The University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 5, Ed. 1 Tuesday, October 4, 2011 Page: 4 of 16
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4 — October 4, 201 i
News
The University News
GEORGE from page 1
including its basic premises, its
consequences and the arguments
of its opponents.
"Human freedom and reasoning
are fundamental to this dignity," said
George. "Thus, the basic goods of
man are those of a creature with a
rational nature."
George proposed that human
freedom and reason are "God-like"
and that they represent "a limited
but real sharing in divine power."
He said that even if one does not
recognize these capacities as divine,
' anyone who acknowledges freedom
and reason has a good ground for
human rights."
According to George, the
possibility of some agreement
exists between theistic and non-
theistic natural-law theorists, though
George did warn against expecting
consensus in everything.
George noted that natural
law theory endorses neither strict
individualism nor collectivism, since
neither one "does justice to the
human person as an end in itself."
For George, natural law seeks
to blend the two by comprehending
the "specifications of integral human
well-being" and applying them to
human action.
George ended his lecture with
a depiction of the virtues as "habits
of upright choosing that point us
to more upright choosing." He said
that actions "orient us in a particular
way," and consequently natural
law theorists focus on formulating
an account of virtue founded on
the basic specifications for human
fulfillment.
George concluded that "a
comprehensive theory of natural
law proposes both principles for
actions and virtues for developing
a good will," all with an eye "toward
integral human flourishing."
Fr. James Lehrberger, philosophy
professor, followed George's
lecture with a short response that
complemented George's position
and focused on Aquinas' attempts
to "bring reason and the passions
together." The response was
followed by a question and answer
period for the audience, after which
the speakers retired to Gorman
Faculty Lounge for a small reception.
Exclusive interview with Robert George
Jose Healy
News Editor
Princeton professor Robert
George spoke in an
exclusive interview with
The University News on
Friday, Sept. 30, about the main
influences on his thought, and the
role of the Christian intellectual in
society.
JH: What has influenced your
views the most?
RG: I grew up in a coal-mining
area of West Virginia. Also, I grew
up in a devout family, a Catholic
family, although my father's family is
Eastern Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox.
My mother's family came from
southern Italy. My father's father
came from Syria. So, I had the benefit
of the influences of both Eastern and
Western Christianity. When I was
18 years old, I went to Swarthmore
College, where the most important
thing I think that happened to me
intellectually was my encounter
with Plato. I was assigned Plato's
dialogue, the Gorgias, in introductory
political theory class and that began
a transformation and deepening of
my thinking and really put me on a
road to my career as a scholar and
especially a scholar in the field of
legal and political philosophy. The
Catholic tradition considered not
only as a tradition of faith, but also
as an intellectual tradition that has
been shaped by the Fathers of the
Church, especially by St. Augustine
and by the Medieval thinkers, has
been a profound influence on me,
and I think has provided for me
powerful resources that I have
used in my criticisms of secularist
and liberal moral and political
philosophy.
JH: What would you say is the
role of the Catholic or Christian
intellectual in society?
RG: It is to be as reasonable
as possible and to use the power
of the mind to attain truth as best
we can and to lay the very best
reasons and arguments available
before our fellow citizens for their
consideration. The Catholic tradition
- more broadly the Christian
tradition - is a religious tradition,
but it's also a tradition of thought.
It's an intellectual tradition. I think
contemporary Catholic scholars and
other Christian scholars are heirs
to that tradition and should make
the best use of the reasons of the
tradition that's available.
I think we should also be very
willing to engage with people who
disagree with us, to engage with
people who represent other traditions
of thought, including the secular
libera! tradition and be willing to
learn as well as to teach - to listen
as well as to talk. To engage people
who disagree with us in a civil and
respectful way, understanding that
in the pursuit of truth we are bound
together by a common good, despite
our differences of understanding
or judgment and that this can be a
great service that those of us who are
Catholic, or more broadly Christian
intellectuals, provide to our fellow
citizens.
JH: Changing
the subject a little,
what advice would
you give to UD
students just from
what you know
about them, what
you have seen and
the potential that
there is here?
RG: Well,
I was quite
overwhelmed by
the size of the
audience at my
lecture. As we
walked into the
room, and when I
saw the throng of
students, I turned
to Professor Rosemann and asked
whether some professors had made
attendance at my lecture mandatory
as part of their philosophy courses
And he said, "No." None had. All the
students were there of their own
free will because of their interest
in philosophy. Well, of course, this
makes a philosopher's heart leap
to think that there are that many
young people who are interested in
coming out to hear a lecture, a pretty
heavy duty, pretty abstract lecture
in philosophy. So, this is a great
testimony to the university and to
the culture it has created and to the
students themselves who sought out
a university with that culture.
So, I want to say to Dallas
students: Keep it up. Keep up that
love of philosophy, that love of
learning for its own sake. Never
Photo by Marie Bergez
Dr. Phiiipp Rosemann presents Dr. Robert George with a plaque
commemorating his award of the Aquinas Medal on Sept. 29.
instrumentalize your education.
Never think of education just as a
stepping stone to social advancement
or career enhancement. Those things
will come, and they're fine. But, they
are not fundamentally what their
education is about, not at a place
like Dallas. It's the intrinsic value of
knowledge and learning for its own
sake that is what a Dallas education
is about, and you really need to keep
that in mind. Pursue knowledge for
its own sake. Pursue what you are
interested in and fascinated by and
what you love. Dallas gives you the
opportunity to enter into that great
conversation and to learn from the
greatest thinkers of history, from
Plato to Madison. Grab it, seize it.
For the full, extensive interview
with Robert Geroge, visit our website
at www.udallasnews.com.
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Howard, Christian. The University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 5, Ed. 1 Tuesday, October 4, 2011, newspaper, October 4, 2011; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201551/m1/4/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Dallas.