Call for Abstracts: Inaugural Theistic Ethics Workshop

Wake Forest University
October 8-10, 2015

Confirmed Speakers:
Mark Murphy (Georgetown University)
Matthew Jordan (Auburn University at Montgomery)
Jada Strabbing (Fordham University)
Terence Cuneo (University of Vermont)
Kyla Ebels-Duggan (Northwestern University)

Goal: Contemporary philosophy of religion has been richly informed by important work in metaphysics and epistemology. At the same time, there has not been nearly as much work done at the intersection of philosophy of religion and meta-ethics or normative theory. To help inspire more good work in this area, Christian Miller (Wake Forest), Mark Murphy (Georgetown), and Chris Tucker (William and Mary) are organizing a series of annual workshops on theistic ethics for at least the next three years.

Logistics: The first workshop will be held at the Graylyn Conference Center at Wake Forest University (www.graylyn.com), one of the nicest conference facilities in the country. We will begin with dinner and the first paper on Thursday, October 8 and conclude at the end of the day on Saturday, October 10, 2015. There will be five invited papers and four spots for submitted papers. All papers will have 40 minutes for presentation and at least 40 minutes for discussion.

Themes: “Theistic ethics” is to be understood broadly to include such topics as divine command and divine will theories, God and natural law, ethics and the problem of evil, moral arguments for a theistic being, infused and acquired virtues, the harms and benefits of theistic religions, specific ethical issues in Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, and many other topics as well.

Applying: Those interested in participating should submit an abstract of up to 750 words and a current C.V. to Christian Miller at millerc@wfu.edu by May 1, 2015. Word or PDF file formats only. Please prepare abstracts for anonymous review. For although the organizers seek to have a balanced program both in terms of topics and presenters, the initial stage of review will be done anonymously.

Questions about the workshop should be sent to the same email address. Notification will be made by June 1, 2015 at the latest. If your abstract is selected, we will cover all of your expenses for the workshop including travel (this includes international travel). Co-authors are welcome, but only one author’s expenses can be covered. You do not have to send your paper in advance of the workshop, and it certainly can be a work in progress.

Supported by generous funding from the Carswell Fund of the Wake Forest University Philosophy Department