The 2012 National Meeting of the
Evangelical Philosophical Society will be held in Milwaukee, WI, from November
14th–16th. The conference theme, in
conjunction with ETS, is Caring for
Creation.
Your paper proposal must include the
following:
Personal information:
Your name
The institution with which you are affiliated
Contact information (email address and phone number)
Time constraints / preferences:
Days and times you CANNOT read the paper
Days and times you would PREFER to read the paper
*
While we will do our best to accommodate your preferences, inflexibility with
regard to possible reading times may make the paper more difficult to accept.
The title of your proposed paper
A 100-200 word abstract of the paper you would like to
read.
NOTE: You do not need to send the
entire paper. An abstract is sufficient.
Paper proposals must be received by March
1st, 2012. Proposals received after that date will not be considered.
Professor Dallas Willard's plenary talk at the 2011 EPS annual meeting is a helpful snapshot of his long-standing work on moral knowledge, especially in light of his forthcoming book on the "Disappearance of Moral Knowledge." Below is a summary of his presentation with my headings and some modest narration:
The Problem
"Our current social situation is one in which there is no knowledge of good and evil, right and wrong, duty and virtue, presented as knowledge by our institutions of knowledge—primarily those of “higher education,” including divinity schools."
The Consequences
"An inability to settle on the primary subject matter for moral analysis."
"Insistence upon something like an axiomatized system for moral knowledge, or at least deductive order in some fairly rigorous sense." But "The unity of moral understanding and knowledge cannot be forced into a 'deductive' mold ... The unity of moral knowledge lies primarily in object, not in a logical system."
Because of the "disappearance of moral knowledge," Dallas wants to say, in our institutions of knowledge, "ethics" has become nothing more than a discussion about the dialectic of theories; contact and integration with moral reality is not the focus today.
But, Dallas counsels, "To force moral knowledge into an inappropriate form, and to fail to identify a constant primary subject, is to insure its failure."
The Need
"The recovery of public moral knowledge and its effective presentation to the world is going to be up to Christians and, more specifically, to the “evangelical” Christians, regardless of denomination. “Evangelical” thinkers and scholars—because of their calling and training—must be at the center of such a recovery. They will have to assume the role of 'teachers of the nations'" (here, see Dallas' wise chapter, "Teachers of the Nations," in Knowing Christ Today)
The Solution
"... make THE GOOD PERSON the subject of moral theory. In real life the good person stands out as one who characteristically evokes trust, admiration, support, desire to associate with, and to imitate. He or she is not necessarily talented, successful or prosperous, etc., and they are not “perfect” by any sensible standards, even moral standards. In the measure to which a person is not good, they fail to evoke the attitudes listed and similar ones. In the degree to which a person is bad or evil, they evoke contrary attitudes."
Bring knowledge to bear upon the three main dimensions of the good person (care for neighbor, cultivation and exercise of virtues, respect and conformity to moral laws).
Dallas Willard is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern California. More info available at www.dwillard.org.
In my previous post, I offered five recommendations for how you might have a worthwhile experience at an academic conference:
Intentionally plan your day.
Don't over-book your day.
Consider some main factors for having a worthwhile conference experience.
Be choice in your choice about which conference sessions to attend.
Learn to intentionally listen to a presentation
In this post, I offer five further recommendations.
6. Visit book publisher vendors to take advantage of any conference discounts, opportunity to meet authors, get the latest released catalog, preview forthcoming books, sign-up for any give-aways, etc.
7. Visit the city. Try to carve-out some time to experience some of the surrounding area of the conference location. It's most unfortunate, if your only experience of San Francisco, for example, is the conference venue. Get some local coffee, find out where the nearest used/antiquarian bookstore is, splurge on a stellar restaurant, enjoy the outdoors (weather permitting), try to catch some entertainment at a local concert, sports event, etc. Perhaps this means that you fly in earlier or stay later or both for the duration of the conference.
8. "Network" for the sake of collaborating, not for the sake of building your own kingdom. Generally speaking, we can all feel the need to want to belong, to be a player, to be known for doing something important or having important associations. But sometimes academic conferences can be a helpful and harmful tool with these desires. Be adequately circumspect. Try networking inclusively, both to get to know those with whom you could co-labor and with those that might not fit that "job description." But don't network out of mere utilitarian reasons. Get to know older scholars, if for no other reason than to discern how you can pray for them. Make yourself available to emerging scholars, with ample patience and encouragement.
9. Be an encouraging and enjoyable presence. Five useful suggestions, especially at an academic gathering:
Don't try to impress people with what you know. If you must "name-drop," do so for the sake of someone's encouragement and betterment.
Listen more than you speak, and you can discover aspects of your experience that might otherwise go unnoticed.
When in conversation with someone, focus on them and don't be distracted by the star power of SCHOLAR "Great One" that passes your visual field.
Don't reduce people to their ideas, beliefs or perspectives. It's easy to "brand" someone as something, especially those with whom you disagree.
Yes, even hurting, lonely broken people attend academic conferences. Don't shy away from encouraging people that hurt. Offer to pray for people right then and there if they want it. That's not a religious or churchy thing to do; it's a humane act.
10. Discover, with gratitude, ways to serve the academic Society for which you are a member. Maybe that is as simple as ...
Encouraging friends and associates to become a member of the Society.
Help to promote other people's work in the Society.
Maybe you help moderate a session next year.
Helping to explain to non-academic influencers (e.g., pastors) the resources that are produced from Christian academic organizations.
Volunteer to help with any on-site conference labor.
Attending an academic conference can be a rewarding experience when approached with intentionality, some planning and foresight, and knowing a little something about what you want to get out of it for the sake of benefiting others.
Moderated by Fox News’ Brit Hume, and Co-Hosted by BreakPoint’s Chuck Colson, and Princeton’s Robert George, in this series a distinguished panel of experts offers a substantive, resourceful and engaging discussion on ethics at the intersection of moral epistemology, cultural analysis, applied ethics, and theological-philosophical anthropology:
Panelists include Acton Institute’s Michael Miller, David Miller, and Glenn Sunshine.
In six 30 minute DVD sessions, the panel discusses the following before a live student audience at Princeton:
How did we get into this mess? (connecting the “crisis of ethics” with the “financial crisis”)
Is there truth or a moral law that we can all know? (natural moral law theory)
If we know what is right, can we do it? (character formation)
What does it mean to be human, and why does it matter?
Ethics in the Market Place (morality of capitalism and business ethics)
Ethics in Public Life (professional and political ethics).
Each session offers a stimulating panel discussion about the above topics, along with some interaction with student questions in the audience. The student questions are substantive and interesting. At times, George even directs one of his Princeton students to help answer a question from a fellow student. It feels dynamic but not busy. Moreover, various guest experts make appearances throughout the series, whether for the purpose of modeling the truth of some concept or for offering perspective to the discussion. Guests include former New York Time’s columnist Ben Stein, Acton Institute’s Robert Sirico, Calvin Seminary’s Neil Plantinga, Biola University’s Scott Rae, Joni Erickson Tada, and many others. Audience interaction and guest contributions enrich each 30 minute session with perspective, insight, and different voices and experiences.
I appreciate how the above topics interrelate with each other. Clearly, the series intends to utilize the current “crisis” ethos punctuated by the financial crisis as a prompt to ask the deeper, worldview sorts of questions about knowledge of what is good and how to live in it. But the series does not start and end with individual, moralistic navel-gazing, which so often abounds with “privatized morality” habits of thought. The series decisively connects the centrality of both the sound development of the “inner life” and the “outer life’s” character formation. A thick concept of human flourishing pervades this DVD series: Human beings are not only free but are designed to flourish in virtue.
BENEFITS
There are several worthwhile benefits to this DVD series. Below are some that come to mind:
It provides a workable framework for thinking about moral knowledge and its importance for character formation and development (here, one could supplement the DVD series with Dallas Willard’s Knowing Christ Today and David Horner’s Mind Your Faith).
It connects the realities of the current “financial crisis” with correlating moral problems like the “crisis in ethics.”
It offers discussion about character formation and not simply a primer on ethical theory.
It recognizes that capitalism as an economic system is not amoral but that economic life and endeavoring must be bound by knowledge of what is good.
It is interested in helping people conform to moral reality and not simply a discussion about the dialectic of historical or contemporary ethical theories.
It could be usefully incorporated, in whole or in part, in different learning environments.
It has a resourceful leader study guide, with helpful outlines, discussion prompts and recommendations to read more (although, mostly web sources at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview).
For local church small groups that I help lead, students that I teach, and for pastors that I try to resource, Doing the Right Thing is the helpful DVD learning resource that I can confidently entrust to others. In part two of my appraisal, I offer some thoughts about how to use this series.
Several dozen papers will be presented at the 2011 annual meeting of the EPS (San Francisco), along with several more at the EPS Apologetics Conference (Berkeley), and the EPS session at SBL. In addition, there are several worthwhile panel discussions to enjoy this year, some of which are part of the ETS's or the EPS's schedule. Lot's of great contributions by EPS members in ETS sessions! Below is a handy snapshot of some of the highlights:
WEDNESDAY (PM) EPS RECEPTION @ 8:30 pm, Marriott - Foothill G
EPS and ETS members are welcome to come enjoy fellowship with a word of encouragement from Dr. Paul Gould, "Against Saving the World on Your Own Time."
EPS Apologetics Conference (Berkeley) @ 7:00 pm
Dr. Dallas Willard is the plenary speaker for this evening: "Knowing in the Context of Spiritual Formation."
More info: www.epsapologetics.com
FRIDAY (AM) EPS Business Meeting @ 8:30 am, Marriott - Yerba Buena 1
Come hear about the latest happenings in the EPS, including who are the newest elected members of the Executive Committee.
FRIDAY (PM) EPS Apologetics Conference (Berkeley) @ 7:00 pm
Dr. J.P. Moreland is the plenary speaker for this evening: "Loving God with All Your Mind."
More info: www.epsapologetics.com
SATURDAY (AM) EPS Apologetics Conference (Berkeley) @ 8:45 am and @ 12:00 pm
Dr. Craig Hazen's plenary on "Christianity in a World of Religions" and Greg Koukl's plenary on "The Intolerance of Tolerance."
More info: www.epsapologetics.com
SATURDAY (PM) EPS Session at SBL @ 7:00 pm, Marriott - Pacific E
"Prospects for Body-Soul Dualism," with contributors J.P. Moreland, Angus Menuge, and Kevin Corcoran
In part one and two of my recent blog series, I have been discussing what lies deeper than a person's world-view. I have argued that it is what I call the person's core identity. A person's core identity involves the deepest sense the person has of who she is or who she longs to be. One's core identity often serves as the fulcrum for changes in one's other values. Deep value change usually occurs along the contours of core identity.
The notion that each of us has a core identity raises at least two important questions. First, how is it that our core identities are formed? Second, how does change in our core identities come about? The picture I have presented up to this point seems to imply that our core identities are fixed. This notion cannot be completely accurate.
Core identities are formed, I think, as we inhabit certain belief and value structures over time. We begin to inhabit beliefs and values at a very young age. As we grow, we develop patterns of ordering our choices, other beliefs, values, goals and interests around these deeper ones. Each time we shape our surface beliefs and values around our deeper ones, the deeper ones become even more deeply entrenched. In a sense, we habituate ourselves into our core identities by the practice of changing our other beliefs and values in light of them.
Given this account, we can see how it is possible to undergo changes in our core identities. Such a change may occur through our experience of dissonance. An event may trigger a sudden confrontation with this dissonance or we may become aware of it through conscious reflection. In either case, we may determine that some belief or value that functioned within our core identity ought to be revised in light of other beliefs and values. We may recognize that we have a deeply ingrained habit that we want to change. This habit may be revealed in our relationships with others or our thoughts about our own lives. Beginning such change will be difficult, in part, because we are changing against the contour of our deeper values. We have to re-habituate ourselves to inhabit a new ordering of values and beliefs.
When we think about Christian discipleship, we need to think in terms of shaping our core identities. As a result, we face the question: How do we bring Jesus into our core identities? I will make some suggestions in a future blog post.
