Conference
The Nature of God: Personal and a-personal concepts of the divine
August 6 - 8, 2018
haus der Begegnung, Innsbruck, Austria
In recent decades, an increasing number of philosophers in the analytic tradition have begun to produce exciting philosophical work on topics relating directly to systematic theology.
The Analytic Theology Project is a multinational three-year endeavour that contributes to this development in a creative way. The project funds systematic research promoting interdisciplinary cooperation between analytic philosophers and theologians. It thus explores the intersection of both fields and seeks to establish links between the traditions of classical European theology and analytic thinking. Against this background the project is organizing an international conference on “The Nature of God”, and will be considering questions such as:
- What reasons are there for preferring a non-/a-personal conception of God?
- How much conceptual room is there for seeing God as personal, without yet being a person?
- Which of the attributes traditionally predicated of God can be affirmed if God is understood as non-/a-personal? (e.g. Can a non-personal God create?, Can a non-personal God be free?, Can a non-personal God save?)
- What implications are there (metaphysical, epistemic, moral, theological) for conceiving God as a person?
- What affect does viewing God as a-personal have on religious practices?
Coming to grips with these and similar questions is crucial for properly engaging with any theistic belief system and alternative, more naturalistic oriented interpretations of reality. At the conference, internationally renowned philosophers and theologians will discuss these questions and give new and innovative answers.
The language of the conference is English.
Organized by: Simon Kittle and Georg Gasser
Scedule:
Monday, August 6
8:45-9:00 Welcome Address
9:00-10:00 Yujin Nagasawa: Personal Theism vs. Impersonal Axiarchism
10:00-11:00 Agustín Echavarría: Can a Metaphysically Perfect God Have Moral Virtues and Duties? A Thomistic Perspective
11:30-12:30 Anastasia Scrutton: Can only a suffering God help? Towards a contextual and pragmatic approach to philosophy of religion
14:30-15:30 Matthias Remenyi: More than a Person. Reflecting God’s Relationship to Creation
15:30-16:30 David Efird: Repelling the Law of Attraction: Divine Personhood and the Epistemology of Petitionary Prayer
17:00-18:00 Simon Kittle: Divine freedom, personhood, and time
18:00-19:00 Ryan Mullins: Impassibility, Omnisubjectivity and Divine Eternality
Tuesday, August 7
9:00-10:00 Mark Wynn: Spiritual practice and divine personhood
10:00-11:00 Thomas Jay Oord: How a Personal, Divine Spirit Causally Interacts with Nondivine Animate and Inanimate Creatures
11:30-12:30 Adam Świeżyński: Personal versus a-personal concept of God’s action in the miraculous event
14:30-15:30 Natalja Deng: On mystery, timelessness, and being apersonal
15:30-16:30 Robin Le Poidevin: Persons, Presence and Perspective
17:00-18:00 Samuel Lebens: From Maimonides to the Ba’al Shem Tov: Via Copenhagen, Consciousness, Kurt Vonnegut, and Berkeley
Wednesday, August 8
9:00-10:00 Jon Kvanvig: Metatheology and the Ontology of Divinity
10:00-11:00 Joshua Cockayne: Pantheistic worship: Knowing an a-personal God liturgically
11:30-12:30 Roman Siebenrock & Michaela Neulinger: Human vulnerability and the vulnerable God? Reflections on divine attributes and the heart of Christ
[as PDF]
ADDITIONAL CALL FOR PAPERS:
We have two open slots for professional talks at our conference. If you are a senior PostDoc or a (assistant/associate/full) professor and are interested in contributing to our conference, please send us an extended abstract of your paper (1.200 – 1.800 words) and a CV by February 1, 2018. We will let you know of our decision by March 30, 2018.
Your contributions will also be considered for publication in a special issue of the European Journal for Philosophy of Religion on the conference.
We will cover board & lodging in Innsbruck but unfortunately we are not able to cover traveling expenses too.
CONFERENCE APPLICATION:
To apply for the conference as participant, please send an e-mail with your contact data and affiliation to analytic-theology@uibk.ac.at.
The contact data should ideally contain a reference to your academic homepage, or, if not available, we kindly ask for the name of one of your professors who can act as a reference.
The conference fee will be EUR 60,- (EUR 25,- for students) and will cover beverages and snacks at the coffee breaks. The fee ought to be paid in advance in order to make organizing easier. The application deadline for participating in the conference is June 30, 2018.
Questions? Email us!