The seminar will be facilitated by Rev. Thomas Dailey, O.S.F.S., S.T.D.
(Fr. Louis Brisson Chair in Salesian Spirituality & Professor of Theology)

The seminar will meet ordinarily on Thursdays from 8:30 to 9:15 AM
in the Salesian Center for Faith & Culture.

The only requirements are that you prepare, you attend, and you participate in the discussions!

Readings for the seminar are taken from the following book, which is online
(click on the cover image for the site)

Commissioned by the President's Council on Bioethics, Human Dignity & BIoethics was published in March 2008. This collection of essays explores a fundamental concept crucial to today's discourse in law and ethics in general and in bioethics in particular.

The question of what "human dignity" means has been put to a diverse group of scholars to provide a sense of the breadth of opinions on what has become a controversial subject. These essays make it clear that there is no universal agreement on the meaning of the term. Some argue that human dignity has lost its traditional meaning. Others, by contrast, hold firmly to the view that dignity is an essential identifying and irreducible element of human nature. Still others take a more biological than philosophical or theological viewpoint on the question of the meaning of human dignity. An appreciation of the variety of these views is critical, if we are to understand the divergences in how we think and act in response to the challenges posed by contemporary issues.

Ultimately, the fundamental questions in law and ethics will be shaped by what we think it means to be human and what we understand to be the ethical obligations owed to the human person.

This Page Last Updated on 01/02/09