The partisan divides in our politics have become nastier and more complex in recent years. But beneath the partisan conflicts lie deeper philosophical disagreements: Does human nature change or remain constant over time? Can we make society more just radically or incrementally? What obligations do we have to our ancestors and the next generation? Nathaniel Peters (Morningside) will lead a discussion of these questions following Yuval Levin’s The Great Debate, which looks at our present political debates in light of the writings of Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine. We will also consider recent critiques of the liberal order from both the left and right. 

This week we will consider how much reason and choice can drive our politics and how much we should rely on obligation and tradition.