Tabor Fisher, Ph.D., of the Department of Philosophy will deliver a lecture titled: How is it Possible that I'm Standing Before You? or, The Philosophical Understanding of Human Personhood in the United States and Progress toward True Equality.
Our democratic experiment in the United States was deeply influenced by the political philosophy of John Locke. Unfortunately, Locke’s philosophy included an understanding of personhood that limited political participation to male, property-owning, heads of households. This conception was compatible with the agrarian society of the Early Republic, but in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, new understandings of persons were needed. We find both those new ideas and an emphasis on progress in the work of John Stuart Mill, the leading political theorist of the 19th century.
In this talk, Dr. Fisher will trace that history and consider whether the conception of personhood found in Mill’s key text On Liberty enables true progress toward civil equality. Finally, she will consider how the progress our society has gained, resulting in her standing before you, has been possible.
Sponsored by the McDevitt Core Professorship. Questions? Please contact
[email protected].