The paradox of knowledge: between ignorance and progress

With his famous “I know that I know nothing,” Socrates bequeathed to Western culture an unsurpassed lesson in epistemic prudence: the awareness of the limits of one’s own knowledge.

 

Such awareness is not an act of resignation, but rather an invitation to constantly transcend those very limits through research and innovation.

Throughout history, scientists, artists, and philosophers have drawn on this tension between ignorance and knowledge to achieve extraordinary goals.

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the dual nature of this paradox: on the one hand, the power of scientific progress; on the other, the fragility of a memory that too easily forgets the lessons of the past.  In what terms, then, can we interpret this double nature of ignorance?

On the one hand, it can serve as a stimulus for innovation and improvement; on the other, it can be the cause of fatal mistakes.  We live in an era characterized by a continuous flow of information.

But how much of what we receive can we truly understand?  The sheer quantity of data prevents us from analyzing it carefully, generating more doubts than certainties.

In this drift of knowledge, the generation of “boomers” is lost—formed with few data, much effort, and a strong critical spirit—while the “digital natives” flounder, unaccustomed to the doubts of reason.  In this scenario, Artificial Intelligence presents itself as a tool capable of processing and organizing such information, transforming it into knowledge.  Will AI succeed in bridging the gap between data and understanding—and offer us a knowledge that is more solid, coherent, and perhaps even more ethical?

PROGRAM OF THE DAY

 

9:30 – Introduction and institutional greetings

Moderators: Luigi Ripamonti, Maira Gironi

 

Knowing: Past and Future

9:40 – The tension toward knowledge: the classical world

Pietro Cappelletto

10:10 – The revolution of knowledge: Artificial Intelligence

Federico Esposti

 

Historical Knowledge

10:40 – The COVID syndemic: reality and conspiracy

Massimo Filippi

11:10 – The cost of denialism

Luigi Ripamonti

11:40 – Discussion

11:50 – Break

12:10 – Memory and innovation: the immune system

Roberto Furlan

12:40 – Loss of memory and loss of identity: dementia

Federica Agosta

13:10 – Discussion

13:20 – Lunch break

Moderators: Giovanna Forlanelli, Antonio Catalano

 

Unsolved Enigmas

14:00 – The emerging mind: how we make decisions

Gianvito Martino

14:30 – Mysteries and paradigms of archaeology

Maurizio Harari

15:00 – The mystery of consciousness

Simone Sarasso

15:30 – Can quantum mechanics reveal the human factor?

Antonio Smecca

16:00 – Community: an enigma between art and science

Francesco Valagussa

16:30 – Discussion

16:45 – Break

 

Misinformation and Social Drifts

17:00 – The loneliness of the hyperconnected individual

Claudio Mencacci

17:30 – “Abolescents”: increasingly detached from reality

Anna Lucia Ogliari

18:00 – Discussion and conclusions

SPEAKERS

 

Prof. Federica Agosta

Associate Professor of Neurology, Neuroimaging Unit,

Experimental Neurology Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University

 

Prof. Pietro Cappelletto

Classicist, PhD in Greek and Latin Philology,

Classical, Musical, and Coreutic High School “B. Zucchi”

 

Dr. Antonio Catalano

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Theoretical Philosophy,

Vita-Salute San Raffaele University

 

Eng. Federico Esposti, PhD

Director of Innovation and Development,

IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital

 

Prof. Massimo Filippi

Full Professor of Neurology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University;

Head of the Neurology Department, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital

 

Dr. Giovanna Forlanelli

President, Fondazione Luigi Rovati

 

Prof. Roberto Furlan

Head of the Neuroimmunology Unit;

President, International Society of Neuroimmunology

 

Dr. Maira Gironi

Clinical Neurologist; PhD in Experimental Neurobiology;

Researcher in Neuroimmunology, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital – SYNLAB Monza

 

Prof. Maurizio Harari

Former Full Professor of Etruscology and Italic Archaeology

and Director of the Department of Humanities, University of Pavia;

Ordinary Member, National Institute of Etruscan and Italic Studies

 

Prof. Gianvito Martino

Scientific Director, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital;

Full Professor of Applied Biology;

Vice Rector for Research and Third Mission, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University

 

Prof. Claudio Mencacci

Full Professor of Psychiatry;

Past President, Italian Society of Psychiatry;

Co-President, Italian Society of Neuropsychopharmacology

 

Prof. Anna Lucia Ogliari

Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University;

Head of the Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology Unit,

IRCCS San Raffaele Turro Hospital

 

Dr. Luigi Ripamonti

Senior Editor, Corriere della Sera;

Head of Corriere Salute

 

Prof. Simone Sarasso

Associate Professor of Human Physiology,

University of Milan

 

Dr. Antonio Smecca

Researcher, National Institute for Nuclear Physics – Rome Tre Section;

PhD in Theoretical Physics, University of Turin;

Former Researcher, Swansea University (UK)

 

Prof. Francesco Valagussa

Full Professor of Aesthetics,

Vita-Salute San Raffaele University