Call for short papers
Deadline for submitting abstracts of the short-papers to the principal organizers: 1 March 2012
Maximum number of words of the abstracts: 350
Set-up short papers: 20' presentation time (max. 2300 words), followed by 10' discussion
The short papers should preferably be related to the conference-theme (and to one of the four sessions)
Program description
Religion has always been interpreted as primarily belonging to the sphere of the spiritual, since for most religious traditions (Christian as well as non-Christian) God is a spiritual being and
relates to humankind spiritually. But religions are also typically very down to earth, dealing with issues of sexuality, reproduction and family, with practices about food, offering and sacrifice, questions of birth and death etc. Hence the human body is always involved in the concepts and practices of religions. Furthermore religions also expresses themselves in various material ways, such as in icons and (other) works of art, in prayers, songs and the liturgy, which all have a
strong physical component, in the inscription of the religious in the human body (e.g. the sacraments, the ritual of circumcision, and stigmata), and last but not least in a religiously inspired disciplining of the human body.
On the other hand, the recent developments of neuroscience have affected the idea that religion is something purely spiritual as well, and thus challenge philosophy of religion to rethink
those characteristics of human nature that are vital for religion, such as free will, altruism, morality, and last but not least the human person as a 'self'. Some of the more extreme forms of neuroscience go as far as to suggest that a complete material explanation of human nature is in sight, thus annihilating, together with the spiritual dimension of human nature, the spiritual essence of religion completely. Anyhow, in order to have a fruitful discussion between philosophy of religion and neuroscience it is imperative to avoid such a reductionism, whereas philosophy of religion should at the same time accept the results of neuro-scientific research as
interesting material for reflection on the corporal dimensions of religion.
All this offers ample support for the thesis underlying the general theme of the conference that religion is always embodied in various ways. This means that major changes in the basic
anthropological concepts regarding the human body inevitably have an impact upon religion, and thus also challenge philosophy of religion to rethink how religions are embodied in the
human person.
The conference-theme will be treated from various philosophical perspectives, differing in style, method and as to their relations to culture and science. To give an example, it was in the wake of the rise of phenomenology and its concept of the 'body as subject' that theological anthropology and (continental) philosophy of religion started to pay systematic attention to the impact of religion on the human body in general and to various shapes of religious embodiment in particular. Similarly, analytic philosophy has always been strong in examining the effects of scientific discoveries on the traditional idea of the human person as a free, morally responsible, spiritual being. The conference aims at fostering a dialogue between these approaches, hopefully resulting in a better view of the promising perspectives, concepts and arguments that philosophy of religion can use in order answer the questions raised by the new developments in our understanding of human nature.
More information: http://www.kaththeol.uni-frankfurt.de/relphil/Aktuelles/Call_for_Papers/...