April 13, 2012
Fifteen outstanding SJU students participated in a
two-day student colloquium on “Natural Law and Moral Objectivity”
on March 22-23. The
colloquium consisted of three two-hour sessions in which the
students discussed prepared readings taken from classic sources:
St. Thomas Aquinas’ Treatise on Law; Thomas Hobbes’
Leviathan; David Hume’s An Enquiry Concerning the
Principle of Morals; Adam Smith’s A Theory of Moral
Sentiments; and Immanuel Kant’s Foundations of the
Metaphysics of Morals.
The students exchanged impressions and opinions
about the readings, commented on each other’s contributions, and
argued about the relevance of each thinker. The discussions continued
on through supper on Friday evening and lunch on Saturday
afternoon. These sessions were led by three faculty members: Dr. Douglas Rasmussen,
Professor of Philosophy SJC, Dr. Jonathan Jacobs, Professor of
Philosophy, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Dr. Paul
Gaffney, Associate Professor of Philosophy SJC. Dr. Rasmussen was the
colloquium organizer and director.
“Natural Law and Moral Objectivity” was a great success; the
students did tremendous amount of preparatory work and performed
very well in these discussions. We hope to make such student
colloquia a regular opportunity for students and faculty. This
colloquium was made possible by a grant from the Charles G. Koch
Foundation.