News and events
Wiles Colloquium 2009
The Monist Century 1845-1945: Science, Secularism and Worldview
Queen's University Belfast, 2nd and 3rd October 2009.
The theory that all spirit and matter were united in a single originary substance gained adherents across the globe during the second half of the nineteenth century. This philosophy of monism found a gifted advocate in the guise of German biologist and Darwin interpreter, Ernst Haeckel, who heralded it as a new scientific "worldview". Self-described monists formed associations and, with varying degrees of anticlerical invective, undertook to substitute their worldview for the dualistic Christian faith.
There is a growing literature - largely written by historians of science - on the theory, proponents and organisation of naturalistic monism. However, there has yet to be a systematic study of the extent and the wider ramifications of monist thought. The aim of the upcoming colloquium is to investigate the thesis that monism formed an essential epistemological framework for numerous religious, political and cultural movements that helped define the century between the 1840s and the destruction of the National Socialist regime in 1945.
The colloquium brings together a group of international scholars, recognised for their work in charting linkages between the histories of science, religion, politics and ideas. Each panel will consist of short summaries followed by the discussion of pre-circulated papers that will be made available to registered participants via a secure website.
To register or for more information, please contact Dr Todd Weir (t.weir@qub.ac.uk) or visit the Queen's University Belfast website.
