“Today miracles occupy the same place as illusive effects,” but they should be distinguished from magic, said Hent de Vries, professor in the humanities and philosophy and director of the Humanities Center at Johns Hopkins University, in a talk Tuesday night about miraculous events.
Before an audience of about 20 community members, professors and students in Pembroke Hall 305, de Vries spoke about the changing theoretical perspectives of the miracle throughout history and how such theory can inform modern philosophical inquiry.
Engaging with texts from a variety of philosophers across different eras, de Vries explained how the philosophy of the miracle has changed. The idea of the miracle is almost ridiculed in light of scientific discovery in the modern era, he said.
“Today, miracles are seen as misinterpreted science,” de Vries said.
But to understand such events, both past and present views on miracles need to be evaluated and synthesized to create an interpretive framework that explores broader philosophical questions, he said. This task will be even more important for understanding religions and events in an age of technological innovation, de Vries said.
The lecture, titled “Of Miracles, Events and Special Effects,” is part of de Vries’ week-long residency on campus, which also included a symposium on Monday called “‘Religious Radicalisms’ and Modernity: Allies or Enemies?” Today’s 12 p.m. master seminar — also a part of the residency — will be restricted to faculty members and invited graduate students, offering participants the opportunity to engage in careful philosophical analysis of a short story.
All these events were rescheduled from the fall, when they were canceled due to Hurricane Sandy, said event coordinator Kit Salisbury, department manager at the Cogut Center for the Humanities. But the University had been trying to set up the series long before last fall, seeking to host events to complement the Center’s focus on de Vries’ brand of philosophical inquiry, wrote Michael Steinberg, director of the Cogut Center and professor of history and music, in an email to The Herald.
“Hent de Vries is the preeminent philosopher of the new interest in religion,” Steinberg wrote. “We have been trying to invite him to campus since 2007,” he added, when the group held a Faculty Fellows symposium focused on de Vries’ work.
“Hosting de Vries was years in the making,” Salisbury said. “He is very well thought of in the humanities.”
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