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Course ScheduleScholars and Lectures
Week 1: Professor Daniel N. Robinson
Major Lecture: Methods of Inquiry in Psychology and the Social Sciences. The historical developments within science and philosophy are considered in assessments of contemporary methods of inquiry. Critical appraisals of the foundational assumptions of psychological and social research are offered. Nomothetic vs. idiographic explanations are examined under the general heading of “defining the subject.”
Seminars:
• The nature of explanation
• The idea of the “social”
• Is Dray’s critique successful?
Required Essay for the Week: 5-10 pages submitted on ONE of the Seminar issues, due on the Monday following the major lecture.
Tutorials: As scheduled, minimum of two hours/week
Week 2: Professor John M. Finnis
Major Lecture: Law and Human Nature. Life is lived within communities and contexts that are civic by nature. It is under a rule of law that certain personal projects become possible or encouraged or constrained or virtually foreclosed. The rule of law is itself a reflection of conceptions of human nature, something of an ‘applied social psychology’. By what standards are we able to assess the adequacy of different rules of law in a ‘pluralistic’ world?
Seminars:
• Philosophy of law in the ancient world
• The emergence of positivism
• Contrasting natural law theory with positivism
Required Essay for Week: 5-10 pages submitted on ONE of the seminar issues, due on the Monday following the major lecture.
Tutorials: As scheduled, minimum of two hours/week
Week 3: Professor John Haldane
Major Lecture: Moral Sciences and the Natural World. The ‘moral dimension’ focusing on the putatively ‘value neutral’ character of research and theory in the social sciences. What is the nature of decisions that make them ‘moral’ and what is the relationship between moral decisions and the form and quality of life associated with these?
Seminars:
• The fact/value distinction
• The normativity of social science
• The ethics of research
Required Essay for Week: 5-10 pages submitted on ONE of the seminar issues, due within four weeks of the conclusion of the program.
Tutorials: As scheduled, minimum of two hours/week
Week 4: Professor Roger Scruton
Major Lecture: Civilization, Consolation and Culture. The aesthetic dimension of life is a central part of all known cultures and all recorded epochs. Human communities devote scarce resources and expend their energies in the name of aesthetic values, striving for ‘rightness’ and ‘appropriateness’ in all forms of conduct and creation, from the use of words to the building of cities. What do such practices tell us about human nature, and are there fixed standards against which they can be judged?
Seminars:
• Culture and civilization
• Aesthetic value and everyday life
• Religion and culture
Required Essay for Week: 5-10 pages submitted on ONE of the seminar issues, due within four weeks of the conclusion of the program.
Tutorials: As scheduled, minimum of two hours/week