Historical Conceptions of Belief

CFP: Historical Conceptions of Belief

Florida State University’s annual Werkmeister conference will focus on the theme of historical conceptions of belief. We are now accepting submissions!

Conference Dates: February 19-20, 2027

Conference Location: Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Longmire Building, Room 204

Submission Deadline: Nov. 1, 2027

Submission Method: email 500-word paper abstract to conference Gmail account ([email protected])

Topic: Notions of belief have a long and complex history in philosophy, one riddled with ambiguities and open questions. Inspired by Plato’s account of doxa (alternately translated as “beliefs” or as “opinions”) in The Republic and Theaetetus, subsequent philosophers have continued to investigate belief’s relations to other cognitive states and especially to knowledge. However, in connection with religion, the same or similar notions are often treated in connection with “faith” and distinguished sharply from opinion—and regarded as standing on a foundation wholly distinct from that of other cognitive states. This approach is commonly found in Medieval philosophy but also many modern thinkers, including Immanuel Kant, who regarded such “belief” (“Glaube,” in German) as crucial to being a moral agent. Much later, William James would come to argue that believing can sometimes be justified, in absence of decisive evidence in favor of truth, in light of its practical value. The aim of this conference is to bring together specialists from across the historical spectrum to answer a single question: How did different philosophers think about belief in different time periods? 

In addition to speakers who will be selected from the submissions, the conference will feature the following invited speakers:

-Andrew Chignell (Princeton Philosophy and Religion)

-Scott MacDonald (Cornell Philosophy)

-Teresa Morgan (Yale Divinity)

-Jessica Moss (NYU Philosophy)

-Kristin Primus (Berkeley Philosophy)

Please address inquiries to either Courtney Fugate ([email protected]) or Neil Van Leeuwen ([email protected]), who are the conference organizers.