“Being Human: An Academic Path to the Good Life”
Mon, Oct 14
|Austin Institute
In this reading group, taking our cue from the volume, we will explore what it means to be human. We will look at some of the great statements on the basic objects of human desire, whether it makes sense to desire perfection, and whether it makes sense to want to be immortal.
Time & Location
Oct 14, 2024, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Austin Institute, 3298-3200 Fairfax Walk, Austin, TX 78705, USA
About The Event
About this seminar:
In the 2000s, the President's Council on Bioethics published a volume entitled Being Human, which consisted of a selection of readings from great texts on different dimensions of humanity. New developments in bioethics promised to change the very nature of the human body and, therefore, of what it means to be human. In other words, the nature and limits of being human seemed to have become negotiable—we might be able to choose to change those things.
But are such fundamental changes desirable? Are there human goods that they might unknowingly eradicate? To answer that question properly, we require a more complete understanding of what it means to be human. This volume was assembled to clarify some of the most important dimensions of that and to educate students and readers on the basic issues of humanity.
In this reading group, taking our cue from the volume, we will…