CFP: "Reason and Faith at the Beginning of the Third Millennium," Babes-Bolyai University, Roumania, October 9-11, 2008.

Organised in collaboration with UNESCO-European Centre for Higher Education (UNESCO-CEPES) and the Italian Cultural Institute of Bucharest. The conference should be seen as a continuation of discussions carried out in: - Bucharest (“Ethical and Moral Dimensions for Higher Education and Science in Europe”, September 2004), - the Vatican (“The Cultural Heritage and Academic Values of the European University and the Attractiveness of the European Higher Education Area”, March/April 2006); and - Cluj-Napoca (“Living in Truth: A Conceptual Framework for a Wisdom Society and the European Construction”, September 2007”). The 2007 conference held in Cluj-Napoca explored and examined the status of values in today’s world, taking into account the ever-growing importance of values in the human existence and in the functioning of the various public institutions. The relevance and importance of the topic of this meeting - Reason and Faith at the Beginning of the Third Millennium - needs to be seen taking into consideration that: a) both on the scientific and cultural European scene the issue has become a keen subject as a consequence of the dissolution of positivism and of the dangers of fundamentalism; b) scientists and philosophers pertaining to the contemporary Enlightenment and seminal theologians jointly accuse “pathologies of reason” and “pathologies of faith” in nowadays civilizations; c) within Judaism, Christianity and Islam there is concern to strengthen the solidarity of faith with the rational approach of ultimate realities; d) in the era of the most rapid expansion of sciences, of the most innovative philosophical hypotheses and the resurgence of religion, the classical perspectives on the relationship between reason and faith necessitate an in-depth re-evaluation within the frameworks/within new frames of reference of a new epoch; The conference will include the following topics for its sessions: 1. Reason and Faith at the beginning of the twenty first century. The expansion of science and the resurgence of religion. 2. Contemporary pathologies. “Pathologies of reason” and “pathologies of faith” in civilizations today. 3. Science and its conditioning. 4. A Re-examination of the classical perspectives on the relationship between reason and faith. 5. Solidarity of faith by rational approaches within the monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). Programe Committee: Andrei Marga, Rector of “Babes-Bolyai” University, amarga@staff.ubbcluj.ro Ladislau Gyémánt, Dean of the Faculty of European Studies, gyemant@zortec.ro Ioan Chirilă, Dean of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology, ichirila@ot.ubbcluj.ro Virgil Bercea, Dean of the Faculty of Greek-Catholic Theology, episcop@egco.ro Nóda Mózes, Dean of the Faculty of Roman-Catholic Theology, mnoda@rocateo.ubbcluj.ro Buzogány Dezsö, Dean of the Faculty of Reformed Theology, buzogany@proteo.hu Titus Beu, Head of the Department of Theoretical Physics, tbeu@phys.ubbcluj.ro Octavian Popescu, Director, Center of Molecular Biology, opopescu@biolog.ubbcluj.ro This announcement also represents a second call for papers that we invite to be submitted [title and 50-80 words abstract] until September 1st, 2008, to the following addresses: Dr. Monica Merutiu, m_merutiu@yahoo.com Ana Elena Moldovan, aeimoldovan@gmail.com.