ACADEMIC SEMINARS
SPRING 2024
The Friendship of Men and Women
Led by R.J. Snell
Fridays, 1:00-2:30pm:
Feb 9 & 23
For more information on this seminar, email R.J. at rsnell@winst.org.
We are by nature social beings and cannot flourish without friendship. Some, however, suggest that men and women cannot be friends with each other, or at least that romantic friendship and the friendship proper to marriage is the only form of friendship available between the sexes. Is this true? What sort of anthropology would that assume? Does it overlook the dignity of all?
For more information on this seminar, email RJ Snell at rsnell@winst.org.
*Lunch provided
All Princeton undergraduate students are warmly invited.
History of Ideas: The Forgotten Texts
Led by R.J. Snell
Fridays 1:00-2:30pm:
Feb 16, Mar 1 & 22, Apr 5, Apr 19, Apr 26
For more information on this seminar, email R.J. at rsnell@winst.org.
Different schools of thought gravitate to different texts, and to different interpretations of those texts. This seminar responds to requests from students who attended a philosophy conference and were surprised to hear attendees referring to texts (obvious texts in that particular context, texts everyone was assumed to know) that are not in the conversation or assumed at Princeton. This seminar provides a crash course in the forgotten figures and interpretations; or, figures that some schools of thought forget while others remember. This semester will look at Iris Murdoch, Pierre Manent, Edith Stein, Jacques Maritain, Leon and Amy Kass.
All Princeton undergraduate or graduate students are warmly invited.
Aquinas on Law, Morality, and Politics
Led by R. J. Snell
Beginning February 13th, Tuesday mornings 8:15-9:15 am. A light breakfast will be provided.
For more information on this seminar, email R.J. at rsnell@winst.org.
A line-by-line read of selected sections of the Summa theologica, with particular emphasis on the nature of the moral act and the treatise on law. No previous study of Aquinas needed, no pre-reading needed before seminars; all are welcome.
A light breakfast is provided.
All Princeton undergraduate or graduate students are warmly invited.
Verdi's La Forza del Destino at the Met Opera, NYC
Led by John David Corwin
Tuesday evenings, Feb 13, 20 & 27, 5:15pm-6:30pm
Friday, March 1, 3:00pm – Outing to the NYC Opera.*
Do we have free will? Or does fate determine the shape of our lives? Verdi’s opera La Forza del Destino explores this fundamental question to human existence through another fundamental human experience – love.
*The Witherspoon Institute will cover travel, dinner, and admission to the opera for students. Those who attend the leadup sessions in February will be guaranteed a ticket for the trip on March 1. A limited number of other tickets will be made available by lottery.
Contact John David at jdcorwin@winst.org if interested.
All Princeton undergraduate or graduate students are warmly invited.
Dances at a Gathering and Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet at the NYC Ballet
Led by John David Corwin
Tuesday evenings, April 9 & 16, 5:15pm-6:30pm
Friday, April 26, 3:00pm – Outing to The Met Ballet, NYC.*
Two performances: The first set to music by Frederic Chopin and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, Dances at a Gathering presents episodes of camaraderie, comedy, and wit. The second set to music by Johannes Brahms and choreographed by George Balanchine, the Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet celebrates the beauty of ballet with its romantic atmospheres and extravagant costumes.
*The Witherspoon Institute will cover travel, dinner, and admission to the Met for students. Those who attend both sessions on April 9th and 16th will be guaranteed a ticket for April 26th. A limited number of other tickets will be made available by lottery.
Contact John David at jdcorwin@winst.org if interested.
All Princeton undergraduate or graduate students are warmly invited.
Graduate Seminar:
Philosophy of Science
Led by Jamie Boulding and Brandon Van Dyck
Tuesdays, 7:00-8:30pm (dinner included):
Feb 6 & 20, Mar 5 & 19, Apr 2 & 16
While science has been highly successful in making sense of the physical world, it raises a number of philosophical questions that often go unexamined. What is science? What are its core assumptions, and what are they based on? What is scientific progress? What does it mean to be an ethical scientist? This seminar will consider a number of such questions related to the meaning, foundations, scope, and purpose of science. No prior background in science or philosophy is required.
For more information on this seminar, email Jamie at jboulding@winst.org.
All Princeton graduate students are warmly invited. Interested undergraduates should email Jamie for further details.