Taser (2022)
Sharif International School of THEISM: East & West (2)
The second course of this school was conducted online in August 2022, centering on Humans: Mind-Body, Evil, and Free Will. Having been followed by enthusiasts, this event featured twenty Iranian & international professors for three weeks. The first week, we started with a brief lecture by Dr. Seyyed Hasan Hosseini and Dr. Ebrahim Azadegan on the visions and plans of the school. Then, Professor Muhammad Legenhausen made a speech titled “Inferentialist Theology”, followed by Prof. Kara Richardson’s lecture on “Avicenna’s Agency”. On the second day, Dr. Ebrahim Azadegan began his speech on Free Will and the Theology Supporting it, and then Dr. Linda Zagzebski ended the session by talking about The Theory of Fatalism.
On the third day of the second week, Dr. Mahdi Homazadeh made a speech titled “Monism, Panpsychism, and Sadra” and Prof. Janice T. Chik lectured on Aquinas on Mind. On the fourth day, Prof. Amber L. Griffioen gave a speech on the topic of “Positive and Pragmatic Philosophy in Today’s World” and discussed the flaws of traditional theistic philosophy. On the fifth day, Dr. Naimeh Pourmuhammadi spoke about “The Problem of Evil from The Perspective of Cognitive Sciences” and Prof. William Craig gave a speech about “The Divine Incorporeality”. The following day, Prof. Timothy O’Connor delved into the topic of which Theology can offer us certainty about the world after death. Then, Professor Mullins proposed a new look at the theory of “Open Theism” and how to resolve its problems. On the seventh day, Dr. Mohammad Saleh Zarepour from Oxford University Examined the theory of After Life and the idea of Hell and Heaven from Sider’s point of view. Then Professor Alfred Mele analyzed the topic of “Free Will and Neuroscience”.
The third week was dedicated to lectures, and on the eighth day, the first session began with a lecture by Prof. Paul Weingartner claiming “Absolute Knowledge, Absolute Power, and Absolute Benevolence of God Is Not Incompatible with the Existence of Evil in the World”. The ninth day ended with two lectures by Dr. Seyed Nasir Mousavian on the issue of “Avicenna on the Human Soul”. The tenth day was dedicated to the second speech session by Prof. Gartner and the first lecture session of Prof. John Sanders entitled “Divine Openness, Will, and Evil”. The eleventh day continued with the first speech session by Dr. Seyed Hassan Hosseini on the topic of “Avicenna’s Response to the Problem of Evil”, and the second lecture session of Prof. Sanders. The final day of the school ended with the second lecture by Dr. Seyed Hasan Hosseini along with the speech of Prof. Brandon Rickabaugh entitled “The Meta-Problem of Consciousness from the Perspective of Cognitive Sciences”, and the closing remarks of Dr. Seyed Hassan Hosseini, director of the event.