The Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (UFV) and the Vatican Foundation Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI have announced the winners of the 7th edition of the Open Reason Awards, an international initiative that promotes interdisciplinary research and teaching in light of Benedict XVI’s proposal of “open reason.”
The awards, endowed with €100,000, recognise works that deeply address anthropological, ethical, epistemological, and existential questions from an integrative approach between science, philosophy, and theology.
The official award ceremony will take place on 30 September 2025 at the Vatican.
“This award seeks to create a space to promote research and teaching that make a difference in the integral understanding of the human being and the world, as proposed by Benedict XVI’s concept of ‘open reason,’” says Daniel Sada, rector of the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria.
Awarded Projects
Teaching Category
- The Great Books Programme at the University of Navarra, by José María Torralba (University of Navarra). This programme, implemented in the Faculties of Law and Medicine, integrates the reading of classics from philosophy and literature as part of the curriculum. Through seminars and lectures, it fosters a sapiential education that brings specific sciences into dialogue with fundamental questions about the human being, truth, and meaning.
Research Category
- Body and Identity: A History of the Empty Self, by Angela Franks (St. John’s Seminary). A historical-philosophical overview of the concept of identity from antiquity to modernity, revealing how the loss of a transcendent foundation has generated a contemporary identity crisis.
- The Polycentric Republic: A Theory of Civil Order for Free and Diverse Societies, by David Thunder (University of Navarra). Proposes an alternative to the modern state based on a “polycentric republic,” in which various associations collaborate freely and pluralistically in building the common good.
- Thomistic Philosophy in the Face of Evolutionary Fact, by Juan Eduardo Carreño (University of the Andes). Offers a rigorous integration between biological evolution and Thomistic philosophy, proposing a methodological and conceptual framework that incorporates scientific contributions from a sapiential perspective.
Honourable Mentions
- Insolent Beauty. A Proposal for the Appreciation of Contemporary Art, by Pablo López Raso (Universidad Francisco de Vitoria). A defence of the aesthetic path as a means to the transcendent, recovering contemporary art’s ability to open up questions about meaning, identity, and truth.
- Augmented Education. Challenges of Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, by Santiago Bellomo (Universidad Austral). Critically analyses the impact of artificial intelligence on education and proposes a renewed pedagogy that integrates classical humanism with an open and critical reason.
The Jury
The jury for this edition was composed of internationally renowned experts in the fields of philosophy, theology, science, and education:
- Federico Lombardi, S.J., president of the Vatican Foundation Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI and former director of the Holy See Press Office.
- Daniel Sada, rector of the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria University (Spain).
- Marta Bertolaso, Professor of Philosophy of Science at Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome.
- Paolo Benanti, theologian, engineer, and expert in the ethics of technology, member of the Pontifical Academy for Life and advisor to the Vatican on artificial intelligence.
- Rafael Vicuña, PhD in Molecular Biology, professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
- Javier Prades, rector of the San Dámaso Ecclesiastical University and theologian, expert in the dialogue between faith and reason.
- Stefano Zamagni, economist, former president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and a leading figure in civil economy and integral human development.
The academic coordination of the process was carried out by the Open Reason Institute of the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, promoter of these awards, which is directed by María Lacalle, Vice-Rector for Faculty and Educational Model at the UFV.
This jury evaluated the projects based on their academic quality, originality, philosophical depth, and capacity to foster a genuine interdisciplinary dialogue among scientific, philosophical, and theological knowledge.
An Award with Global Impact
Since their creation, the Open Reason Awards have recognised more than 30 projects from 15 countries, establishing themselves as an international benchmark in promoting dialogue between science, the humanities, and theology. In this edition, 410 applications were received from 63 universities around the world.
Open Reason: The Foundation of UFV’s Educational Model
Open reason, as proposed by Benedict XVI, is a way of understanding knowledge that is not limited to the methods of empirical science, but opens itself to the great questions of the human being: who we are, what the meaning of our existence is, what is good, what is truth, what is our destiny. In contrast to a reduced reason that is exhausted in the technical, the measurable or the verifiable, open reason recognises the richness of philosophical thought, theological wisdom, and human experience as legitimate paths to truth.
In this sense, the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria articulates its entire educational model from this broad conception of reason. To educate from an open reason means to train competent professionals, yes, but also people capable of integrating technical knowledge with a sapiential perspective on reality, the person, and society. It means teaching to think deeply, to foster dialogue between disciplines, to integrate faith and reason, science and meaning, innovation and ethics.
This is why the Open Reason Awards are not only an international recognition, but also a coherent expression of UFV’s university mission: to promote a new humanism that connects knowledge with truth, ethical commitment, and transcendent meaning—foundational pillars for building an authentically human future.
More information on the winners and future editions:
www.ufv.es/instituto-razon-abierta
