Peking University

Conference Directors: Kelly James Clark and Xu Xiangdong

Evolution & Ethics

The time has come, E. O. Wilson writes, “for ethics to be temporarily removed from the hands of the philosophers and biologicized.” Wilson seeks to divorce ethics from God (or any transcendental source or warrant), hoping “that if we explore the biological roots of moral behavior, and explain their material origins and biases, we should be able to fashion a wise and enduring ethical consensus.” Ethics biologicized is ethics based on the evolution of various traits. Can ethics survive biologicization—can it be grounded in evolution alone?

Submissions

We are seeking submissions from mainland Chinese scholars on evolution and ethics. Papers should be read in about thirty minutes but longer papers may be submitted for publication in the conference proceedings (however, presenting the paper at the conference does not guarantee publication). Papers can be submitted in either Chinese or English. All papers must be submitted for blind review: nothing that identifies the author or his/her host institution should be included in the body or title of the paper; all identifying information should be restricted to the email that accompanies the paper. Each paper will be double blind-reviewed. Submission deadline is September 1, 2010. Send paper as attachment to Xu Xiangdong (xuxd1965@gmail.com).

Western Participants

Christian Miller, Wake Forest University

Kelly James Clark, Calvin College

Ryan Nichols, California State University at Fullerton

Larry Arnhart, Northern Illinois University

David Tien, National University of Singapore

Mark Murphy, Georgetown University

Alan Love, University of Minnesota

John Cottingham, University of Reading

Christina Van Dyke, Calvin College

Conference details

We will provide travel, room and board for all presenters.

This conference is sponsored by Peking University’s Institute for Foreign Philosophy, Calvin College’s Nagel Institute and the Society of Christian Philosophers with funds generously donated by the John Templeton Foundation.