Event Summary
On November 30 and December 1, a conference celebrating the 30th anniversary of Robert P. George’s Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality (Oxford University Press, 1993) was hosted by AEI, the Catholic University of America’s Center for Constitutional Originalism and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy, and the Ethics & Public Policy Center (EPPC).
The event opened with a discussion between Dr. George and the EPPC’s Ryan T. Anderson over Dr. George’s book, its reception, and Dr. George’s distinguished career as a teacher. Over the course of two days, panelists discussed the implications of Dr. George’s work for all aspects of society and politics, from liberalism’s compatibility with public morality to the role of constitutional interpretation. Panelists also discussed religion’s role in public life and what role the social sciences may have in shaping society. Each panel featured a lively Q&A with the audience.
Event Description
Thirty years ago, Robert P. George’s Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality (Clarendon Press, 1993) challenged the consensus that justice requires governmental neutrality on contested questions of morality. Dr. George argued that moral neutrality in politics is impossible, that a proper concern for public morality can be a legitimate basis for laws and policies, and that natural law offered a more secure foundation for civil liberties than “neutralist” liberalism did.
How did Making Men Moral shape decades of debates about civil liberties and public morality? As these debates have evolved, how is Making Men Moral relevant going forward?
Please join AEI, the Ethics & Public Policy Center, Pepperdine University School of Public Policy, and the Project on Constitutional Originalism and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition at Catholic University for a conference to mark Making Men Moral’s enduring influence on public policy.
Event Summary
On November 30 and December 1, a conference celebrating the 30th anniversary of Robert P. George’s Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality (Oxford University Press, 1993) was hosted by AEI, the Catholic University of America’s Center for Constitutional Originalism and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy, and the Ethics & Public Policy Center (EPPC).
The event opened with a discussion between Dr. George and the EPPC’s Ryan T. Anderson over Dr. George’s book, its reception, and Dr. George’s distinguished career as a teacher. Over the course of two days, panelists discussed the implications of Dr. George’s work for all aspects of society and politics, from liberalism’s compatibility with public morality to the role of constitutional interpretation. Panelists also discussed religion’s role in public life and what role the social sciences may have in shaping society. Each panel featured a lively Q&A with the audience.
Event Description
Thirty years ago, Robert P. George’s Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality (Clarendon Press, 1993) challenged the consensus that justice requires governmental neutrality on contested questions of morality. Dr. George argued that moral neutrality in politics is impossible, that a proper concern for public morality can be a legitimate basis for laws and policies, and that natural law offered a more secure foundation for civil liberties than “neutralist” liberalism did.
How did Making Men Moral shape decades of debates about civil liberties and public morality? As these debates have evolved, how is Making Men Moral relevant going forward?
Please join AEI, the Ethics & Public Policy Center, Pepperdine University School of Public Policy, and the Project on Constitutional Originalism and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition at Catholic University for a conference to mark Making Men Moral’s enduring influence on public policy.