Association canadienne Jacques Maritain
Canadian Jacques Maritain Association
 

Saint Paul University / Université Saint-Paul, 236 rue Main St.
et/ and
Collège Dominicain / Dominican College of Philosophy & Theology, 96 Empress
Ottawa

(Click here for a map of the conference site)
(Click here for information on registration)
(Click here for information on accommodation)

Although everyone now talks about “applied ethics,” it still remains unclear as to what counts as a legitimate application of a particular ethical theory. For instance, Saint Thomas states that the basic imperative of Natural Law is (roughly) “to do good and avoid evil.” But, what is this “good” and how do we know it? Moreover, one cannot generally “do good” but must act towards a specific good. So, what are these “goods” and how do we know them? Aquinas’ views are but one part of the rich and enduring tradition of Natural Law. The goal of this conference is to examine the many facets of Natural Law and how it could provide us with concrete grounds for ethical behaviour.

Tentative programme

1:00 PM
D. Dentsoras: Seneca and the Old Stoics on Natural Law and Suicide

2:00 PM
S. Rocker: John Brown and the Morality of Sedition

3:00 PM
D. Bellusci: Malebranche: Order and Natural Law

4:00 PM
F. K. Peddle: Application of Natural Law to Public Finance: An Exercise in Applied Ethics

KEYNOTE ADDRESS
7:30 pm, Saint Paul University Amphitheatre

Dr. Mario D’Souza
Saint Michael’s College, University of Toronto

The Person, Natural Law & The Good of Pluralist Societies:
Some Thoughts From Maritain’s Political Philosophy


--Saturday, November 3, Dominican College – Salle Albert le Grand--

9:00 AM
L.D.G. Ferry: Obedience, Civil Disobedience, and the Duty to Obey the Law

10:00 AM
D.J. Klassen: Application of the Natural Law in the Thought of Thomas Aquinas

11:00 AM
L. Dewan: Two Problems in Recent Natural Law Discussions

1:00 PM
W. Sweet: Maritain, Natural Law Theory, and Responding to Campaigns of Terror

2:00 PM
W. J. Schultz: Empowerment Without Sovereignty: Maritain’s Personalist Alternative to Hegemony

3:00 PM
P. Curry: Weber, Maritain & Torture: A Personalist Challenge to Weberian Politics