Research suggests that many young people in the United States are having difficulty seeing themselves as part of something larger than themselves and their immediate circle. Relatedly, many have a hard time seeing why they might owe something to the larger community. This attitude was seen in an especially sad way vis-a-vis the COVID-19 pandemic: many flouted social distancing and other precautionary guidelines. It’s not implausible to think that, for some anyway, a reason for this was the thought: “It doesn’t affect me.”
In sharp contrast to this, a major tradition in philosophical thinking has stressed the claim that we are, by nature, social animls. We are essentially interdependent, on this view. What should we make of this? Does it make sense to think of ourselves as radically autonomous individuals, with little to no substantive ties to others beyond those we choose to have? How ought we to think of the relation between our private good and the common good? This reading group will explore various attempts to spell out what this means, drawing from work in sociology, philosophy, and popular writing.
Open to all undergraduates, graduate students, and recent graduates
Meets Tuesdays 5/19, 5/26, 6/2, 6/9, 6/16
Over Zoom
7:30pm – 9:00pm Central Time
Email vsaenz@houstoninstitute.org for more information
