REading Groups
Our reading groups allow students to explore philosophical and religious questions outside their normal course of study.
Lake Como
Power, Technology, and Human Nature, Nathaniel
We instinctively think of ourselves as the masters and creators of technology, which serves as a tool for our own purposes. Those purposes become grander as technology develops, including the transformation of human nature and even the triumph over death. But we have also come to see the dangers technology poses to the human race, the way it can change us in ways we did not expect. This seminar will explore the nature of technology and power and the impact they have on human nature. We will read excerpts from the work of the twentieth-century German philosopher and theologian, Romano Guardini, including The End of the Modern World and Letters from Lake Como.
Area of Interest: Religion in the Modern Age
Previous Groups
After virtue
This reading group for Graduate Students met in the spring of 2019 and discussed Alasdair MacIntyre's classic work After Virtue. The book follows the fortunes of ethical thinking in the west after the Enlightenment and analyzes the conditions and possibilities for moral discourse today.
Ancient Solutions to the Crises of Modernity
This bi-weekly reading group for Undergraduates explored the relevance of ancient theories to the modern situation. The tumultuous events in the twentieth century left in its wake a sense of exhaustion regarding the state of modern philosophy. In the spring of 2019, Dr. Nathan Pinkokski led discussions on how different contemporary thinkers—Leo Strauss, Hannah Arendt, and Alasdair MacIntyre—identify problems in this context and respond by looking to classical and medieval thought.
The Thought of john henry newman
This reading group examined the encounter between religion and modernity, especially since the nineteenth century. On Mondays and Thursdays during Fall 2018, we will look at the philosophy, theology, and educational theory of John Henry Newman. The seminar will read excerpts of his Fifteen Sermons Preached before the University of Oxford, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, and The Idea of a University.
American Constitutional Tradition
This one-credit, biweekly reading group for students at Columbia Law School explored the philosophical underpinnings of the American constitutional tradition. Faculty from the Law School and other scholars in the area served as participants and guest lecturers. In the spring of 2018, we examined the relationship between Church and State in the early days of the Republic and the character of early American democracy.