Christian Philosophy and Its Challenges (2022)

The Institute of Philosophy of the

The Institute of Philosophy of the University in Cracow organized the 2nd edition of an International Conference dedicated to the problems of Christian Philosophy entitled:

University in Krakow organized the 2nd edition of an International Conference dedicated to the problems of Christian Philosophy entitled:

Christian Philosophy and its Challenges
Kraków, Poland on September 20–22, 2022

“We do not need Christian philosophy. We need Christians making good philosophy.” This controversial paraphrase of Cardinal Newman could serve as the point of departure for our forthcoming event, in which we plan to continue our reflections from our 2020 conference (“Christian Philosophy: Its Past, Present and Future”), which brought together more than 40 philosophers from around the world. Our aim is to consider the contemporary challenges faced by our world in the light of philosophy as practiced in a Christian context or, simply, by Christian philosophers. The challenges begin with the very definition of Christian Philosophy (and therefore its identity), as well as the development of its existing paradigms, right through to an ultimate focus on philosophical, social, moral, ecological, political and scientific challenges. We wish to open up a space for its development and, with this in mind, invite not only Christian philosophers, but also any other researchers engaged in pursuing their philosophical investigations in the context of the Christian faith.

Main problems and questions worth considering

What kind of philosophy is called for in the 21st century, and what would distinguish Christian philosophy in this respect?
What is the scope and method of Christian philosophy?
What is the relationship between Christian philosophy and other philosophical schools and religions?
What sort of Christian philosophy do we need today, if any?
What are the challenges facing Christian philosophy in the 21st century?
What can Christian philosophy offer in the context of such contemporary crises as COVID-19, ecological issues, climate change, and trans- and post-humanism
What can the great Christian philosophers teach us today?

Second Edition of our Conference was co-financed by the City of Cracow.

Richard Swinburne invites to the conference “Christian Philosophy and Its Challenges”:

All conference talks will be available here

Richard Swinburne (Oxford University), A Christian Theodicy
Keynote Lecture Alexander Pruss (Baylor University), Three Mysteries of the Concrete: Causations, Mind, and Normativity
William Lane Craig (Biola University), Is God’s Moral Perfection Reducible to His Love?
Juan Manuel Burgos (Universidad Villanueva), Christian Philosophy, Christian Philosophers or Christians Making Philosophy?
Anto Gavrić OP & Marina Novina (University of Zagreb), Philosophy in Dialog with Other Sciences: The Example of Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas (onsite)
Piotr Mazur (Ignatianum University in Cracow), Wojtyła and Krąpiec: Two Ways of re-empirizing Thomistic Anthropology (onsite)
Jason Hyde (Biola University), Kim and the Pairing Problem for Dualism: In Defense of a Thomistic Dualist Substance Ontology of Agent Causation (online)
Antti Piilola (University of Helsinki), Embracing the Unknowable: Paradigm of Ineffability (onsite)
Evelina Deyneka (University Paris 8 Vincennes – Saint-Denis), “B’TSELEM ELOHIM”, or Some Intermediate Results of Ongoing Monkey Trial: Is Contemporary Christian Philosophy Condemned to be Apophatic? (onsite)
Andrzej Waleszczyński (Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw), The Idea of Legal Indissolubility of Marriage (onsite)
Daniel Spencer (University of St Andrews), Athens and Jerusalem Redux: Nous, Theoria, and the Contemplative Ideal (online)
Anna Zhrykova (Ignatianum University in Cracow), Boethius’ Person in its Theoretical Context: What Does it Say, if Anything? (onsite)
Neal DeRoo (The King’s University), From Worldviews to Spirituality: Sketching a Task for Christian Philosophy (onsite)
Thomas J. Gentry (Carolina University), The Choosing Person: Human Dignity and Self-Determination in St. John Paul II’s Personalism (online)
Wojciech Szczerba (Evangelical School of Theology/University of Cambridge), The Concept of Apokatastasis as a Symbol of Human Equality (onsite)
Jueun Moon (Institute for Christian Studies), Love in the Time of Kho(le)ra: Desire-Movement of Faith, Hope, and Love for Ontogenesis in Khora (onsite)
Cody C. Warta (University of St Andrews), On Rigid Designation and the Baptism of God: Can Philosophers Successfully Refer to the Christian God? (online)
Tymoteusz Mietelski (Ignatianum University in Cracow), The Search for the Truth Everywhere as a Feature of Christian Philosophy in the Views of Paolo Valori (onsite)
Michaël Bauwens (ETF Leuven), Philosophizing in Mary: the Test Case of Anselm’s Argument (online)
Jakub Pruś (Ignatianum University in Cracow) & Marcin Będkowski (Warsaw University), How Christian Philosophers Can Improve Their Arguments? Logical Culture vs. Critical Thinking (onsite)
Zyra Fernandez Lentija (University of Asia and the Pacific), Christian Philosophy Today: A Grounded Transmission of One’s Experience in, of, and with the Truth (onsite)
T. Parker Haratine (University of St Andrews), Teleology, Original Sin, and Guilt: A Constructive Proposal (online)
~~James Bernard Murphy~~ ~~(Dartmouth College), The Quest for Perfection: Deification in Athens and in Jerusalem (online)~~
Adam Cebula (Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw), Christian Ethics of War. Starting from Scratch or Going Back to Where We Have Been? (onsite)
Jarosław Kucharski (Ignatianum University in Cracow), Can War Be Justified? – Christian Ethics in Front of Serious Challenge (onsite)
Jiří Baroš (Masaryk University in Brno), Christian Political Philosophy and the Challenge of Authority (onsite)
Alex Gillham (St. Bonaventure University), Theodicy, the Counterfactual Comparative Account (CCA) of Harm, and Unnecessary Suffering (online)
Jaeha Woo (Claremont School of Theology), On the Need for Distinctive Christian Moral Psychologies: How Kant Can Figure into Christian Ethics Today (online)
Szilvia Finta (Eötvös Loránd University), New perspectives for philosophy. Suggestions for the Approach on How to Read the Holy Scripture as a Philosophical Work (onsite)
Jon Kelly (University of St Andrews), Demarcating the Relation between Christian Philosophy and Analytic Theology? (online)
Alena Bischoff (University of Augsburg), Do We Need a Better Conception of God? – The Problems that Euteleology Tries to Solve (online)
Joshua Smith (Rice University), God’s Nature and Goodness (online)
Ján Tomaštík (Masaryk University in Brno), Political Perfectionism as a Matter of Justice (online)
Marcin Podbielski (Ignatianum University in Cracow), Animal Rationale and the State of War: An Exercise in Metaphysics (onsite)
Mark J. Boone (Hong Kong Baptist University), How to Be a Baptist Philosopher (online)
Piotr Sikora (Ignatianum University in Cracow), Attention as Prayer (onsite)
Gregor Schäfer (University of Basel/Padua), Immanence, Transcendence, and Eschatology. Reflections on the Process of Secularization (online)
Philip Goff (Durham University), Christian Faith in a Pluralist World (online)
Adam Świeżyński (Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw), Religion and Science in the View of Walenty F. Wojno-Jasieniecki. An Input to the Discussion on the Status and Role of Christian Philosophy (onsite)
Barbara Ćuk (University of Zagreb), Let’s Meet Christian Women Philosophers from the Past! (online)
Maciej Jemioł (Ignatianum University in Cracow), Complicated Pop-cultural Legacy of figura Christi. Mythologisation of the Christ Narrative in the Context of the Current Christian Philosophy (onsite)
Przemysław A. Lewicki (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań), Calvin’s Brain: What Lies Ahead for Theological Determinism and Christian Philosophy in General in Light of Recent Developments in Neurosciences (onsite)

Academic Committee

Chairman: Piotr Mazur (Ignatianum University in Cracow)

Vittorio Possenti (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia)
Graham McAleer (Chicago Loyola University)
Anto Gavrić OP (University of Zagreb)
Christopher Wojtulewicz (KU Leuven)
Adam Jonkisz (Ignatianum University in Cracow)
Anna Zhyrkova (Ignatianum University in Cracow)
Piotr Duchliński (Ignatianum University in Cracow)
Piotr Sikora (Ignatianum University in Cracow)

Organizational Team

Head: Jarosław Kucharski (Ignatianum University in Cracow)
Conference Secretary: Jakub Pruś (Ignatianum University in Cracow)

Jacek Poznański SJ (Ignatianum University in Cracow)
Tymoteusz Mietelski (Ignatianum University in Cracow)
Maciej Jemioł (Ignatianum University in Cracow)

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