Dallas Albert Willard (1935-2013), a philosopher and Christian, is remembered today for his contributions to both the university and the church. As an epistemologist, Willard was an international authority on such topics as moral realism and phenomenology. As an author and speaker, Willard was a popular expositor of spiritual practices and contemporary Christian discipleship. Willard earned his PhD in Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1964. Sixty years later, the Lumen Center seeks to remember and steward the spirit of Willard’s legacy through establishing an annual forum, named in Willard’s honor, for the presentation of Christian scholarship and thought on the grounds of his alma mater.  

The annual Dallas A. Willard Lecture will embody the spirit of “sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth may be found”—part of UW–Madison’s historic and public commitment to education. In engaging, affirming, and challenging the modern university’s pursuit of truth, the Willard Lectures will bring to Madison outstanding scholars who have distinguished themselves both academically and in service to the church. These scholars will engage prevailing ideas, theories, research, cultural questions, and leadership in some dimension relevant to the university’s vitality, mission, or the common good.

The recent academic study of ethics—our collective moral knowledge—has dramatically narrowed to focus on problem-solving, even as theories have multiplied to satisfy the primacy of personal preferences. As a result, professional, collective, and personal ethics frequently lack coherence and seem disconnected from one another. Our inaugural Dallas A. Willard lecture will address this problematic situation. Rebecca De Young, professor of ethics and philosophy at Calvin University, will clarify the state of contemporary ethics and propose an alternative that could (and should) enliven our understanding of moral knowledge and equip each of us to live more integrated and coherent ethical lives.

SPEAKER
Dr. Rebecca DeYoung (philosophy department, Calvin University) teaches and speaks widely on virtue ethics and character formation. She’s published philosophical articles on virtues and vices such as courage, hope, sloth, and wrath. Her book on the seven deadly sins– Glittering Vices, now in its 2nd edition–received the C.S. Lewis prize. Her other books include Vainglory, Aquinas’s Ethics, and The Little Logic Book.