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CFP: INDIAN RELIGIONS AND THE CONCEPT OF GOD

———————– Last Call for Papers ———————–

INDIAN RELIGIONS AND THE CONCEPT OF GOD
Special Issue of SOPHIA: International Journal of Philosophy and Traditions
Guest editors: Ricardo Silvestre, Alan Herbert and Purushottama Bilimoria

Deadline for Submission: November 30, 2022

https://www.logicandreligion.com/vaishnava-concept-of-god

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Although Western philosophy of religion has developed many useful exegetical and philosophical tools for evaluating Abrahamitic conceptions of God as they apply to respective philosophical traditions, there is a growing awareness that such monotheistic Western approaches might conceal and prohibit a culturally sensitive and philosophically adequate appreciation of the numerous concepts of God found in religious traditions outside of the Western hemisphere. This awareness, which is part of the motivation beyond what is known as cross-cultural philosophy of religion, encompasses both the need for and the encouragement of new dialogues between Western philosophy of religion and non-Western traditions as a means to foster a deeper mutual understanding of the variety of concepts of God or the divine developed in the history of humankind.

Divinity in some Indian religions, such as VaiṣṇavismŚaivism and Śaktism, is often conceived monotheistically, as a supreme OmniGod (much like Western accounts of God.) Despite the evidence supporting this, these Indian concepts of God exhibit certain peculiarities that threaten the idea of their being monotheistic (or even theistic, one might say.) For instance, they manifest a plurality of divine forms, referred to as devatās and avatāras (divinely incarnations), they subsequently assimilate or incorporate other divinities in the Hindu pantheon and continue to exist in ambiguous relationships with them (an example being those between Viṣṇu, Śiva, Brahmā, and the Goddess), they are united with ordinary living beings in various ways, and they sometimes possess (exude?) ultimately impersonal or abstract nature. Moreover, in the Indian subcontinent, theistic traditions have resided alongside those that are decidedly non-theistic (for instance, Jain, Buddhist, and naturalist traditions), or non-theistically inclined (such as Nyāya and perhaps Yoga within Hinduism), and possibly a[mono]theistic (as in the Cārvāka and Mīmāṁsā schools) – although concepts of divinity in all these traditions are up for debate. Given all of this, we might ask: are Indian theistic traditions really monotheistic? Or, to put it in conceptual terms, is their concept of God a monotheistic one? Or, is their concept of divinity theistic at all?

Accepting that there are different conceptions of divinity among the Indian religious and philosophical traditions, we are then behoved to pose this question: how can these concepts of God be philosophically characterized? What divine properties does any given tradition ascribe to its divinity? Can this divinity be described in a consistent way? Or is it a contradictory concept? If the concept is contradictory, how would this affect its intelligibility? Does any of those concepts of God have some advantage over traditional philosophical accounts of God? How do they relate to well-known accounts of God, such as those of classical theism, pantheism, panentheism, process theism, open theism, etc.? And what are the difficulties peculiar to these Indian concepts of God?

This special issue of Sophia: International Journal of Philosophy and Traditions (https://www.springer.com/journal/11841) will address these questions and approach the concept of God in Indian religions from a contemporary philosophical perspective. We invite submissions of papers on general philosophical topics related to Indian religions and the concept of God, including but not restricted to the following themes:

– God in Indian religious traditions.
– Divine attributes and Indian concepts of divinity.
– Indian concepts of divinity vs. western concepts of God.
– Atheistic or agnostic arguments against the coherence of Indian concepts of God.
– Vaiṣṇavism/Śaivism/Śaktism: monotheistic, panentheistic or what?
– Language and God in Indian traditions.
– Divinity and Hindu deities.
– Relation of the divine with the world: creation and difference/non-difference.
– Consciousness and Indian concepts of divinity: cosmopsyshism, panenpsychism or what?

Papers should be submitted through Sophia’s Editorial Manager (https://www.springer.com/journal/11841/submission-guidelines) specifying that they are being submitted to the special issue on Indian Religions and the Concept of God, and obey Sophia’s submission guidelines. Submitted papers will go through a double-blind peer-review process. The deadline for submission is November 30, 2022.

The special issue will be guest-edited by Ricardo Silvestre, Alan Herbert and Purushottama Bilimoria. It is scheduled to be launched in the beginning of 2024. There will be an online conference on March 2023 related to the special issue. Authors who want to make sure their papers fit into the special issue might send an extended abstract (no more than 900 words) to ricardoss@ufcg.edu.br or alan@ochs.org.uk.

The special issue is one of the outcomes of the project “Philosophical Approaches to the Vaiṣṇava Concept of God”, funded by the John Templeton Foundation via the Global Philosophy of Religion Project (https://www.logicandreligion.com/vaishnava-concept-of-god).

10 Junior (postdoc) / Senior Fellowships in Aachen (Germany) starting in October 2023 for up to 12 months

Käte Hamburger Kolleg, Aachen (Germany): Cultures of Research

10 Junior (postdoc) / Senior Fellowships in Aachen (Germany) starting in October 2023 for up to 12 months

Open call for applications

The Käte Hamburger Kolleg Aachen Cultures of Research (c:o/re) has openings for a total of 10 international fellows for the academic year 2023/2024, starting in October 2023. Eligible applicants are expected to come from the humanities, social sciences and STS as well as from natural, life and technical sciences. The International Center for Advanced Studies at RWTH Aachen University is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Part of its mission is to offer a free space to its fellows to develop their own research and to exchange ideas for a timespan of up to 12 months.

The topic Cultures of Research is positioned where the fields of philosophy, sociology and history interface with natural sciences and technology. The overall focus of the Center’s work is on transformations of science and technology which are addressed by notions of complexity, life-likeness and emergence. In general, we are particularly interested in the digitalization of research (simulation, artificial intelligence, machine learning) for the study of epistemic complex systems (e.g. climate change, energy revolution, biologization, sustainability), in participatory arrangements between science and society and in investigating histories and varieties of cultures of research. Our aim is to explore new cultures of (transdisciplinary) research, and, as such, to develop new theories and methodologies for investigating scientific transformations.

For the call of the year 2023/2024 we are particularly, but not exclusively interested in the topic of life-likeness as it emerges at the interface of engineering, AI, life sciences and material sciences.

Against this backdrop we encourage applications by candidates coming from:

* the humanities, social sciences and STS to explore scientific and technological transformations related to life-likeness;

* natural, life and technical sciences to explore complex life-like systems; and

* arts, art history, science journalism and scientific illustration to explore the mediation and representation of life-likeness in science and technology.

 

Location
The International Center for Advanced Studies “Cultures of Research” is part of RWTH Aachen University (Germany), which with a student body of 47,000 is one of the largest technical universities in Europe. With over fifty professorships and ten institutes from the humanities and social sciences, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities is an integral part of the interdisciplinary culture of teaching and

research at RWTH Aachen University. Located at the borders of Germany, Belgium, and The Netherlands (Euregio), it has close ties with STS institutes at the universities of Maastricht and Liège, and with the Jülich–Aachen Research Alliance (JARA BRAIN) at the neighboring Jülich Research Center, a research campus of more than 5,000 researchers.

 

Fellowship

Fellows will join the international center for a maximum period of 12 months. The fellowships provide a full grant commensurate with applicants’ level of professional experience, working space in fully-equipped offices, logistical support, and access to the interdisciplinary research landscape and research labs at RWTH Aachen University. Fellows who take unpaid leave during their fellowship will receive financial compensation in the form of a stipend; alternatively, the center would pay for a teaching replacement at the fellow’s home institution. In order to create a stimulating intellectual environment among the resident research community, fellows are expected to routinely conduct much of their work from Aachen during their fellowship. Residency in Aachen is required and the center can support fellows in the search for accommodation.

 

Applications
Scholars can apply for either junior or senior fellowships. For junior fellows a successfully completed PhD is an eligibility requirement; for senior fellowships a professorship (associate or full professorship) or comparable position is expected. Applications (in English) should include a cover/motivational letter (1 page), CV (tabular, max. 2 pages), a project outline incl. intended goals/outcome of the project (max. 1300 words), and a list of publications. Please also submit a writing sample (journal article or book-chapter). Applications can be submitted via our application portal that you find here.

The deadline for applications is December 31, 2022.

Female researchers and scholars from the Global South are particularly encouraged to apply. For further information please visit the FAQs on our website.

KHK_Aachen_CFA_23 24-1

Job Posting at James Madison University

SACP Members may be interested in the following position:

https://philjobs.org/job/show/21766

Assistant Professor – Department Philosophy and Religion

The Department of Philosophy and Religion at James Madison University invites applications for a tenure-track appointment in Non-Western Philosophy at the rank of Assistant Professor, beginning Fall of 2023.

The College of Arts and Letters, in which the Department of Philosophy and Religion is located, enrolls over 3400 undergraduate majors and about 150 graduate students across ten academic units in the humanities, social sciences, and communication studies. Home to several interdisciplinary centers and institutes, the College employs 270 full-time faculty. It is a university leader in student and faculty diversity and belonging and has made significant faculty investments in racial and social justice, Latinx studies, and African-American studies. It embraces the teacher-scholar model, supporting excellent teaching, innovative service, and strong programs of research and creative inquiry across the disciplines. The College provides rich opportunities for faculty to collaborate across the College and the entire university.

The hiring for this position aligns with the College of Arts and Letters’ commitment to diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism. We particularly encourage applications from candidates whose teaching and research intersect with the College of Arts and Letters’ programs in African, African American, and Diaspora Studies (AAAD), Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies (LAXC), and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS).

https://joblink.jmu.edu/postings/13032

Job Posting – Assistant Professor, Philosophy Department, Cal Poly Pomona

UPDATE: the application deadline for this job posting has been extended to November 8, 2022.

Members of the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy may be interested in the following job posting:

https://philjobs.org/job/show/21458

Philosophy Department at Cal Poly Pomona. Seeking Assistant Professor, tenure-track, for an appointment beginning in the 2023-2024 academic year. Teaching load of 3/3 in the first two years and 4/4 in the years following, with course-reduction opportunities for research, service, and teaching initiatives. AOS: Philosophy of race or ethnicity, with preference for a focus in Africana or African American philosophy, Asian American philosophy, Chicana/o or Latina/o/x American philosophy, OR Native American philosophy, OR philosophy rooted in the experience and activism of other racialized groups in the US context. We are seeking candidates whose scholarship and teaching will center on the experiences and advocacy of one of these racialized groups, exemplify the critical and intersectional methodologies of Ethnic Studies, and complement departmental strengths in critical philosophy of race, feminist philosophy, philosophy of disability, and social and political philosophy.

Minimum qualifications include a PhD in Philosophy with a specialization in philosophy of race or ethnicity (Degree must be conferred by the start date of the position.); A commitment and a record of contributions to student success through the applicant’s teaching, scholarship, or service; Evidence of potential for excellence in undergraduate teaching; Evidence of scholarly potential encompassing philosophy of race or ethnicity.

AOC: Open, but we have critical teaching needs in philosophy of law, comparative philosophy, philosophical/religious traditions in India, China, and Japan, African philosophy, Latin American philosophy, and history of philosophy.  We have additional teaching needs, although less critical, in applied ethics, philosophy of language, and philosophy of science broadly construed, including questions at the intersection of science and ethics. Teaching duties include lower-division general education courses.

In line with our university’s learn-by-doing pedagogy, we prefer candidates who demonstrate an interest in developing new high-impact courses related to their area of specialization, or participating in our existing high-impact educational practices, e.g. our Clinical Ethics Practicum, Ethics Bowl, the Senior Project for our program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS), or the annual seminar taught in connection with the California Center for Ethics and Policy (for more information on the CCEP visit: https://www.cpp.edu/~class/ethics-and-policy-center/index.shtml).  (For information on high-impact educational practices see: https://www.aacu.org/resources/high-impact-practices.)

Salary competitive. Faculty evaluation process is developed to be highly transparent. Faculty represented by the California Faculty Association. Cal Poly Pomona is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer. Cal Poly Pomona is among the most diverse campuses in the United States (it is number 10 in the Best College Reviews’ 50 top ethnically diverse colleges in America:   https://www.bestcollegereviews.org/features/top-ethnically-diverse-colleges/.  It is a federally recognized Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). We also serve a large percentage of Asian and Asian-American students as well as first-generation students. We welcome candidates who share and can speak to Cal Poly Pomona’s commitment to promoting student success in diverse populations.

For a full position description, see:  https://careers.pageuppeople.com/873/po/en-us/job/519390/philosophy-ethnic-studies-affinity-assistant-professor

Applications must include:  (1) A cover letter (of no more than two pages single-spaced), which describes the candidate’s teaching and research interests and addresses the minimum and preferred qualifications (see full position description for a complete list of minimum and preferred qualifications); (2) a Student Success Statement of no more than 2 pages, single-spaced about your teaching or other experiences, successes, and challenges in working with a diverse student population, and which addresses at least two of the inclusive excellence criteria listed in the full position description; (3) a curriculum vitae including the contact information for at least five individuals who can speak to the candidate’s potential for success in this position; (4) three recent (dated within the past two years) letters of reference, at least one of which (at least in part) addresses teaching qualifications; (5) an unofficial transcript showing highest degree earned (an official transcript will be required of finalists); (6) a writing sample of no more than 30 double-spaced pages; (7) a teaching portfolio including sample syllabi, and evaluations from the most recent two years of teaching (if applicable).

Applicants are required to submit their materials electronically via the full announcement through this link: https://careers.pageuppeople.com/873/po/en-us/job/519390/philosophy-ethnic-studies-affinity-assistant-professor

The position is open until filled. First consideration will be given to completed applications received no later than November 1, 2022.

Job Post – Grinnell College

SACP Members may be interested in the following position:

Job: Tenure-Track Position in Africana Philosophy and/or Decolonial

GRINNELL COLLEGE — PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT – TENURE-TRACK POSITION (START FALL 2023).

GRINNELL COLLEGE. The Department of Philosophy invites applications for a tenure-track appointment in Africana Philosophy and/or Decolonial Philosophy beginning Fall 2023. Assistant Professor (Ph.D.) preferred; instructor (ABD) or Associate Professor possible. Research and teaching interests must include two of: 19th or 20th Century Continental; Social & Political Philosophy; non-Western Philosophy.

Grinnell College is a highly selective undergraduate liberal arts college with a strong tradition of social responsibility. In letters of application, candidates should discuss their potential to contribute to a college community that maintains a diversity of people and perspectives as one of its core values. To be assured of full consideration, all application materials should be received by November 15. Please visit our application website at https://jobs.grinnell.edu to find more details about the job and submit applications online. Candidate will need to upload a letter of application, curriculum vitae, transcripts (copies are acceptable), writing sample, sample syllabi, statement of teaching and research, and provide an email address for three references. Questions about this search should be directed to the search chair, Professor Tammy Nyden, at PhilosophySearch@grinnell.edu or 641-269-3157.

Grinnell College is committed to establishing and maintaining a safe and nondiscriminatory educational environment for all College community members. It is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination in matters of admission, employment, and housing, and in access to and participation in its education programs, services, and activities. The college does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, childbirth, religion, disability, creed, or any other protected class.

An offer for this position will be contingent on successful completion of a background check.

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