CFP: Thomism Today (Dialectica Special Issue)

Submission deadline: November 1, 2022

Topic areas

Details

Call for Papers: Thomism Today, a special issue of dialectica (the diamond open access indexed journal of the European Society for Analytic Philosophy)

Guest Editor: Ryan Miller, Université de Genève ([email protected]

The deadline for submissions is: 1 November 2022 via https://dialectica.philosophie.ch

Neo-Aristotelianism has been booming in philosophy, not only in ethics (e.g. Peters, 2013) and metaphysics (e.g. Tahko, 2011; Novotný & Novák, 2014; Jansen & Sandstad, 2021) but also perception (e.g. Marmodoro, 2014), political philosophy (e.g. Walsh, 2018) and even philosophy of science (e.g. Simpson et al., 2018). Aristotelians often disagree, however, on even the most fundamental principles of metaphysics (see Koslicki, 2007 vs. Fine, 2007; Krizan, 2013; Marmodoro & Paolini Paoletti, 2021). Since the attractiveness of a philosophical position depends on its ability to resolve many problems from a limited and consistent set of principles, these seemingly irreconcilable disputes dating back to Aristotle’s early interpreters threaten to undercut the appeal of neo-Aristotelianism.

Thomism presents itself as just such a theory: a limited and consistent brand of neo-Aristotelianism which can respond to a broad swathe of philosophical concerns (e.g. Davies, 1993; Wippel, 2000; Stump, 2003; Shields & Pasnau, 2016). As existing collections begin to age (e.g. Haldane & Davis, 2002; Davies, 2002, 2012), how is Thomism meeting the combined challenges of internal coherence, explanatory power, and broad philosophical appeal? Submissions may address any of the following areas, or any other related theme, as long as they engage the relationship between characteristically Thomist views and philosophical problems of interest to non-Thomists.

  1. The Thomistic conception of hylemorphism has received extensive recent defense (e.g. Toner, 2008; O’Callaghan, 2008; Dumsday, 2010, 2016, 2021; Marmodoro, 2013; Marmodoro & Page, 2016; Brower, 2014; Oderberg, 2014, 2022; Koons, 2021). What considerations distinguish and favor Aquinas’s view over other neo-Aristotelian ones? Do they justify abandoning simpler relational ontologies, or bundle/bare substratum theories of substance?
  2. The unique Thomistic view of substances has mereological implications (see Salzillo, 2021). Are further formal tools needed or helpful in expositing Thomistic mereology?
  3. Is the Thomistic view straightforwardly characterizable as an A-theory or B-theory of time (see Craig, 1985; Brenner, 2010; Koons, 2020)? Does the relational Thomistic conception of place and time help with understanding spacetime as emergent (see Huggett & Wüthrich, 2013)?
  4. Do Thomists have anything specific to add to Aristotelian discussion of powers and dispositions in metaphysics and philosophy of science (e.g. Marmodoro, 2010; Groff & Greco, 2013)?
  5. Thomistic philosophy of religion has tended to focus on proofs (e.g. G. Kerr, 2015), divine simplicity (e.g. Hughes, 2018), or freedom and evil (e.g. Timpe, 2015). Is there more to be said in these areas, or can Thomists contribute elsewhere in philosophy of religion?
  6. With important exceptions (e.g. Pasnau, 2001; O’Callaghan, 2003), recent discussions of Thomistic philosophy of language, epistemology, and philosophy of mind have often occurred in more limited and/or historical contexts (e.g. Cory, 2014). What do Thomists have to contribute to the broader debates in these areas?
  7. Does Thomistic study of the passions (e.g. Miner, 2009) have anything to add to current debates on emotions (see Deonna & Teroni, 2012; Naar & Teroni, 2018; Tappolet et al., 2018)?
  8. Are Thomistic ethical hallmarks like natural law (e.g. George, 1994, 1996; Lisska, 1997; Foot, 2001; Crowe, 2019) and double-effect (e.g. Boyle, 1980; Quinn, 1989; Cavanaugh, 2006) too gerrymandered (see McIntyre, 2001) to have philosophical appeal for non-Catholics? Are they even compatible with Aristotle’s virtue ethics?
  9. In contrast to earlier efforts (e.g. Finnis, 1998; Rhonheimer, 2013), much recent Thomistic engagement with liberal political theory has been more antagonistic (e.g. Pink, 2013; Casey & Vermeule, 2022)—which approach is more promising?
  10. Is Thomism best understood as a linked set of positions within analytic philosophy (Haldane, 1997; Pugh & Paterson, 2016) or as a method in tension with analytic philosophy (Macintyre, 1991; Theron, 1997)? Is Thomism any more coherent than neo-Aristotelianism as a whole (see Kenny, 2004; F. Kerr, 2008)?

Submissions which argue that Thomistic approaches in any of these areas are unhelpful or counter-productive are also welcome.

All submissions will undergo dialectica's ordinary triple-blind review process.

References

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