AFTER VIRTUE - The Berkeley Institute · AFTER VIRTUE How Modern MORAL Thinking Went Wrong Alasdair...
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Connor Grubaugh Fourth-year undergraduate studying History Lara Buchak Associate Professor in Philosophy Senior Fellow Berkeley Institute AFTER VIRTUE How Modern MORAL Thinking Went Wrong Alasdair MacIntyre’s After Virtue is widely recognized as one of the most important works of philosophy in the twentieth century. The book examines the historical roots of contemporary moral disagreement and offers an explanation for the breakdown of moral consensus and traditional ethics in Western culture. This seminar will introduce students to the book’s major themes: the incoherence of modern moral debate, the emotional basis of contemporary moral attitudes, and the place of the virtues in the restoration of civil discourse. It presumes no background in moral philosophy. Copies of the book will be provided to participants. Dates: 9.3, 9.10, 9.17, 9.24, 10.1 Time: 6:00-7:30pm THE CHARACTER OF WORK The relationship between our professional lives and moral identities is by all accounts conflicted. We are unsure how much personal fulfillment our work should provide. We are unsure whether our jobs ought to reflect our deepest commitments. Matters are made more difficult if we lack the ability to think clearly about the nature and character of work itself. How should we decide which vocation to pursue? How will that choice shape our understanding of time, place, and identity? How much money is enough? Are there hidden dangers to working in technology? This seminar is a continuation of the Institute’s reading group on After Virtue. While participation in that seminar will be beneficial, it is by no means necessary, and new participants are enthusiastically invited. Short weekly readings will be drawn from sociology, literature, economics, history, and theology. Dates: 10.8, 10.15, 10.22, 10.29 Time: TBA Matthew Rose Director & Senior Fellow Berkeley Institute For more information, please contact Megan at [email protected] www.binst.org
Transcript of AFTER VIRTUE - The Berkeley Institute · AFTER VIRTUE How Modern MORAL Thinking Went Wrong Alasdair...
Connor GrubaughFourth-year
undergraduate studying History
Lara BuchakAssociate Professor in
PhilosophySenior Fellow
Berkeley Institute
AFTER VIRTUEHow Modern MORAL Thinking Went Wrong
Alasdair MacIntyre’s After Virtue is widely recognized as one of the most important works of philosophy in the twentieth century. The book examines the historical roots of contemporary moral disagreement and offers an explanation for the breakdown of moral consensus and traditional ethics in Western culture.
This seminar will introduce students to the book’s major themes: the incoherence of modern moral debate, the emotional basis of contemporary moral attitudes, and the place of the virtues in the restoration of civil discourse. It presumes no background in moral philosophy. Copies of the book will be provided to participants.
Dates: 9.3, 9.10, 9.17, 9.24, 10.1Time: 6:00-7:30pm
THE CHARACTER OF WORKThe relationship between our professional lives and moral identities is by all accounts conflicted. We are unsure how much personal fulfillment our work should provide. We are unsure whether our jobs ought to reflect our deepest commitments. Matters are made more difficult if we lack the ability to think clearly about the nature and character of work itself. How should we decide which vocation to pursue? How will that choice shape our understanding of time, place, and identity? How much money is enough? Are there hidden dangers to working in technology?
This seminar is a continuation of the Institute’s reading group on After Virtue. While participation in that seminar will be beneficial, it is by no means necessary, and new participants are enthusiastically invited. Short weekly readings will be drawn from sociology, literature, economics, history, and theology.
Dates: 10.8, 10.15, 10.22, 10.29Time: TBA
Matthew RoseDirector & Senior Fellow
Berkeley Institute
For more information, please contact Megan at [email protected]
www.binst.org
Mark McClayPhD Candidate in Classics
Junior Fellow Berkeley Institute
THEORIES OF RELIGIONWhat do we mean by "religion"? How do we distinguish the religious from the non-religious? What role(s) does religion play in the life of an individual? Of a group? Of a society or culture?
This cross-disciplinary reading group is intended for graduate students whose research involves the study of religious concepts, behaviors, experiences, and communities. We will read and discuss a series of foundational texts in the "theory of religion," ranging from Durkheim to Geertz. Additional readings will be selected according to the specific needs and interests of the group.
Dates: Early NovemberTime: TBA
DANTE’S PARADISOAn art of Thinking
Dante’s Divine Comedy is certainly the greatest literary work Europe produced in the middle ages, maybe the greatest it has ever produced. Part of its greatness is that it lays out for the imagination a vision of what the intellect requires for its successful operation. It presents, you might say, a challenging and practical "art of thinking."
These classes will introduce the last of the Comedy 's three parts, the journey through Heaven narrated in the Paradiso. Though the instructor is a scholar of medieval literature, we will not look mainly at its medieval or at its literary qualities; we will work through the discipline of thought that it embodies.
Dates: 10.20, 10.27, 11.10, 11.17Time: 5:oo-6:30 PM
Steven JusticeChancellor’s Professor in
EnglishSenior Fellow
Berkeley Institute
For more information, please contact Megan at [email protected]
www.binst.org
