Join us on Thursday 19th March, 6:30 – 8pm in the Lady Chapel, as the University of Liverpool’s Department of Philosophy and Insights at Liverpool Cathedral warmly invite you to an evening of thoughtful and engaging philosophical discussion. Together, we will explore questions around Martin Buber, the nature of spirituality for the secular, and divine command theory in a setting that encourages reflection and open dialogue.
You’ll be able to hear the following talks on the day from the following speakers:
Rebecca Davnall:
Secular Sacredness: why do some atheists love cathedrals?
The grandeur of a cathedral – or any large religious building – has a powerful effect on anyone who enters, regardless of faith. An atheist might be tempted to explain this away as ‘merely’ an appreciation of the architecture, the wealth on display or the labour required to build the place; a believer might feel that, just as there are no atheists in foxholes, there are none in cathedrals either. Each of these views is deconstructive of the position held by the other, perhaps even hostile to it. In this talk I offer a suggestion for how to discuss the awe of grand religious spaces in a way that is neutral with respect to personal religiosity, with a view to articulating a conception of human spirituality that puts no thumb on the scales between belief and atheism.
Justin Hill:
Martin Buber: Relation, Responsibility, and the Possibility of Dialogue
In 1923, Martin Buber (1878–1965) published I and Thou, introducing the two modes of relating that would permeate his subsequent work in philosophy, theology, education, and social and political thought. In the I–It mode, the world is experienced functionally – as object, resource, or system. I–Thou is intersubjective – we meet the other in full, unique presence and unmediated mutuality. Much misunderstood, both modes are necessary; the crisis of our age arises from allowing one to eclipse the other. After briefly situating Buber biographically – and suggesting that his life and thought form an intentional unity – this talk will explore how his relational insight speaks to contemporary questions of responsibility, leadership, and the plausibility of faith.
Paul Taylor:
God, Morality, and the Euthyphro Dilemma
Does morality stand above God, or does it flow from God? This question, first posed in Plato’s Euthyphro, continues to shape contemporary debates about moral obligation.
This talk introduces Divine Command Theory, the view that our moral obligations are grounded in God’s commands. After setting out the core idea, I examine three central objections that dominate modern discussion. The arbitrariness objection claims that if morality depends on God’s will, it becomes a matter of divine choice rather than moral reason. The “anything goes” worry argues that if God commanded cruelty, cruelty would become obligatory. The prior obligations objection maintains that some moral truths must exist before any command is given, and therefore cannot depend on divine command at all.
By working through these challenges in clear and accessible terms, the aim is to clarify what Divine Command Theory actually commits us to and what is really at stake in the debate over whether morality depends on God.
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