"Is There a Natural Human Reason?"

Check out this program, presented by the Lumen Christi Institute in Chicago, on April 8, called "Is There a Natural Human Reason?":

This conference on "Is There a Natural Human Reason?" continues a series of Lumen Christi conferences reflecting upon philosophy and the Catholic intellectual tradition. It brings together leading Catholic philosophers in order to address a perennial philosophical question - the relation between nature and reason - that continues to shape decisively how we understand ourselves, others and the world around us.

The papers and discussion at this conference will pivot around the question whether there is an unconditioned natural reason or whether reason is determined by the context of a faith tradition or particular culture. Each of the main papers will address this fundamental question and bring it to bear on other contested issues in contemporary philosophy. How does our understanding of rationality relate to the possibility of public discourse in a pluralistic culture? Can reason credibly judge encounters between different religious traditions? How did ancient philosophy understand the process of reasoning in accordance with nature? On what grounds can we have any confidence in reason's capacity to arrive at truth?

Among the presenters are MOJ-friends and sometime-contributors John O'Callaghan and Russ Hittinger.