘Scientific Miracle of the Qur’ān,’ Pseudoscience, and Conspiracism. Analogies, Overlaps, and Alternatives” Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, 52 (1), 2017, 146-171.
“New Religious Movements, Technology, and Science: The Conceptualization of the E-Meter in Scientology Teachings” Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 51 (3), 2016, 661–683.
“Si muere el Hijo de la Santa Muerte. The Symbolic Codification of Comandante Pantera’s Death at the Temple in Tultitlán (Mexico)” Studi Tanatologici - Thanatological Studies –Études Thanatologiques, 8, 2015/2016, 70-91.
“La Santa Muerte and Her Interventions in Human Affairs: A Theological Discussion” Sophia - International Journal of Philosophy and Traditions, 55 (3), 2016, 303-323.
“From Contactee to Prophet: The Evolution of Jean Miguères’s Self-Narrative” Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review 7 (1), 2016, 23-51.
“Secret Cousins: Analogies of the Construction of Religious Authority through ‘Science’ in Maurice Bucaille and Claude Vorilhon (alias Raël)” Nova Religio - The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, 20 (2), 2016, 34-58.
“What Would Ron Choose from the Islamic Basket? Notes on Scientology’s Construction of Islam” Temenos – Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion, 51 (1), 2015, 95-121.
“New Religious Movements and Science: Rael’s Progressive Patronizing Parasitism” Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, 50 (1), 2015, 64-83.
“Thinking Muhammad Legenhausen’s Non-Reductive Pluralism Through: Some Reflections about its Implications” International Journal of Islamic Thought. 6, 2014, 71-78.
“Testing Latour’s App: A User’s Guide” Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, 49 (4), 2014, 890–903.
“Stenmark’s Multidimensional Model and the Contemporary Debate on Islam and Science” Theology and Science 12, 2014, 8-29.
“Who’s Afraid of Theoscientography? An Interpretative Hypothesis on Harun Yahya” Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science. 49 (1), 2014, 66–80.
“Above Analysis and Amazement: Some Contemporary Muslim Characterizations of ‘Miracle’ and Their Interpretation” Sophia - International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, Metaphysical Theology and Ethics 53 (1), 2014, 113-129.
“Some Characterizations of ‘Miracle’ According to Muslim Authors: Sketch of an Interpretation on the Footprints of S. H. Nasr and J. Hick” Philosophy, Culture, and Traditions, 9, 2013, 97-118.
“The Contemporary Debate on the Harmony between Islam and Science: Emergence and Challenges of a New Generation” Social Epistemology, 28 (2), 2014, 167-186.
"The Interpretation of Miracles according to Mutahhari and Golshani: Comparative and Critical Notes” Journal of Shi’a Islamic Studies 6 (3), 2013, 261-288.
“Barbour’s Typologies and the Contemporary Debate on Islam and Science” Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 47 (3), 2012, 501-519.
“The Strange Case of Dr. Bucaille. Notes for a Re-Examination” The Muslim World, 102 (2), 2012, 248-263.
“Snakes from Staves? Science, Scriptures and the Supernatural in Maurice Bucaille” Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 46 (4), 2011, 793-805.
“Leggi dell’epistemologo e leggi dello scienziato: Wolfgang Spohn e la teoria delle funzioni di grado” Rivista di filosofia 1, 2010, 57-80.
Monograph
2014. Islam and the Quest for Modern Science. Conversations with Adnan Oktar, Mehdi Golshani, M. Basil Altaie, Zaghloul El-Naggar, Bruno Guiderdoni, and Nidhal Guessoum. Foreword by Leif Stenberg. Istanbul: Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul (Transaction Series, peer-reviewed).
Course Taught
Philosophical Thought
History of Ideas
Contact information
School of Humanities and Social Sciences |
Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane
