One-Day Intensive Seminar
February 20, 2010
Series - The Origin, Significance, and Wisdom of the Constitution - Part III

Seminar I - Lincoln-Douglas seventh debate
Seminar II - The Dred Scott decision
Lecture - The Meaning of the Constitution

The purpose of this series is to examine the meaning and significance of the United States Constitution. The series begins with two of the principal intellectual influences on the thinking behind the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson mentions Aristotle (Part I of the series, covering Aristotle's Politics took place in February, 2009) and John Locke as writing “elementary books of public right” which were, in part, the “authority” for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The series then turns to the Declaration and Constitution themselves. (Part II of the series takes place October 17, 2009). Finally in order to understand the ways in which one can arguably understand the founding documents, selections from the Lincoln Douglas debates will be considered, along with one Supreme Court case: the Dred Scott decision.

One need not attend every seminar offering in the series to find each weekend event meaningful.

Tutor:

Paul O'Reilly, Ph.D.
Tutor, Thomas Aquinas College

March 20-21, 2010
Frankenstein and the Ethics of Biotechnology

What are the ethical issues surrounding the intersection of modern technological advances and the essence of who we are as human beings?

A reading of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus frames a discussion about the nature of modern science, what it means to be human, and the morality of biotechnological innovations. Among the questions examined: How does the creature cross the line from non-human to human or cyborg? Is Frankenstein, the scientist, a “modern Prometheus”? Is our modern-day equation of the “Frankenstein Syndrome” (according to Bernard Rollin) consistent with—or an exaggeration of—Shelley’s vision? Does the novel provide a clue as to our ambivalence about the status of cyborgs as something more or less than human? Also part of the reading and discussion will be works of commentators Bernard Rollin and Finn Bowring, who offer spirited assessments of the cases being made for bioengineering—assessments that help us draw out the ethical implications of Frankenstein in a modern context.

Tutors:

Karl Haigler
President, Bioethics in Action

Paul O'Reilly, Ph.D.
Tutor, Thomas Aquinas College

April 17-18, 2010
Contemporary Issues Seminar -
Man and the Environment

This brief survey of key environmental writings will be the foundation for
our discussions about human beings and their relationship to the
environment.

Readings:

1. Genesis (selections)
2. Rev. Malthus - An Essay on the Principle of Population (excerpts)
3. Aldo Leopold - A Sand County Almanac (excerpts)
4. Rachel Carson: Silent Spring (excerpts)
5. Garrett Hardin - A Tragedy of the Commons (essay)
6. John McPhee: Encounters with the Archdruid
7. Julian Simon: The Ultimate Resource (excerpts)
8. Bjorn Lomborg: The Skeptical Environmentalist (excerpts)

Tutors:

Philip LeCuyer
Tutor, St. John's College

Robert Bienenfeld
Environment and Energy Strategy
American Honda Motor Co.

Click here to go to the Contemporary Issues page, and preview some of the 2010 seminars we are now planning

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