The BSPR's Thirteenth Conference

Death and Immortality

Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford

Thursday 5th and Friday 6th September, 2019

Click here for online registration and payment (due 15 August).

Keynote Speakers:

Eleonore Stump (St. Louis University)

Mikel Burley (University of Leeds)

Edith Steffen (University of Roehampton)

Yujin Nagasawa (University of Birmingham)

The unavoidability of death and the hope for immortality have been central concerns of many religious traditions around the world. Is it rational to fear death? Can we survive bodily death? Do faith and religious practice matter for grief and death? Is immortality desirable? Philosophers of religion have addressed these questions for centuries.

Philosophical issues concerning death and immortality have attracted much attention in recent years particularly in light of medical, scientific and technological progress. Advancements in medicine have prolonged human longevity significantly and developments in genetics and information science have prompted us to explore new forms of immortality. It seems timely to re-examine the fundamental philosophical and theological questions with fresh eyes.

This conference will include papers taking a philosophical approach to all aspects of death and immortality, including secular and diverse religious perspectives. It will include papers by scholars working in philosophical fields such as philosophy of religion, ethics, metaphysics and the philosophy of mind, and other disciplines with philosophical import such as anthropology, psychology, literature, cognitive science and medicine.