NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The degree to which morality and religion should influence political decisions about abortion, taxation, the environment and other issues will be explored in a four-part lecture series at Vanderbilt University.
The “Democracy and Moral Conviction” lecture series will feature four eminent speakers and offers the general public a chance to share in discussions that are part of a graduate-level interdisciplinary course that mixes philosophy, political science and law.
“Given that governmental action, institutions and policies often have an undeniable moral component, certain political questions inevitably raise deep moral questions,” said Robert Talisse, associate professor of philosophy and organizer of the lecture series. “The liberal democratic hope is that the government can settle the legal issues of, say, abortion, without getting entangled in deep moral and religious controversies. But this seems implausible. The very claim that government must try to avoid such entanglements is itself a controversial moral commitment.
“We may not settle the issue with this lecture series, but we will get some deep insight.”
All the “Democracy and Moral Conviction” lectures will be held at noon in the Renaissance Room of Vanderbilt Law School and are free and open to the public.
The schedule:
Monday, Feb. 26: Stephen Macedo, the Lawrence S. Rockefeller Professor of Politics and director of the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University, speaks on “Democracy and Moral Governance.”
Monday, March 19: Michael Perry, the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law at Emory University, speaks on “Is Religion a Constitutionally Legitimate Basis of Lawmaking in the United States?”
Monday, April 9: Seyla Benhabib, the Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Yale University and director of its Program in Ethics, Politics and Economics, speaks on a relevant topic to the series which has not yet been determined.
Monday, April 16: Roger Scruton, visiting lecturer in philosophy and visiting research scholar in the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, will speak on “Freedom of Religion.”
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu