CFP: "Theory, Practice, and Tradition: Human Rationality in Pursuit of the Good Life," Society for MacIntyrean Philosophy, July 30-August 3, 2008.

The International Society for MacIntyrean Philosophy invites submissions focusing on Alasdair MacIntyre’s accounts of theory, practice, and tradition as a foundation for ethical and political work. Diverse philosophical approaches and methodologies are welcome and the theme can be broadly interpreted. Papers should not exceed 30 minutes reading time. Select papers may be published in a special journal for the International Society for MacIntyrean Philosophy. The International Society for MacIntyrean Philosophy was founded by the participants of “MacIntyre’s Revolutionary Aristotelianism: Ethics, Resistance and Utopia,” a conference organized by Kelvin Knight, held at London Metropolitan University in June 2007. The society includes professional philosophers from different traditions, experts in political theory, the social sciences, the humanities and education, as well as members of non-philosophical communities and practices, and others interested in the relevance of their commitments and professions. Please submit a 100 word abstract no later than January 10, 2008 by email. Plenary Speakers Include:

• Stanley Hauerwas, Duke University
• Ronald Beiner, University of Toronto

Other speakers include:

• Kelvin Knight, editor of The MacIntyre Reader (1998) and author of Aristotelian Philosophy: Ethics and Politics from Aristotle to MacIntyre (2007);
• Paul Blackledge, co-editor of Alasdair MacIntyre's Engagement with Marxism: Essays and Articles, 1953-1974 (forthcoming 2008);
• David Lorenzo, author of Comunitarismo contra individualismo: una revisión de los valores de Occidente desde el pensamiento de A. MacIntyre (2007);
• Andrius Bielskis, author of Towards a Post-Modern Understanding of the Political (2005);
• Christopher Stephen Lutz, author of Tradition in the Ethics of Alasdair MacIntyre (2004);
• Marco D’Avenia, translator of Italian edition of Alasdair MacIntyre, Edith Stein: A Philosophical Prologue (forthcoming);
• Peter McMylor, author of Alasdair MacIntyre: Critic of Modernity (1994).

Suggested topics include:

• What is the good life? Can we still talk about the good life?
• Is practical rationality necessarily moral? Is moral reasoning necessarily practical?
• What is a practice? Can practices be normative? Must practices be teleological?
• What is a tradition? Are traditions rational? Are traditions normative?
• How do theories and practices form traditions? How do traditions bear theories and practices?
• What are some sources of conflicts within and between traditions?
• Must the good life be religious? Can the religious lead a good life?
• Is any kind of metaphysical biology necessary or possible today?
• Is universal human nature a philosophical discovery or an oppressive ideological imposition?

Conference Dates: July 30 through August 3, 2008; Location: Saint Meinrad School of Theology, St. Meinrad, Indiana, USA; Website: http://macintyreanphilosophy.googlepages.com/home.