Erasmus Lectures to Examine Mystery, Faith

Lara Buchak, assistant professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, will speak about faith in a lecture at Westmont. Buchak explores “What is Faith?” Wednesday, Jan. 29, from 3:30-5 p.m. in Hieronymus. The Erasmus Society Lecture Series is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Annie Borden at (805) 565-6239.

Buchak, who earned a doctorate from Princeton University, has focused her research on decision, game and rational choice theory, as well as the philosophy of religion and epistemology. She published a book, “Risk and Rationality,” which probes the principles that govern rational decision-making in the face of risk.

For her talk at Westmont, she discusses the term ‘faith’ that can be used in both religious and ordinary contexts. “For example, one can have faith that God exists, faith that one’s friend is loyal or faith in one’s spouse,” she says. “But what does it mean to have faith? This talk will first explain how to figure out what faith is — how to look for a precise definition of faith. It will then offer a proposal, which sheds light on when and why faith can be rational.”