Discussion about atheism is increasing in the public sphere as well as among the academics. Although there are lots of non-epistemic factors engaged in transiting between theism and atheism – factors that are subject matters of scientific fields – discussing about the epistemic aspect of this transition is a matter of controversy among philosophers. The keyword in this discussion is rationality especially from epistemic viewpoint. Rationality is the playground of philosophers and a good departure for them exploring each side and looking for the criteria’s that are in coordination with what is still left of what is known as human. This conference will focus on the topic of atheism and theism from this perspective and will examine the rationality of claims raised by each side. Additionally, since one of the main controversies in the debate between theists and atheists is around proofs for and against the existence of God, our conference will try to investigate the basis of these arguments and discover the consistency and coherency of them.

Abstract Submission Deadline
2020-12-05
Abstract Acceptance Notification
2021-02-24
Paper Submission Start Date
2020-12-06
Paper Submission Deadline
2021-02-28
Paper Acceptance Notification
2020-08-24
Conference Start Date
2021-03-01
Conference End Date
2021-03-02

Conference Schedule

Rationality, Theism, and Atheism (RTA 2021)

Conference virtual room: https://www.skyroom.online/ch/irip/rta2021/l/en

FIRST DAY - March 1, 2021 (Monday)

Opening 9:00 – 10:00 (5:30 - 6:30 GMT)

Panel Title: Critique of Ontological argument

Panel Chair: Muhammad Saeidimehr

Timing: 10:00 – 12:00 (6:30 –8:30 GMT)

 

Lecturer

Title

1

Cornel Hertogh

Anselm’s Ontological Argument Reconsidered As a Religious Thought Experiment

2

Michael Bauwens

Exploring the argument for God from truth

3

Javier Perez-Jara

The God-question(s) and the Ontological Dimensions of Being

4

Hannes Schumacher

Divine inexistence and the ontological argument

 

Keynote Speaker 14:00 – 15:00 (10:30 – 11:30 GMT):

Richard Swinburne:

 “Notes on ‘Why Hume and Kant were mistaken in rejecting natural theology?”

Panel Title: Rationality of religious belief/disbelief

Panel Chair: Rasoul Rasoulipour

Timing: 15:00 – 17:00 (11:30 – 13:30 GMT)

 

Lecturer

Title

1

Rik Peels

Can Atheism Be Properly Basic?

2

Philip Hopkins

In the Absence of Evidence: Mill and James against Hume’s “On Miracles” in Conversation with Ancient Voices and Sacred Texts

3

Mark Boespflug

Experts and Laity: What the Social Epistemology of Science and Religion Reveals About Their Relationship

4

Mohsen Javadi

Definition of Faith and the Question of Rationality of Theism

5

Rasoul Rasoulipour

Plantinga and Marx/Freud De Jure Challenge to Theistic Belief

 

Panel Title: On (ir)rationality of Atheism

Panel Chair: Kelly Clark

Timing: 17:00 - 19:30 (13:30 – 16:00 GMT)

 

Lecturer

Title

1

Kelly James Clark

Atheism and inferential thinking

2

Alireza Kazemi

What Can Evil (Rationally) Test?

3

Kyle Moore

Atheism and the concept of religion in the early Kojève

4

Safaruk Chowdhury

Prior Cognitive Information and An Islamic Argument from Reason

5

Zeinab Salari

On Preferring God’s Non-Existence

 

 

SECOND DAY - March 2, 2021 (Tuesday)

 

Panel Title: Critique of God-World relation

Panel Chair: Ebrahim Azadegan

Timing: 10:30 - 13:00 (7:00 – 9:30 GMT)

 

Lecturer

Title

1

Muhammad Legenhausen

Inferentialism and Divine Necessity

2

Andrew Loke

The Kalam Cosmological Argument and the Rationality of Theism

 

3

Saeed Masoumi

Some Comments on the Kalam Cosmological Argument and the First Instance of Time

4

Hamed Bikaraan-Behesht

The Conflict between Theism and Naturalism: Methodological or Metaphysical?

 

Panel Title: Problems of traditional theistic arguments

Panel Chair: Reza Akbari

Timing: 14:00 – 16:00 (10:30 – 12:30 GMT)

 

Lecturer

Title

1

Aleksandar Novakovic

Why we do not need demonstrative proof for God’s existence to know that God exists: Robert Nozick’s case for the existence of God

2

Reza Bakhshayesh

Kant from Agnosticism to Theism

3

Lara Scaglia

Critique, reason, tradition. Kant and Al-Jabri on the possibility of reasonable belief in God

4

Mojgan Khalili

Epistemic and Metaphysical Possibility or Impossibility of God’s Existence according to Wittgenstein

 

Panel Title: Problems concerning God’s Attributes

Panel Chair: Ebrahim Azadegan

Timing: 16:15- 18:15 (12:45 – 14:45 GMT)

 

Lecturer:

Title:

1

Ebrahim Azadegan

Abraham’s Plead with God

2

Jacob Quick

In Defense of the (Non-)Existence of God: The Rationality of Christian Mystical Theism

3

Jamie Benjamin Turner

inferential vs non-inferential interpretation of divine attributes in the Islamic tradition

4

Ehsan Karimi Torshizi

Hedieh Yaghubi Bojmaeh

The Bi-lā Kayfa Doctrine: Theological-Philosophical Perspectives

 

Closing - Keynote speaker 18:30 – 19:30 (15:00 – 15:30 GMT):
Peter van Inwagen
“Is God an Unnecessary Hypothesis?”

 

Organizers

مؤسسه پژوهشی حکمت و فلسفه ایران
مؤسسه پژوهشی حکمت و فلسفه ایران



Iranian Institute of Philosophy
Office of International Cooperation
No. 6, Araklyan St., Neauphle-le-Château St.,

Vali-Asr Ave., Postal Code: 1133614816
Tehran, Iran

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