Fifth Theistic Ethics Workshop

Georgetown University
October 10-12, 2019

Confirmed Speakers:
Andrew Chignell (Princeton)
Jennifer Herdt (Yale)
St. John Lambert (Southhampton/Reading)
Laura Callahan (Notre Dame)
Leigh Vicens (Augustana)
John Pittard (Yale)
A. G. Holdier (Arkansas)
Julia Jorati (UMass Amherst)
Chris Tucker (William and Mary)

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) have been organizing a series of annual workshops on theistic ethics for the past several years.

Logistics: The fifth workshop was held in the Department of Philosophy at Georgetown University. We began with the first paper on the evening of Thursday, October 10 and concluded at the end of the day on Saturday, October 12, 2019. There were four invited papers and five spots for submitted papers. All papers had 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: *The deadline for submissions has passed*

Those interested in participating should submit an abstract of up to 750 words and a current C.V. to Mark Murphy (murphym@georgetown.edu) by May 1, 2019. 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. Submitters to a previous year’s workshop, whether successful or unsuccessful, are welcome to apply to this year’s workshop.

Questions about the workshop should be sent to murphym@georgetown.edu. Notification will be made by June 1, 2019. 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 funding from the Robert L. McDevitt, K.S.G., K.C.H.S and Catherine H. McDevitt, L.C.H.S. Chair in Religious Philosophy.