The highlight of the conference’s final day was the closing lecture by Francesc Torralba, professor of Ethics at Ramon Llull University, titled “Higher Education, Consciousness, and Reason in the Age of AI.” His presentation addressed the impact of artificial intelligence on university life and the need to rethink what is truly irreplaceable in the educational experience.
Torralba argued that technological transformation requires us to reexamine the university’s purpose, but does not eliminate its core mission. “We need to think deeply about the purpose—why we exist and how we can achieve that purpose,” he said during his speech. In his view, the university remains relevant precisely because the task of researching, teaching, and guiding students in their understanding of reality remains an open one.
The professor of ethics emphasized that artificial intelligence can provide answers, organize information, or perform certain tasks, but it cannot replace the human interaction that takes place in the classroom, during tutoring sessions, or in personal conversations. “Artificial intelligence provides answers, but it does not ask questions,” he stated. That is why, he added, the role of the university professor is not merely to convey content, but to “awaken consciences.”
Along those lines, Torralba urged the university to identify what no technology can replace: “We need to think deeply about where the human factor is essential. What is irreplaceable in our daily work, so that we can focus on that and delegate all those other tasks that a machine can perform—even with greater agility, precision, and speed than we can.”
His lecture concluded three days of reflection on Francisco de Vitoria, the School of Salamanca, and contemporary challenges facing academia, politics, law, the economy, human dignity, and artificial intelligence.
Three Days to Revitalize the Legacy of Francisco de Vitoria
The 7th Razón Abierta Conference was held to mark the 500th anniversary of Francisco de Vitoria’s appointment to the University of Salamanca. Over the course of three days, the conference featured more than 60 academic presentations and drew more than 230 registered attendees from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Spain, the United States, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, New Zealand, Peru, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.
The conference featured 66 accepted papers following review by the Scientific Committee and addressed issues such as natural law, human dignity, human rights, international law, just war, the limits of civil power, the economy, the mission of the Catholic university, evangelization in the university setting, and educational challenges posed by artificial intelligence.
The first day focused on Francisco de Vitoria as a teacher and on the role of the university professor today. Following the institutional opening, the programme the inaugural lecture by Marie Monnet, O.P., rector of Domuni Universitas, titled “Francisco de Vitoria, Light for an Uncertain World.” Roundtable discussions were also held on the unity of truth, the university in the 16th century and the university today, as well as on natural law, human dignity, and human rights.
At the opening ceremony, Daniel Sada, president of Francisco de Vitoria University, noted that Vitoria remains a key figure for reflecting on contemporary dilemmas from the perspective of human dignity. “Vitoria answered that yes, dignity is not a privilege reserved for those who resemble you, that rights cannot end where your culture ends, that there is something in every human being that no power can legitimately erase,” he stated.
The rector also emphasized that the conference was not “a list of academic topics,” but rather “a map of the questions the world is asking itself right now and that need to be answered properly.” On that map, he placed issues such as natural law, human dignity, rights and nature, just war, economics and justice, and education and conscience in the age of artificial intelligence.
The second day explored the legal, political, and economic traditions of the School of Salamanca. The programme the lecture “From Salamanca to The Hague: Hispanic Legal Tradition and International Law,” delivered by Benigno Pendás, president of the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, as well as panel discussions on the limits of civil power, just war, and the current challenges facing economic relations.
The conference brought together, among others, José María Beneyto, professor of International Law, European Law, and International Relations at the University of San Pablo CEU; Domingo González, professor at the School of Social Work at the University of Murcia; Jean-Paul Coujou, professor of Philosophy at the Institut Catholique de Toulouse; Enrique Bonete, professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Salamanca; Ángel Barahona, professor of Fundamental Theology at the UFV; Stefano Zamagni, professor of Political Economy at the University of Bologna; Pedro Schwartz, professor of the History of Economic Doctrines at the Complutense University of Madrid; Daniel Lacalle, professor of Global Economics at IE Business School; and Radek Tadeusz Biernacki, professor at the School of Economics and Business at Finis Terrae University.
The third day focused on the university’s mission, evangelization, and the question of conscience in today’s cultural context. The panel discussion “Missionary Ideals and the New Evangelization. Evangelizing at the University?” featured Fabrice Hadjadj, philosopher and director of the Incarnatus Est Institute; Armando Pego Puigbó, professor of Humanities at Ramon Llull University; and Alejandro Rodríguez de la Peña, professor of Medieval History at San Pablo CEU University. The discussion was moderated by Ángel Barahona, professor of Fundamental Theology at UFV.
A university committed to addressing the challenges of its time
At the closing ceremony, the conference director, Leopoldo Prieto, professor of Modern Philosophy at Francisco de Vitoria University, expressed his gratitude for the work carried out over more than a year and a half to make the event possible, and noted that the outcome of the conference “contributes to the pursuit of truth and to the love of truth among those who study it, as is the tradition at this university.”
In her closing remarks, María Lacalle emphasized that the university cannot be reduced to mere employability. “We are called to offer much more; we are called to create a truly transformative educational experience, a more humane science, and to influence the world,” she stated. As she noted, the university must “engage with the problems of its time and speak the truth, even when it is uncomfortable”—a task that Francisco de Vitoria embodied in his day and that continues to challenge professors, researchers, and academic institutions today.
With the conclusion of the 7th Razón Abierta Congress, Francisco de Vitoria University and the Razón Abierta Institute are reinforcing their commitment to a university capable of integrating science, philosophy, and theology to address the major issues of our time. The announcement of the new congress dedicated to Benedict XVI and the launch of the Razón Abierta Awards extend this commitment to international academic dialogue in the service of truth, human dignity, and the common good.
