Philosophy and Theology Taster Day

Programme

10.30am - Registration

11.00am-12.00pm -Session 1:“What is a Human Being?” A Theologian and Philosopher in Discussion’ - Dr Andrew Fisher (Philosophy) and Dr Simon Oliver (Theology)

Accounts of human nature have been fundamental in shaping a number of spheres of public and private life. But does the idea of human nature make sense? And if it does, what is the best way to understand it? In this session, a theologian and a philosopher discuss different answers to these questions.

12.00-1.30pm - Lunch

Philosophy and Theology are wide-ranging disciplines that cover many topics. The afternoon sessions aim to give a taste of the areas covered by each subject. For each session, you can choose to attend a talk from Theology or Philosophy. Why not try one from each Department...?

1.30-2.15pm - Session 2 (Theology):
'Doing Theology with Songs’ - Dr. Carly Crouch and Dr. Peter Watts

Try to think of songs inspired by the Bible and you might imagine choirs in churches singing hymns. But what might surprise you is that a number of recent pop songs draw on biblical texts. In this session we’ll be listening to some of these and exploring the issue of how and why the Bible has influenced elements of our contemporary culture.

1.30-2.15pm - Session 2 (Philosophy):
‘Making Stuff’ - Dr. Jules Holroyd and Dr. Jonathan Tallant
We all know from experience that it’s pretty easy to make new things. Take two objects, put them together in the right kind of way, and ‘hey presto!’, there’s a new object. But what is ‘the right kind of way’? What exactly do we have to do to two objects to get them to compose another one? In this session we’ll explore this question and, with the use of some props and examples, try to work out exactly what the answer might be.

2.15—2.35pm - Refreshments

2.35—3.20pm - Session 3 (Theology):
'Whose Law is it Anyway?' - Dr. Holger Zellentin

Perhaps you are aware of the significance of Jesus' famous 'Sermon on the Mount' for Christians, but it has also been discussed by Jews and Muslims. In this session Dr Holger Zellentin considers the way that Judaism and Islam relate to the crucial Christian claim that Jesus came to fulfil the Jewish law (Torah) and not to abolish it.

2.35—3.20pm - Session 3 (Philosophy):
'What is a human body?’ - Dr. Komarine Romdenh-Romluc

You might think this is an easy question to answer – isn’t a human body just the sort of thing you see if you look down at yourself? A particular sort of animal, made from flesh and bone? In this session, we’ll think about some strange, real-life cases that cause problems for this simple view and try to come up with a better answer to the question of what a human body is.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided free of charge.