Lecture Speaker

Join the Abraham Lecture Series featuring Dr. Lara Buchak 

Faith, Commitment, and Belief
 
This talk concerns the role of faith in what you do and what you believe. I argue that having faith in a claim means acting on that claim without further evidence, and remaining committed to acting on that claim even in the face of evidence against it. I show that having faith can be rational in certain circumstances, and that those who lack faith stand to miss out on important goods. I then apply this view of faith and commitments to two questions. The first concerns the role of traditions in scientific, religious, and moral life. The second concerns when and why it can be rational to defer to an authority rather than our own reason.

Event Details:

Date: April 14, 2026

Time: 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM (CST)

Location: Perkins Prothro Great Hall, 5901 Bishop Blvd., Dallas | Perkins Chapel, 6001 Bishop Blvd., Dallas

Register here

For those unable to attend in person, a livestream link will be available. Please stay tuned.


  • Dr. Lara Buchak

    Buchak is a Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University. Her research spans decision theory, social choice theory, epistemology, ethics, and the philosophy of religion. She is the author of Risk and Rationality (2013), which offers a novel account of how rational agents should make decisions under risk and argues that differing risk attitudes can all be rational.

    Buchak’s subsequent work applies her theory of risk to ethical issues, including biomedical research, climate policy, and moral concern for the worse-off. She also conducts ongoing research on the nature and rationality of faith, both religious and secular, examining when commitment in the face of counterevidence can be rational and life-enhancing.

    She received her Ph.D. from Princeton University in 2009 and previously spent twelve years on the faculty of the Philosophy Department at the University of California, Berkeley, before returning to Princeton. Buchak was also awarded the Inaugural Plantinga Prize in 2022 on her paper, "Faith and Traditions" which addresses the nature of allegiance to, and break from, a tradition—whether it be Christianity or Islam or atheism or some other tradition.

    Note: Inaugural Plantinga Prize in 2022: https://www.apaonline.org/news/news.asp?id=596012