Call for Proposals & Applications: The Philosophy and Theology of Intellectual Humility Project
Call for Proposals and Applications:
The Philosophy and Theology of Intellectual Humility Project at Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University announces a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation to explore the subject of intellectual humility. The project will focus on a variety of philosophical and theological issues relevant to the topic of intellectual humility, including: virtue epistemology; regulative epistemology; peer disagreement; intellectual humility, intellectual autonomy and deference to authority; religious pluralism; divine hiddenness; intellectual humility and theological method; biases, heuristics, dual-process theories and evolution; intersubjectivity and mind reading.
This project will fund a variety of activities, including a competition for up to 16 research grants in philosophy and theology, for research between June 2014 to May 2015.
Additional funding opportunities include:
- Two one-semester visiting faculty research fellowships at SLU, for one term in the 2014-15 academic year.
- Four one-year postdoctoral fellowships at SLU for the 2014-15 academic year.
- Four one-year dissertation research fellowships at SLU for the 2014-15 academic year.
- Five external cluster groups: interdisciplinary discussion/reading groups for regular conversation on the topic of intellectual humility during the 2014-15 academic year.
- Summer Seminar on Intellectual Humility, for 10 to 12 advanced graduate students and junior faculty (no more than 10 years past the Ph.D.) in philosophy and theology, to be held in Los Angeles, CA in the summer of 2015.
For more information on these funding opportunities, together with instructions for submitting proposals and applications, please visit The Philosophy and Theology of Intellectual Humility website at Saint Louis University.
The Philosophy and Theology of Intellectual Humility project complements the activities and research occurring under Templeton’s Science of Intellectual Humility project at the Fuller Graduate School of Psychology.
The project is directed by John Greco and Eleonore Stump, both at the Philosophy Department at Saint Louis University.
Questions should be directed to: humility@slu.edu
More information can be found here: http://www.slu.edu/department-of-philosophy/intellectual-humility
The Radiance of Being, by Stratford Caldecott
The Radiance of Being: Dimensions of Cosmic Christianity, by Stratford Caldecott, with a Foreword by Adrian Walker (Angelico Press, 2013. [Purchase UK | Purchase US]
Blurbs:
“Stratford Caldecott is a great English visionary and a man of supreme courage. In short compass, this profound book, like no other, points the way forward for theology.”—Catherine Pickstock, author of After Writing
“This wonderful new book is truly prophetic. It demonstrates the need for a renewed openness to the diversity of spiritual forces actually operating in the cosmos; a sense that all creatures must be supernaturally restored by grace in order to be again themselves, and in order that God may be God, as He eternally is. Stratford Caldecott here proves himself the supreme contemporary thinker of such mystery and such paradox.”—John Milbank, author of Theology and Social Theory
“Stratford Caldecott’s new book is an outstanding achievement and a major contribution to the serious Catholic literature of our time. One wonders how the author could cover a spectrum of topics ranging from quantum physics to the theology of angels and do so with conspicuous mastery.”—Wolfgang Smith, author of The Quantum Enigma and Science & Myth
“Stratford Caldecott’s latest book is a true adventure of both mind and soul. A call to truth, to beauty, and to the good, this is an exceptional piece of work—every other page introduces or reacquaints one with profundity and all its possibility. Highly recommended!”—Conor Cunningham, author of Darwin’s Pious Idea
“The Radiance of Being is a beautiful collection of essays. Caldecott offers his readers a theological cosmology that includes reflections on God, time and eternity, human persons, angels, and even a ‘theology of animals.’”—Tracey Rowland, Dean, John Paul II Institute for Marriage & Family
“Faithfully Catholic, Caldecott is characteristically clear as well as generous in his judgments. This is a wonderful book by an agile thinker on a theme of great importance.”—David L. Schindler, Editor, Communio: International Catholic Review
“The author of The Radiance of Being is one of the most important living exponents of Catholic metaphysics”—Adrian Walker (from the Foreword)
STRATFORD CALDECOTT is the G. K. Chesterton Research Fellow at St Benet’s Hall, Oxford, and the author most recently of two books on education—Beauty for Truth’s Sake and Beauty in the Word. He is on the editorial boards of several international journals, including Second Spring and Communio, and frequently writes and lectures on issues of faith and culture. See www.secondspring.co.uk.
Free Conference on Islam and Higher Education
FREE CONFERENCE ON ISLAM and HIGHER EDUCATION — Places Now Available
Registration now open – Academic Conference
Collaborative partnerships between universities and Muslim institutions: dismantling the roadblocks
Funded by Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
http://www.derby.ac.uk/
23rd May 2013, Senate House, London
(in collaboration with Human Rights Consortium, University of London )
27th June 2013, Birmingham University, Birmingham
(in collaboration with Centre for Islamic and Middle East studies, University of Birmingham)
Registration is now open for two conferences that are being organised as part of an ESRC funded follow-on project exploring Collaborative Partnerships between universities and Muslim institutions. This project builds on previous research around Muslim faith leadership, Islamic Studies in pluralist British contexts, women’s education and learning Arabic. Our research findings indicate that it is possible to address these issues at higher education level, focusing particularly on ways to forge a more cohesive society for Muslims and other Britons. This work will bring together Islamic Studies academics, scholars and practitioners (including professionals who may have aspects of Islamic studies in their work) to facilitate increased collaborative partnerships and linkages between UK universities and Muslim institutions, and is aimed both at academia and Muslim communities. Papers presented will explore various aspects of Islamic education at the HE (Higher Education) and FE (Further Education) levels, both in validated and non-validated sectors in Britain and beyond, across the following themes:
- Islamic Education for cohesion, pluralism and inter-faith dialogue
- Collaborative educational models in the UK and beyond
- Barriers to collaborative partnerships and possible solutions
- International and local best practice
- Approaches to theological training in other faiths
- Teaching and learning Arabic
Information about programme and speakers to follow shortly!
To register for your place please visit - http://www.derby.ac.uk/
For further details please visit our website - http://www.derby.ac.uk/
Now available: The Unknown God: Sermons Responding to the New Atheists
Now available from Wipf & Stock: The Unknown God: Sermons Responding to the New Atheism, edited by John Hughes and with a foreword by the Rt Rev & Rt Hon Richard Chartres. [Order directly from Wipf & Stock here]
Contributors to this volume:
- Terry Eagleton
- David Fergusson
- Timothy Jenkins
- Conor Cunningham
- Alister McGrath
- John Hughes
- John Cornwell
- Tina Beattie
- David Bentley Hart
Book description:
What is the so-called New Atheism? The first decade of the twenty-first century has witnessed a cluster of authors who have attained public notoriety through their mockery of religion and their popularizing of atheism. How should Christians and other believers understand and respond to this aggressive attack on their faith? In this collection of sermons, leading academic theologians and philosophers who have written about the New Atheists seek to sum up their thinking and help us make sense of this contemporary phenomenon—and offer a richer and more sophisticated account of what belief in God is really about.
Blurbs:
“New Atheists often appeal to reason, as if it were a divine name. The irony is their attempts to pit reason against religion are often charged with irrational vitriol, as well as philosophical and theological naïveté. What is the best Christian response? These nine intellectually dazzling sermons speak clearly and charitably to all those who say in their heart ‘God does not exist.’ A stellar collection!” —C. C. Pecknold, The Catholic University of America
“The New Atheists applaud science and berate religion, but the science they uphold is unrecognizable to most scientists and the religion they berate is unrecognizable to most Christians. In this absorbing and measured collection some leading contemporary Christian voices take the New Atheist challenge as a stimulus to the renewal of theology and the church. One is almost grateful to the New Atheists for provoking such lively thought as this.” —Samuel Wells, King’s College, London
“We enter the pub and there in the backroom are loud conversation and conviviality. Relaxing around a beer-stained table are all nine [contributors], faces wreathed with smiles. . . . John Hughes quickly observes, ‘The thing that particularly characterizes the New Atheists is what we might call their Anglo-Saxon temperament.’ David Bentley Hart comments, ‘Nietzsche’s aphoristic lightning bolts have been replaced by the insipid bromides of Richard Dawkins, who sells atheism as one might a line of Tupperware.’ The room rocks with laughter and we sit down, anxious to hear much more.” —Simon Conway Morris, Cambridge University
[Order directly from Wipf & Stock here]
Research Grants from the Varieties of Religious Understanding project
Psychology Request for Proposals (RFP)
Psychology RFP Director: Tania Lombrozo, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
This $1.2 million dollar RFP is intended to support empirical work in psychology on the nature and varieties of human understanding. We anticipate applicants from cognitive, social, and developmental psychology, but will consider additional subfields as well. Interdisciplinary teams that include members from other areas, especially philosophy or theology, are encouraged, but collaborative and interdisciplinary proposals are not required.
Proposals can request between $50,000 and $225,000 for projects not to exceed two years in duration. We intend to make 7-8 awards.
Download a copy of the Psychology RFP [PDF]
Philosophy RFP
Philosophy RFP Director: Michael Strevens, Professor of Philosophy, New York University
This $500,000 RFP is intended to support work in philosophy and related areas on the nature and varieties of human understanding. We anticipate applications from philosophers working in the philosophy of science and epistemology, but welcome applicants from other areas including aesthetics, the philosophy of social science, and ethics. Interdisciplinary teams that include members from other areas, especially psychology or theology, are encouraged, but collaborative and interdisciplinary proposals are not required.
Proposals can request between $40,000 and $100,000 for projects not to exceed one year in duration. We intend to make 7-8 awards.
Download a copy of the Philosophy RFP [PDF]
Theology RFP
Theology RFP Director: Gordon Graham, Henry Luce III Professor of Philosophy and the Arts, Princeton Theological Seminary
This $250,000 RFP is intended to support work in theology and related areas on the nature and varieties of religious understanding. We anticipate applications from scholars working in theology, religious studies, and the philosophy of religion, but welcome applications on this topic from other fields as well. Interdisciplinary teams that include members from other areas, especially psychology, are encouraged, but collaborative and interdisciplinary proposals are not required.
Proposals can request between $40,000 and $100,000 for projects not to exceed one year in duration. We intend to make 3-4 awards.
Download a copy of the Theology RFP [PDF]
[Source: http://varietiesofunderstanding.com/researchGrants.html]
Available Soon: Michael Hanby’s No God, No Science?: Theology, Cosmology, Biology
Available soon: No God, No Science?: Theology, Cosmology, Biology, by Michael Hanby, the latest addition to the Illuminations series [Pre-order UK | Pre-order US]
Book description:
Are creation and evolution mutually exclusive terms? Or is there instead a deep relationship between science, metaphysics, and theology that can help shed light into mankind’s quest for the ultimate truth? No God, No Science: Theology, Cosmology, Biology presents a comprehensive work of philosophical theology whose overarching aim is to retrieve the Christian doctrine of creation ex nihilo from the distortions imposed upon it by positivist science and the Darwinian tradition of evolutionary biology.
Noted scholar Michael Hanby cogently argues that the Christian doctrine of creation is actually essential to the intelligibility of the world and that the universe itself is a fundamentally metaphysical and theological concept. Metaphysics and theology, he reasons, are not options in the realm of science, and the intractable problems of Darwinian biology are actually the result of its faulty metaphysical and theological foundations. Putting forth a new understanding of the relationship between theology and science and an original and thought-provoking critical reassessment of Darwinian biology, No God, No Science changes the terms of the debate between Darwinism and theology and offers startling new insights into the potential for science and religion to coexist and flourish in the modern world.
Blurbs:
“A truce is sometimes called between science and theology, by thinkers on both sides. Michael Hanby, however, shows a way forward more profitable than truce, found in the common ground between theology and science that is metaphysics. Here is theology offering its most to the discussion by being most theological. For decades we have heard that science can lend clarity to theology. With No God, No Science, we have the metaphysical fluency of theology helping science be better science.”—Andrew Davison, Westcott House and the University of Cambridge
“In an era in which it is widely assumed, both popularly and among many professional scientists and philosophers, that the arrival of the Darwinian pronounces the final ‘it is finished’ upon every metaphysical account of reality, theology often appears increasingly pressured by the need to defend its existence against this verdict at the court of scientific rationality. Michael Hanby’s eagerly-anticipated and monumental new book radically inverts this standard order with a bold and simple thesis: without God, there is no science; that no scientific account of the world can justify itself apart from God, without whom there is no ‘world’. A work of stunning erudition and insight that is not only a devastating critique of scientific and theological un-seriousness but a constructive argument for what difference this metaphysical vision makes to the way we live in the world. A profound – and profoundly human – book.”—Peter M. Candler Jr., Baylor University
Now Available: Christopher Ben Simpson’s Deleuze and Theology
Now available: 
Deleuze and Theology (Philosophy and Theology series), by Christopher Ben Simpson (T & T Clark, September 2012) [Order UK | Order US]
Book description:
What can a theologian do with Deleuze? While using philosophy as a resource for theology is nothing new, Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995) presents a kind of limit-case for such a theological appropriation of philosophy: a thoroughly “modern” philosophy that would seem to be fundamentally hostile to Christian theology–a philosophy of atheistic immanence with an essentially chaotic vision of the world. Nonetheless, Deleuze’s philosophy can generate many potential intersections with theology opening onto a field of configurations: a fractious middle between radical Deleuzian theologies that would think through theology and reinterpret it from the perspective of some version of Deleuzian philosophy and other theologies that would seek to learn from and respond to Deleuze from the perspective of confessional theology–to take from the encounter with Deleuze an opportunity to clarify and reform an orthodox Christian self-understanding.
Blurbs:
‘Deleuze’s work, at first glance, seems to offer stony soil bare of shoots of theological significance, but Christopher Simpson performs the wonder of bringing to light theological virtualities in what is unsaid in the said and what is unthought in the thought of Deleuze. Building on an impressive distillation of the essential theoretical resources of Deleuze’s work, Simpson brings him into fruitful conversation with the fundamental themes of Christian theology. Along the way there is also some fascinating material on the connection of Deleuze with some esoteric currents of thought. The book is saturated with apt citations, yet in all the detail it never loses sight of the narrative plot. It is a worthy achievement to be so lucidly faithful in an engaging exposition of Deleuze, while at the same time displaying impressive theological erudition and astute judgment. I found it very illuminating and learnt much from it, both about Deleuze himself and the impossibility of avoiding theology even while trying to avoid theology. Very highly recommended.’ —William Desmond, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
About the Author
Recent Angelico Press Publications
From the latest Angelico Press newsletter.
Glastonbury: The Novel of Christian England (reprint)
by Donna Fletcher Crow [Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon Kindle edition]
Glastonbury Abbey was, according to legend, the center from which radiated a Christian presence on that island for two thousand years, a sacred site from which the Christian faith was passed down through the generations.
The story begins with the arrival of Joseph of Arimathea and his family, bearing the most sacred relic in all Christendom, the Holy Grail; and continues on to their confrontation with the Druids and the conversion of the new land to Christ; to the persecutions under the Roman Empire, until that rule is ended and Patrick becomes the first Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey; the adventures of King Arthur and his knights as they fend off invading barbarians; the revival of Christianity under St. Augustine of Canterbury; the struggle to keep alive the Faith in the midst of the Viking raids; the ages of Alfred the Great and Richard the Lionheart; and ends, finally, with the terrible upheavals under Henry VIII.
Glastonbury was dissolved but its ruins still stand as a beacon of hope and destination of pilgrims down to our own time. Here is the telling of an immense spiritual epic—a stirring novel of Christian faith.
The Power of Four: Keys to the Hidden Treasures of the Gospels
by Eduardo P. Olaguer, Jr. [Amazon.com]
The Power of Four offers startling evidence for the existence of a mysterious Biblical code and the four keys that open its marvelous spiritual treasures. Drawing connections throughout the entire Bible, the book revolves around the keys of the four allegorical creatures mentioned in Ezekiel and the Apocalypse, the four collections of Old Testament books, the four structural clues at the beginning of each gospel, and the four sets of seven hidden symbols in each gospel. Unlike the Bible Code, which requires a computer to decipher, or the execrable Da Vinci Code, the genuine “code” behind the Gospels is hidden in plain sight. Offering a view that runs counter to the received wisdom of our age—which considers Scripture as no more than a haphazard collection of writings by time- and culture-bound human authors—the four keys enable us to understand the entire Bible as the systematic work of an Infinite Mind, and ultimately allow the reader to discern the deeper meanings of the life of Jesus Christ.
Ancient Wisdom and Modern Misconceptions: A Critique of Contemporary Scientism
by Wolfgang Smith [Amazon.com]
For many years, Wolfgang Smith has been putting forward an expansive vision of the traditional Christian cosmos alongside an incisive critique of the truncated perspective of contemporary scientism. In Ancient Wisdom and Modern Misconceptions he shows how the physical sciences, freed from the prevailing misconceptions, actually corroborate the traditional wisdom long thought to be dead. Basing himself in part upon epistemological considerations first enunciated by Sir Arthur Eddington, which have recently received definitive confirmation, he shows that the so-called physical universe proves finally to be constructed by the strategies of the experimental physicist himself. Following this he delves into the foundations of astrophysics and planetary astronomy to arrive again at conclusions that fly in the face of current belief. After elucidating the concepts of Intelligent Design and vertical causation, he concludes by showing that the contemporary debate concerning Anthropic Coincidence is vitiated by an inversion of the causal nexus.
With equal mastery Smith presents the serious reader with glimpses of the perennial wisdom eclipsed since the Enlightenment, and shows that traditional cosmology, so far from being disqualified, actually provides the keys to an understanding of science itself. No one entering the fray of current debates regarding “science and religion” can afford to neglect the immense implications of this work by Wolfgang Smith.
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Webinar: Not Afraid of Darwin or Christ
Not Afraid of Darwin or Christ
A Webinar on Theology, Evolution, and Human Nature
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
7:00 – 8:30 PM EST
Now open to individuals!
Overview
Can science and religion coexist? Should Christians be afraid of Darwin or scientists afraid of Christ? We will tackle these and other provocative questions in a webinar with two dynamic professors who are currently fellows at the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton.
Registration has so far been available only to groups. Our main objective has been to gather people in their local faith or academic communities to discuss these important issues. However, in response to enthusiastic inquiries, Princeton Seminary is opening this opportunity to individuals. If you want to join the discussion, Princeton Seminary will provide you with free access to this webinar.
Don’t miss this intriguing presentation!
Agenda
Part 1: What is Theology & What is Evolution—with an eye towards clarifying misconceptions and enhancing thoughtful reflection.
Part 2: Why are some Christians afraid of Darwin and why are some scientists afraid of Christ?
Part 3: How can we get it right? A discussion on human nature and the interface between faith, knowledge, and the quest for understanding.
Leaders
Dr. Conor Cunningham is a specialist in Darwinism, evolution, metaphysics, and systematic theology. He is assistant director of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy at the University of Nottingham, England, author of Darwin’s Pious Idea, and wrote and presented the acclaimed BBC documentary Did Darwin Kill God?.
Dr. Agustín Fuentes is an American primatologist and biological anthropologist whose work focuses largely on human and non-human primate interaction, pathogen transfer, communication, cooperation, and human social evolution. He is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame, author of Evolution and Human Behavior, and Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You: Busting Myths about Human Nature.
Registration
This webinar is co-sponsored by the School of Christian Vocation and Mission at Princeton Theological Seminary and the Center of Theological Inquiry, with support from the Lilly Endowment and the John Templeton Foundation. Registration for this webinar is free
Individuals: Please note for this event you need a good internet connection and a computer.
Groups: Please note that to host this event you need a good internet connection in a room that can seat your group, a computer, a digital projector of some kind, and speakers.
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Please click here to register.
For more information, please email us at scvm@ptsem.edu or contact the Erdman Center at 609-797-7990.
http://www.ptsem.edu/offices/coned/index.aspx?id=25769805000
2nd CFP & Keynote Announcement: Kierkegaard in the World
Second Call for Papers and Announcement of Keynotes
New deadline for abstracts: 1st April 2013
The conference organizers are pleased to announce that “Kierkegaard in the World” will feature keynote lectures from:
- C. Stephen Evans (Baylor University)
- Kevin Hart (University of Virginia/Australian Catholic University)
- Daphne Hampson (Oxford University)
- Charles Guignon (University of South Florida)
- John Lippitt (University of Hertfordshire)
“Kierkegaard in the World” celebrates the 200th anniversary of Kierkegaard’s birth by examining the ways in which the world figures in his thought, and the ways in which his thought has entered the world.
Paper proposals are being accepted until 1st April 2013. Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be sent to Patrick Stokes (patrick.stokes@deakin.edu.au) and/or Jeffrey Hanson (jeffrey.hanson@acu.edu.au) no later than 1 April 2013. Papers should address the conference theme and be no more than 3,000 words.
We hope to make a small number of modest travel subsidies available to postgraduate and early career researchers. These will be awarded on a competitive basis. Those wishing to be considered for such a subsidy are advised to discuss their circumstances with the organizers at the time of submission.
For more information, please visit www.kierkegaardintheworld.com
Now available from Veritas: Covering up Luther, by Rustin E. Brian
Now available in the Centre of Theology and Philosophy’s Veritas series is Covering Up Luther: How Barth’s Christology Challenged the Deus Absconditus that Haunts Modernity, by By Rustin E. Brian. [Purchase directly from Wipf & Stock]
Book description:
Karl Barth’s Christology provides a key to out-narrating the Deus absconditus, which, as Rustin Brian contends, is in fact the god of modernity. Included in this is the rejection of the logical and philosophical systems that allow for the modern understanding of God as the Deus absconditus, namely, dialectics and nominalism. This rejection is illustrated, interestingly enough, in Barth’s decision to literally cover up, with a rug, Martin Luther’s works in his personal library. Surely this was more than a decorative touch.
The reading of Barth’s works that results from this starting point challenges much of contemporary Barth scholarship and urges readers to reconsider Barth. Through careful examination of a large body of Barth’s writings, particularly in regard to the issues of the knowledge or knowability of God, as well as Christology, Brian argues that contemporary Barth scholarship should be done in careful conversation with the finest examples of both Protestant and, especially, Roman Catholic theology. Barth’s paradoxical Christology thus becomes the foundation for a dogmatic ecumenicism. Barth’s Christology, then, just might be able to open up possibilities for discussion and even convergence, within a church that is anything but one.
Blurbs:
“This book is a significant contribution to the lively conversation between Christian theology and postmodernity. Perhaps Brian’s most trenchant insight is that Karl Barth’s quarrel with Martin Luther in regards to the Deus absconditus parallels postmodernity’s critique of typically modern conceptions of God, entertained by believers and non-believers alike. Thus, the greatest Protestant theologian of the twentieth century shows the path toward dialogue with the dominant cultural form of the twenty-first century. Brian’s text is lively, provocative, well-written, and compellingly argued.” —Fr Robert Barron, author of The Priority of Christ
“Rather than accepting well-worn interpretations of Barth (and Luther), Brian breaks fresh ground with a provocative—and for that reason all the more interesting—interpretation. Barth was not a dialectical theologian indebted to a Lutheran Deus absconditus. Instead, he was a theologian of the glorious paradox of the fullness of God present in Christ. . . . Brian’s book marks an important contribution for a new direction in Barth studies.” —D. Stephen Long, author of Keeping Faith
“In this ecumenically important book, Brian argues that Karl Barth is best regarded as a transitional figure who crucially helped open up the current, post-Protestant era in theology by breaking with the tropes of nominalism and voluntarism, which had imprisoned the mainline Reformation and distorted their grasp of orthodox Christology. He makes a convincing case that requires to be taken seriously.” —John Milbank, author of Being Reconciled
Purchase Covering up Luther by Rustin E. Brian directly from Wipf & Stock.
London Bonhoeffer Colloquium
The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Centre London is pleased to announce the London Bonhoeffer Colloquium.
June 15th 2013
This one-day colloquium will pursue a celebration and perpetuation of Bonhoeffer’s legacy in the context of contemporary postgraduate study in the United Kingdom, where Bonhoeffer is currently being given much attention by the Academy.
The colloquium will involve short-papers from postgraduate students on a range of topics related to Bonhoeffer studies.
The Call for Papers and colloquium flyer may be downloaded here [PDF].
For further information, please see: http://dbcl.jimdo.com/news/
Enquiries and registration: londonbonhoeffer@gmail.com
The Oxford Handbook of Theology and Modern European Thought: A Seminar
THE OXFORD HANDBOOK of
THEOLOGY AND MODERN EUROPEAN
THOUGHT: A SEMINAR
A seminar marking the publication of THE OXFORD HANDBOOK OF THEOLOGY AND MODERN EUROPEAN THOUGHT edited by
Nicholas Adams, George Pattison, and Graham Ward
Panel Discussion ‘What is Theology and Modern European Thought’ led by
Clare Carlisle (King’s College London) Jennifer Geddes (University of Virginia) and Simeon Zahl (St John’s College, Oxford)
with response by the editors.
DANSON ROOM, TRINITY COLLEGE
SATURDAY 16TH MARCH
2.15-4.OO pm
followed by reception.
Click here for more information about The Oxford Handbook of Theology
and Modern European Thought from Oxford University Press
Interviews with Milbank, Oliver, Cunningham, and Riches in the latest issue of the Edification journal
Two interviews of note are available in the latest issue of Edification: The Transdisciplinary Journal of Christian Psychology Vol. 6, Issue 1, 2012. The following interviews with John Milbank, Simon Oliver, Conor Cunningham, and Aaron Riches were conducted by Peter Hampson, with Zoë Lehmann Imfeld providing assistance with question planning, transcription, and editing of the interviews.
‘Interview and Conversation with John Milbank and Simon Oliver: Radical Orthodoxy and Christian psychology I – Theological Underpinnings’,
by John Milbank, Simon Oliver, Zoë Lehmann Imfeld, and Peter Hampson
‘Interview and Conversation with Conor Cunningham and Aaron Riches: Radical Orthodoxy and Christian psychology II – Ontological Naturalism and Christology’,
by Conor Cunningham, Aaron Riches, Zoë Lehmann Imfeld, and Peter Hampson
The full text of the latest issue of Edification may be viewed here [PDF link].
Now Available: The Perfection of Freedom, by D. C. Schindler
Now available from the Veritas series is The Perfection of Freedom: Schiller, Schelling, and Hegel Between the Ancients and the Moderns, by D. C. Schindler. [Purchase direct from Wipf & Stock for the US | Purchase Amazon.co.uk for the UK and Europe]
Book description:
The Perfection of Freedom seeks to respond to the impoverished conventional notion of freedom through a recovery of an understanding rich with possibilities yet all but forgotten in contemporary thought. This understanding, developed in different but complementary ways in the German thinkers Schiller, Schelling, and Hegel, connects freedom, not exclusively with power and possibility, but rather most fundamentally with completion, wholeness, and actuality. What is unique here is specifically the interpretation of freedom in terms of form, whether it be aesthetic form (Schiller), organic form (Schelling), or social form (Hegel). Although this book presents serious criticisms of the three philosophers, it shows that they open up new avenues for reflection on the notion of freedom; avenues that promise to overcome many of the dichotomies that continue to haunt contemporary thought—for example, between freedom and order, freedom and nature, and self and other. The Perfection of Freedom offers not only a significantly new interpretation of Schiller, Schelling, and Hegel, it also proposes a modernity more organically rooted in the ancient and classical Christian worlds.
Blurbs:
‘David Schindler has written a profound book on freedom. Through his penetrating analysis of Schiller, Schelling, and Hegel, he offers us nothing less than an alternative to the modern notion of freedom as freedom of choice . . . ”The Perfection of Freedom” wears its erudition lightly in a compelling display of philosophical thinking and re-visioning that will take us beyond modernity by going through it.’ —Cyril O’Regan, University of Notre Dame
‘This is a work marked by impressive erudition and steady, lucid thoughtfulness about the nature of freedom as perfection . . . Schindler looks to some of the great thinkers of classical German philosophy: Schiller, Schelling, and Hegel in particular. The result is a very engaging and illuminating defense of a richer notion of freedom. The scholarship is impressively informed on the historical side, matched on the systematic side with sustained insight into the issues at stake.’ —William Desmond, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Institute of Ideas Academy: Student Scholarship Programme 2013
A letter from Claire Fox, the Director at the Institute of Ideas:
Dear All,
Do you have a passion for the greatest works in the classical, literary, historical and philosophical canon? Does the idea of grappling with the complexities of human nature through the works of Cicero and Plato, Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Franz Kafka and Thomas Mann, Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche, appeal to you? Would you like to spend a long summer weekend in a stimulating and open environment, with interesting, like minded people from all walks of life? If so, then The Academy, organised by the Institute of Ideas is definitely for you.
We are aware that the full price of the weekend may be a challenge for students, so for the second consecutive year, we will be running the Academy Scholarship Programme, which is open to full time university students of any academic discipline. The scholarship will allow successful applicants to attend the Academy weekend for a fraction of the price.
The Institute of Ideas Academy is a three day residential retreat from Friday 19 July to Monday 22 July, in which we aim to get away from the overly prescriptive nature of education in society today, and be unashamedly esoteric and intellectual for a weekend, in the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. This year, there are three parallel lecture series on Classics, Literature and History as well as a plenary History of Ideas series on the Human and Nature.
The lectures will explore texts as diverse as Plato’s Gorgias, and Milton’s Paradise Lost, right through to Goethe’s Faust and Freud’s Civilization and its Discontents. Together, we will consider questions such as; are humans natural or unnatural? Are we noble savages corrupted by society? Or made human through law and civilization? Driven by unconscious urges? Or the makers of our own nature?
As well as this, prior to the main programme which will begin on Saturday 20 July, the Academy Scholars will have three additional lectures organised for them on Western Civilization, Original Sin, and Classical Music on the afternoon of Friday 19 July.
University students from all disciplines are encouraged to apply to the Scholarship Programme, and whether you are an arts, humanities or science student, you will be joining Institute of Ideas members from every possible walk of life; from Professors and academics, to other students, Barristers, film makers and writers. The one thing that all Academy attendees share is a passion for knowledge. And as such, the atmosphere is one of free thinking and discussion, in which everybody will have the opportunity to cultivate themselves in beautiful surroundings, with good books, good food and drink, and in good company.
The scholarship programme offers a limited number of full time University students the chance to attend for the heavily subsidised price of £60 for three nights’ accommodation and full board at the luxury Wyboston Lakes complex in Bedfordshire.
To apply for an Academy Scholarship, please submit a 500-word (max) essay on the question: “Should we celebrate the death of Western High Culture?” Please also submit a 300-word (max) motivation on why you in particular deserve to attend The Academy.
Submit applications online by 11am Monday 13 May 2013. Once we have successfully received your application, you will be sent the reading list so that you can start preparing while we evaluate all of the submissions.
All successful candidates will be notified on Friday 31 May 2013
For more information on the Scholarship Programme, please email scholarship@instituteofideas.
To learn more about the Academy itself, and to see full details of the lectures and schedule, please visit: http://www.instituteofideas.
We hope to see you there.
Best Wishes,
Claire Fox
Director
Institute of Ideas
Signet House
49-51 Farringdon Road
London EC1M 3JP
020 7269 9220
020 7269 9223 (direct)
www.instituteofideas.com
www.battleofideas.org.uk
www.debatingmatters.com
Korean Translation of Darwin’s Pious Idea
Below are two reviews (in Korean) of Cunningham’s book:
Gospel and Situation (a Christian magazine)
Various places for purchase:
2nd CFP: The Soul (abstract deadline extended)
*Please note that the deadline for paper abstracts has been
extended below to the 29th of March*
St Anne’s College, University of Oxford
28 June – 1 July 2013
Conference Précis:
Ever since Descartes, the soul understood as immediate mental consciousness has tended to stand as a last bastion securing religious belief against naturalistic reduction. But today that bastion is under assault from the ‘new atheists’. However, the bastion is proving very hard to storm, with increasing numbers of even atheist thinkers denying that its capture by neuroscience will ever prove possible. Meanwhile, more subtle naturalisms are arguing that the body and the environment as well as the brain are involved in thinking processes. Thus we are seeing the emergence of a tripartite debate between lingering dualism, outright denial of the reality of mind and various accounts of mind-body unity, sometimes embracing panpsychism. Within this third option there exists scope to revisit traditional, pre-Cartesian monothesitic accounts of the soul as the form of the body as well as the site of an immortal spark of reason. This debate is of crucial cultural significance, because, if the last bastion cannot be stormed, it will throw the intellectual coherence of naturalism into doubt and encourage a new intellectual boldness on the part of believers. Since most people assume, against naturalism, the reality of things like free will, intentionality and love, it might well be that religion, rather than scientism, will soon be generally perceived as more aligned with common sense. For if mind and soul are not readily derivable from below, must they not rather be derivable from above? The topic of this conference therefore could not be more crucial and timely.Panel papers lasting no more than 20 minutes are invited on any aspect of the conference theme from any disciplines, including (but not limited to):
- consciousness
- mind-body relation
- theology, philosophy and neuroscience
- politics and the city
- cosmology
- theological, philosophical and social anthropology
- Christian doctrine
Paper abstracts of no more than 500 words can be submitted to the following web page (click on the ‘Submit Paper Abstract’ link and fill out the form). The early submission of abstracts will allow us to confirm acceptance of your proposal very promptly. The latest we can receive abstracts for consideration is Friday 29th March 2013.
You may book your place now at The Soul conference here:
The Soul Conference Bookings Website
Last Booking Date for this Event:
1st June 2013
Please send any enquiries to: thesoul@nottingham.ac.uk.
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Articles on Benedict XVI’s decision to renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome
The following articles come in light of Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to step down as pope this past week:
- The future of love: The erotic politics of Benedict XVI, by John Milbank
- Pope Benedict XVI: God’s Rottweiler or the Church’s German shepherd?, by Tracey Rowland
- Analysis: What is the role of a modern pope?, by Simon Oliver and Samuel Kimbriel
Notable Publication
Now available: The Time of Revolution: Kairos and Chronos in Heidegger, by Felix Ó Murchadha [Purchase UK | Purchase US]
Book description:
This book presents Heidegger as a thinker of revolution. Understanding revolution as an occurrence whereby the previously unforeseeable comes to appear as inevitable, the temporal character of such an event is explored through Heidegger’s discussion of temporality and historicity. Beginning with his magnum opus, Being and Time, Heidegger is shown to have undertaken a radical rethinking of time in terms of human action, understood as involving both doing and making and as implicated in an interplay of the opportune moment (kairos) and temporal continuity (chronos). Developing this theme through his key writings of the early 1930s, the book shows how Heidegger’s analyses of truth and freedom led to an increasingly dialectical account of time and action culminating in his phenomenology of the – artistic and political – ‘work’. A context is thus given for Heidegger’s political engagement in 1933. While diagnosing the moral failure of this engagement, the book defends Heidegger’s account of the time of human action and shows it to foreshadow his later thought of a ‘new beginning’.
Welcome to CENTRE of THEOLOGY and PHILOSOPHY
‘Every doctrine which does not reach the one thing necessary, every separated philosophy, will remain deceived by false appearances. It will be a doctrine, it will not be Philosophy’, (Maurice Blondel, 1861-1949)
The Centre of Theology and Philosophy is a research-led institution organised at the interstices of theology and philosophy. It is founded on the conviction that these two disciplines cannot be adequately understood or further developed, save with reference to each other. This is true in historical terms, since we cannot comprehend our Western cultural legacy, unless we acknowledge the interaction of the Hebraic and Hellenic traditions. It is also true conceptually, since reasoning is not fully separable from faith and hope, or conceptual reflection from revelatory disclosure. The reverse also holds, in either case.
The Centre is concerned with:
- The historical interaction between theology and philosophy.
- The current relation between the two disciplines
- Attempts to overcome the analytic/ Continental divide in philosophy
- The question of the status of ‘metaphysics’. Is the term used equivocally? Is it now at an end? Or have 20th Century attempts to have a post-metaphysical philosophy themselves come to an end?
The Theology Department of the University of Nottingham, within which the COTP is situated, was awarded the top 5* A grade in the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2001). Nottingham was one of only two theology Departments who submitted all its staff and was rated 5* A.
For all enquiries, please email Conor Cunningham:
To return to the Nottingham Theology Department:
www.nottingham.ac.uk/theology
Humanities Building, home of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and the Centre of Theology and Philosophy
Recent Posts
News & Blog Categories
(Sculpture by Sara Cunningham-Bell)
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Recent Publications
