The Ralph McInerny Center for Thomistic Studies is offering a three-year program in philosophical studies that will provide a wide-ranging introduction to classical philosophy. The program consists of six courses over three years (during the fall and spring semesters), each course consisting of 6 or 7 two-hour sessions, including lectures and time for discussion.
I attended the first one on Wednesday night at their temporary headquarters around 6th and E Streets NW in D.C. The first lecture was delivered by Ralph McInerny himself. McInerny is a professor of philosophy at Notre Dame and author of the ISI Student's Guide to Philosophy. His lecture was very similar to the student guide, which offers a general overview of the history of philosophy, among other things.
This program is intended for generally educated citizens who wish to develop a deeper grounding in philosophy. No previous formal study in philosophy is required. Their goal is to provide people with sound philosophical “tools” that will help them to evaluate and form judgments about problems and issues facing them and their fellow citizens, drawing especially on the ethics and metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas. About 30 people attended, and ISI provided each of them with a free copy of McInerny's student's guide.
I hope attending these courses will better equip me with the sound philosophical "tools" that I certainly look forward to learning about and employing. A few friends are taking this course with me including Rick Barry of the Center for a Just Society and his roommate Matt, and Peter Redpath of The Federalist Society, and at least some appearances by Joe Lindsley of The Weekly Standard.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment