Call for Papers, 2013 Meeting of the
Wesleyan Philosophical Society

Are There Good Reasons to Believe?
Epistemology and Christian Faith 

Location: Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, Washington
Conference Date:  March 21, 2013
Proposals Due Date:  October 1, 2012

Keynote Speaker:  Dr. Philip Clayton, Dean of Claremont School of Theology and Provost of Claremont Lincoln University. He also holds the Ingraham Chair at CST.

Lectures:

Conference Theme:  Where is the balance between knowledge and faith?  If Christian belief is nothing more than blind faith, then there are no limits to the content of one’s beliefs.  One is essentially free to believe anything.  But is the alternative complete knowledge of the divine?  Can the human mind really grasp the infinite?  Exploring the tension between faith and knowledge is the goal of this year’s conference.  Is Christian belief based primarily on faith, hope, and personal religious experience or are there good epistemic reasons to believe?  Are there varying degrees of theological knowledge such that some Christian propositions can be known with a degree of certainty while others are relegated to probability and some to the unknown?  Can epistemology help us ground theological claims?  What are the limits of our knowledge?  What role do mystery and paradox play in Christian theology?  Questions considered relevant to the theme of the conference include, but are certainly not limited to, the following:

v      Are faith and reason always in harmony?  If faith conflicts with reason, which should be followed?  Which has more authority?
v      Should faith be shaped by evidence and good argumentation?  Should Christian faith remain orthodox in spite of conflicting evidence? 
v      What is the role/importance of mystery in the Christian faith? 
v    What are the limits of human knowledge in relation to a Transcendent God?
v   Do specific creeds related to the virgin birth, the resurrection, and the like hold the same epistemic status as general claims related to God’s existence? 
 v     How has modern science shaped contemporary philosophy, theology, and Biblical scholarship?
v     How have current movements in epistemology shaped the study of morality and ethics?
v      How has neuroscience impacted the field of moral psychology and moral theory
v      Are aesthetic ways of knowing reliable?  In what ways might aesthetic ways of knowing be valuable? v      John Wesley is often labeled a British empiricist?  Is this label accurate?  If so, in what way(s) should empiricism shape Wesleyan Theology?
v      Is theology better served by analytic forms of epistemology or continental forms of epistemology 

We will also consider submissions on any philosophical issue, with priority given to those dealing with the selected theme. 

 

Please submit proposals of 250-500 words, the title of the abstract, along with name, position, and institutional affiliation (if applicable) to Brint Montgomery at Brint@snu.edu by October 1, 2012. The proposal should be sent as an email attachment in Microsoft Word format. Each proposal will undergo a double-blind peer review process.  Please check the WPS website updates for exact hotel and meeting site information at: http://wps.snu.edu.

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