Jake Mrozewski | Phoenix Staff

Professor Robert George presents his lecture “Faith and Reason in the Public Sphere” in Cunniff Hall.

BY HANNAH PURKEY

In print | Published April 23, 2009 — Updated April 25, 2009 15:11

Correction Appended

Princeton Professor Robert George ’77 spoke Tuesday about his work on natural law theory and its intersection with religion in the public sphere. In his talk, named “Faith and Reason in the Public Square,” sponsored by the Swarthmore Newman Center and Forum for Free Speech, George spoke of the complexities of human interactions and the view of humans as both rational and social animals. George, a renowned ethicist who was appointed by George Bush to the President’s Council on Bioethics, touched on the role that natural law theory plays in the application of reason to human rights as well as faith.

According to Professor James Kurth, George’s professor and mentor while he was a student at Swarthmore, this topic was perfect for the Swarthmore audience. “Swarthmore has its own faith and faith in reason, and so it is good to hear someone who is combining those two topics,” Kurth said.

George’s lecture also discussed the application of reason to deciphering human interactions and dignity. “I was extremely interested in what he said and in his efforts to rise above all of the half truths or imperfectly developed ways of thinking about how human beings should relate to each other because I know the consequences that these can bring about, such as his critique of utilitarianism and naturalism,” Kurth said.

Although most of George’s talk remained very theoretical, he did mention the application of the theories he discussed to the formation of his more conservative views on topics such as abortion and marriage. These conservative ideas were one of the reasons for inviting George to campus, according to Laura Wolk ’09, one of the event’s organizers. “I noticed when I came to Swarthmore that people didn’t really question what they believed in and instead there was a kind of unanimity of agreement that the conservative side or the other side was crazy, and I don’t think that is healthy,” Wolk said. “I think the best way to make sure our beliefs are rational is to actively challenge them.”

Event organizers were not the only ones who hoped to spark a debate about George’s views. Before the event, the Queer Straight Alliance sent out a memo encouraging students to come to the event and respectively challenge some of George’s more controversial views.

Although not many of these issues were discussed during the actual event, many were brought up at the reception after the event. “After hearing the lecture, I think it would have been futile to bring up specific issues before because any of his answers would have brought us back to this complicated philosophical approach that he did discuss,” Wolk said. “The reception could offer opportunities to ask individual questions and get deeper into those issues.”

Even with the more technical nature of the lecture, listeners were impressed with the extent of George’s expertise. “He has such a comprehensive scope of knowledge in the field, he really is one of the great experts,” Father Ted Windhaus, the Catholic advisor on campus, said. “He truly pulls things together form all fields of education and sees how they are integrated.”

As impressed as he was with George, Windhaus was just as impressed with the students present at the lecture. “I was impressed at the diligence of the students, their ability to listen and understand, and the depth of the questions they asked,” Windhaus said. “It showed they understood the intricacies of the philosophy that was discussed. It was truly a great exercise in education.”

Students present were also impressed with the lecture. “I thought it was really interesting even if I don’t agree with what he was talking about and it touched on a lot of what we are doing in class,” Alex Weintraub ’11 said. “I was a little disappointed that no one brought up his leadership roles, but in the end it stuck to the theory and philosophy.”

George’s reputation drew attendees from more than just the Swarthmore community. Along with several of George’s colleagues from Princeton, Reverend Eugene F. Rivers came to hear the talk all the way from Boston.

“I think that George’s work represents one of the most important philosophical examples of a post-secular term in philosophy and political discourse in the U.S., and that is quite fascinating,” he said.

George spoke about the far reach of the natural law theories discussed and the application of these theories to religion and other current topics of debate. “I teach on the terrible consequences of extreme ideologies of mistaken policies, but I know even more important than the consequence are the causes that give rise to those consequences and that is what he is teaching about,” Kurth said. “I saw him as shedding a search light, illuminating underlying foundations of what we see swirling around us all the time. Everything he said I could relate to being the iceberg under the tip of what I teach about.”

Correction: April 23, 2009

Correction: This article originally stated that Princeton Professor Robert George ‘77 a member of President Obama’s Bioethics Council. Although George currently does serve on the President’s Council on Bioethics, the Council is not Obama’s. George was appointed to the Council by George W. Bush.

Correction: This article incorrectly stated that Rev. Eugene Rivers’s last name was Riches.

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