Hope College will host the Midwest Region of the Society of Christian Philosophers as the organization considers "Values and Virtues" on Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 24-26, at the Haworth Inn and Conference Center.
The meeting will feature two keynote addresses that are open to the public. Dr. Erik J. Wielenberg, associate professor of philosophy at DePauwUniversity, will present "Divine Deception" on Thursday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. Dr. Robert C. Roberts, who is the Distinguished Professor of Ethics at BaylorUniversity, will present "Emotions in the Sense of Duty" on Friday, Feb. 25, at 4 p.m.
Admission to both of the keynote addresses is free.
The three-day conference will also feature more than 20 other paper presentations addressing topics related to themes including love; virtues, vices and passions; God and morality; right and wrong; virtue ethics; moral theory; and divine-command theory. Approximately 40 members of the society are anticipated for the event.
Wielenberg's research is focused on ethical theory, particularly moral psychology, meta-ethics and moral epistemology, and contemporary analytic philosophy of religion. His publications include the books "Value and Virtue in a Godless Universe," and "God and the Reach of Reason: C.S. Lewis, David Hume and Bertrand Russell."
Roberts's areas of interest include ethics (especially virtues), Kierkegaard, emotion theory, moral psychology and epistemology. His publications include the books "Spiritual Emotions: A Psychology of Christian Virtues" and, as co-author, "Intellectual Virtues."
The Society of Christian Philosophers was organized in 1978 to promote fellowship among Christian philosophers and to stimulate study and discussion of issues which arise from their Christian and philosophical commitments. The society is open to anyone interested in philosophy who considers himself or herself a Christian. Membership is not restricted to any particular school of philosophy or to any branch of Christianity, nor to professional philosophers.
The society regularly holds meetings in conjunction with the American Catholic Philosophical Association; the Eastern, Central and Pacific divisions of the American Philosophical Association; the Canadian Philosophical Association; and the AmericanAcademy of Religion; and at the World Congress of Philosophy. The society is organized into Eastern, Midwest and Mountain-Pacific regional divisions which schedule a variety of events of their own.
Hope faculty, staff and students are welcome to attend any conference session free of charge. Members of the broader community who are interested in attending sessions in addition to the keynote presentations may contact Dr. Jack Mulder, who is an assistant professor of philosophy at Hope and the conference coordinator, at mulderj@hope.edu or (616) 395-7294. Additional information about the conference, including its program, is available online at www.hope.edu/academic/philosophy/scp/index.html.
The Haworth Inn and Conference Center is located at 225 College Ave., between Ninth and 10th streets.