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Pillar

Education & Culture

The fourth pillar, education and culture, is built upon the recognition of two essential realities. First, the Western intellectual tradition requires a dedication to and desire for truth. Second, education takes place not only within colleges and universities but within our broader culture, whose institutions and practices form us as whole persons.

What Can Be Done about the Universities? 

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William Shakespeare and the Socratic-Christian Heritage

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Though he certainly finds fault in distorted versions of Christian ideals, Shakespeare pays tribute to the truth, beauty, and goodness of genuine Christian virtue.

The Data on Children in Same-Sex Households Get More Depressing

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A new study examines the risk of depression and other negative outcomes among adolescents and young adults raised by same-sex couples.

Federal Policies on Transgender Students: Serving Neither the Community, the Family, nor the Transgender Student

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The recent “Dear Colleague” letter from the Departments of Justice and Education relies on an ideology of expressive individualism to handle issues of gender identity. It does so to the detriment of community, family, and those it intends to serve. It also eliminates one of the most basic and universally accepted forms of privacy.

Thriving in an Age of Fracture: Yuval Levin’s Prescription for American Culture

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For those feeling adrift amid the tumult of our politics, economy, and culture, Yuval Levin’s new book offers hope that some good can be found in the turmoil around us.

Neutered by Neutrality: The Abiding Influence of John Rawls, Part Two

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There will be no true justice—and no real political discourse—until the Rawlsian illusion of neutrality is rejected and the Rawlsian tyranny strangling political discourse is overthrown. The second of two parts.

Defeated by Default: The Abiding Influence of John Rawls, Part One

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John Rawls’s philosophy of jurisprudence permeates America’s top universities and law schools. The acceptance of his principles foreordained the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage and will do the same in future cases involving euthanasia, transgender rights, and polygamy. Part one of two.

Some Choices You Don’t Get to Make: What’s Wrong with Me Before You

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A new film in which the main character commits suicide sends the message that “me and my needs come before you and your needs.” It is a tale of autonomy run amok—a result of the radical and ludicrous idea that we do not live connected to, dependent on, or in relationship with others.

Sex Education and the Seduction of Selective Science

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HHS has a responsibility to correct misinformation surrounding its list of “evidence-based” sex education curricula, to implement consistent research protocols, and to ensure that the sexual health of American teenagers is prioritized above politics or ideology.

Aristotle, True Friendship, and the “Soulmate” View of Marriage

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What would it mean for true friendship to exist in a marriage?

How and Why We Remember the Dead: A Memorial Day Lesson from Walt Whitman

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As we approach Memorial Day, we have an opportunity to reflect on how and why we remember the dead. Walt Whitman tried to restore individuality, dignity, and personhood to those “hundreds, thousands obliterated” by the violence of war.

Political Philosophy and the Bathroom Wars

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A recent statement by the Attorney General provides a window into the intellectual history surrounding the concept of “human dignity” and the selfhood from which it arises.

The Politics of Passion: The Lesson of Thomas More

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If we want a just society, we must begin by recovering the right understanding of prudence. We must not commit the idealist’s error of making the best the enemy of the good.

Valuing Full-Time Motherhood

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While most Americans respect and appreciate mothers on an individual basis, we as a society devalue their vocation.

The Right to Be Differently Excellent: Why Christian Colleges Should Be Allowed to Be Christian

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Vanderbilt is legally free to constitute itself as a non-religious university. The question is whether Gordon College will be left free to constitute itself as a Christian college. Will we have equal liberty, or only liberty for those who despise Christianity?

You Don’t Need “Meternity” Leave to Be Happy—You Just Need to Love Someone Else More Than Yourself

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Becoming parents shocks us out of our normal state of being. It compels us to love others more deeply and to act upon that love more fully.

The Bard, the Bathroom, and the Common Good: Shakespeare’s Timeless and Timely Political Thought

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Whether we discuss the nature of marriage or the rules governing bathroom use, Shakespeare calls on us to remember who we are as human beings and how our nature should be reflected in our society’s mores and laws.

Just War Theory Isn’t Obsolete

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Modern warfare may have vastly increased the scale, but the traditional criteria for just war remain sound, especially in helping leaders avoid the false extremes of cynical realism and idealistic pacifism.

Aristotle Explains the Trump Phenomenon

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Aristotle’s discussion of factional conflict in his Politics gives historical insight into Donald Trump’s meteoric rise to political popularity. Ordinary Americans are acting in defense of their perceived economic interests and against the reign of political correctness.

Is Speciesism like Racism and Sexism?

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Defending the position that human beings have a special dignity because of their rational nature does not in any way imply that non-rational animals are not also deserving of a certain respect and appropriate treatment. While racism and sexism are moral evils, so-called “speciesism” is not morally wrong and cannot be compared to them.
Female Tennis players

A Sporting Difference: On Men’s and Women’s Athletics

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Despite current efforts to level the playing field between men and women in every area, the differences between men’s and women’s professional and collegiate sports make clear that some inequalities are unavoidable. With strength and speed as the factors governing success, men’s athletics will always be more popular.
Public Discourse

Ex Machina, Artificial Intelligence, and the Ethical Dangers–or Benefits?–of New Technology

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Very soon, the classic scenarios of artificial intelligence from science fiction will become reality. Recognizing the moral and ethical concerns such achievements will raise can help us begin to address them. Whether the development of new technology will be good or bad will depend on how we use it.
Public Discourse

The Law of Benedict

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Pope Benedict XVI often ventured into venues historically hostile to the Judeo-Christian tradition. A new collection of essays discusses many of these speeches, probing the relationship of reason to religion, the West, and natural law.
Public Discourse

The Ideology of Anti-Poetry

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A recent collection of essays on the nature and function of poetry gives a clear-sighted critique of the failures of contemporary poetry.
Public Discourse

Bird Brains and Cross-Species Empathy

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Speaking about empathy between humans and animals requires a robust philosophy of nature. Such a philosophy can guide us in thinking more deeply about what it means to be human and how the human animal can better be connected to the broader animal world.

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