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Call for Papers Theme: The Search For Moral Common Ground Type: Moral Compass International Conference Institution: Moral Compass Project Group, Protestant Theological University (PThU) Location: Utrecht (Netherlands) Date: 21.–23.3.2022 Deadline: 1.10.2021 __________________________________________________ From 21 to 23 March 2022, the Moral Compass Project group of the Protestant Theological University (The Netherlands), organizes the conference The Search For Moral Common Ground. In this conference we explore the possibility of moral common ground in a climate in which constructive debates about morality seem to be difficult. Conference theme In the current political, cultural, and moral climate, constructive debates about morality are rare. On the one hand, positions are highly polarized. On the other hand, there seems to be a significant relativistic tendency. Can we still have meaningful conversations about matters of morality? Is there a shared moral language between representatives of opposing positions? Is there a shared ‘moral compass’ that could guide conversations about morality? Does moral common ground exist in a world with so many different religions and ideologies? If we do find each other in shared ideas about matters of morality, is this only on an abstract level, such as an abstract idea of human rights? Or is it only on a practical level, such as the consensus about the need for accessible health care or freedom of speech? Or on all of these levels? How do we balance our search for a shared moral framework while taking into consideration the particularity of people’s moral frameworks? What are the role and importance of religion and theological reflection in these matters? Themes The Moral Compass Project of the Protestant Theological University invites researchers in the fields of theology, religious studies, and philosophy, as well as sociology and anthropology, to join us in exploring such (meta-)ethical questions in the conference The search for moral common ground. In particular, we are interested in contributions to the following three subthemes. * Subtheme 1: Empirical research with regard to the topic of moral common ground We welcome contributions that discuss empirical research with regard to moral diversity and moral common ground. We are mainly interested in contributions that shed light on the relevance of the results of such research for further issues pertaining to the topic of moral common ground - viz. the attainability and desirability of moral common ground, how to increase convergence on pertinent moral issues, how to further such convergence while remaining sensitive to deep (cultural) differences, and so forth. Questions to be explored here could be, but are not limited to, the following: - Which moral values are shared by people living in different (specific) cultures? - How deep is moral diversity, both within (specific) cultures and between (specific) cultures? - What are important causes of polarization with regard to morality? - What is the role of religion both in fostering as well as in bridging moral diversity? - What methods or practices stimulate convergence on pertinent moral issues? - How relativistic are we with regard to morality? Is moral relativism declining or on the rise, both in our own culture, and worldwide? * Subtheme 2: A shared moral compass? We welcome contributions that discuss the idea of a moral compass and the question of to what extent it can be thought of as shared. Questions to be explored could be, but are not limited to, the following: - What capacities are involved in coming to know good and evil, right and wrong? Can such capacities be conceived in terms of a moral compass? - How do notions such as conscience, natural law, intuition, virtue, etc., relate to the idea of a moral compass? - Are such capacities in some sense ‘natural’? Should they be thought of as evolved and/or cultivated? Or do we have to conceive them as divinely infused? - Which conditions impair the proper functioning of such capacities? To what degree does sin bear upon them? - Should we be sceptical about the idea of a (shared) moral compass, and if so, why? * Subtheme 3: Fundamental reflections on moral common ground We welcome contributions that contain fundamental philosophical and/or theological reflections on the idea of moral common ground. Questions to be explored could be, but are not limited to, the following: - How should we understand the very idea of ‘moral common ground’? - Should we conceive of moral common ground in terms of an ‘overlapping consensus’? - Does the search for moral common ground require giving up (or bracketing) the particularity of one’s (substantial) ‘worldview’? - What kinds of theological narratives enable Christians to search for moral common ground? - How is (belief in) the existence of God related to moral common ground? - What is the relation between moral common ground and human rights? - How important is it to reach moral common ground? Is it something human beings should aspire to? - Does the search for moral common ground exclude moral relativism? Submissions We invite theologians, philosophers and others working in the field of humanities or related disciplines, interested in the theme of Searching Moral Common Ground, to submit their proposals for a paper presentation at the Moral Compass International Conference. Determine for which subtheme you wish to submit a proposal. Please register your name and e-mail address at our website, and add your proposal with a title and an abstract of max 350 words describing the content of the proposed paper. Include also your name, e-mail address and current position or affiliation, if any, in the file. Deadline for submitting your proposal is October 1, 2021. Keynote speakers Gabriël van den Brink, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Jennifer Herdt, Yale University Divinity School, USA Sabine Roeser, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands Rebekka A. Klein, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany Nicholas Adams, University of Birmingham, UK Michael Banner, Trinity College, Cambridge, UK About the PThU The Protestant Theological University (PThU) is a university of theology, located in Amsterdam and Groningen. The PThU stands for solid and relevant theological education and research into developments in faith, church and world Christianity. We do our work out of a strong connection to the church and a fascination for how faith works in people's lives - and that includes the faith of our staff and students. Conference website: https://www.pthu.nl/en/news-and-events/events/2022/03/call-for-papers-the-search-for-moral-common-ground/ __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: https://interphil.polylog.org InterPhil List Archive: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ __________________________________________________
