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Culture and Core Beliefs Series

Last November, Hadley Arkes, the Edward Ney Professor of Jurisprudence at Amherst College. inaugurated the Culture and Core Beliefs Series with a lecture “The Common Sense of Natural Law.” The series, a new initiative by Murray Hill Institute, aims to show the interrelationship between core beliefs and various aspects of our social, political, and cultural understanding and practice.

The second lecture in the series took place at Murray Hill Place on Friday evening, February 3, 2006, by Dr. Michael Baur, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University and Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham’s Law School. The title of his lecture was “What Part Does Justice Play in Natural Law and Natural Rights?” In his lecture Dr. Baur referred to the tradition of Thomas Aquinas which maintains that an unjust law is no law at all. This Thomistic proposition has been explained by John Finnis, a proponent of natural law theory from Oxford. Natural law can be interpreted as either a legal theory or a moral theory. Finnis himself distinguishes between legal obligation or validity and moral obligation or validity. With this distinction, one could hold that iniquitous rules have legal validity, since Aquinas’s dictum regarding unjust laws as no laws at all, and with which no compliance would be necessary, might give way to anarchy in a given society. Finnis does maintain however that natural law legal theory should be linked to natural law moral theory such that there be a necessary connection between law and moral obligation. If, for example, driving on the left side is legalized, there would be a moral obligation to abide by the rule or the law enforced by the authorities and thus we would defer to the authorities in such a matter. We would in fact follow the law for the common good.

Dr. Baur spoke of the order of justice as set up by those in charge of the community. He did however say that rights are not only a matter of legal positing and of convention but also of natural law. When injustice occurs, when something is owed to someone or rights have been violated, the harm must always be traced back to human, moral agency.

Some interesting questions followed the presentation regarding unjust laws during the Nazi regime and the role of human reason in knowing our rights and obligations from natural law.

Evenings of Conversation for Young Professionals
As part of its Mentoring Program, Murray Hill Institute sponsors periodic evenings of conversation for women who are in the early stages of their professional lives. Invited speakers share their experiences and advice in a brief talk, followed by informal discussion. Speakers from last fall and winter were Maureen Morris and Diane Spizzirro, Consultants for the Success Image Career Center, speaking about “Relationships at Work” and Maureen Scannel Batemen, Partner at Holland & Knight, LLP, speaking on “Making Choices in Personal and Professional Life.”

Events scheduled for the spring include Terri Carron, Fashion Consultant, speaking on “Fashion Fundamentals” on March 29, 2006 and Christine L. Lay, MD, speaking on "Women’s Health and Wellness" on May 24, 1006. All events begin at 7:30 pm and are held at Murray Hill Place, 243 Lexington Avenue. For further information, contact info@murrayhillinstitute.org

Spring Conference: A Person-Centered Approach to Work-Life Balance
Even the most energetic and organized will profit from Murray Hill Institute’s fifth conference, A Person-Centered Approach to Work-Life Balance, to be held at the Union League Club on Saturday, April 22, 2006. An exceptional panel of speakers will share their research and experiences in helping persons analyze their own professional and personal needs and to become more pro-active in helping their managers and co-workers effect change. Biographies of conference speakers Ellen Galinsky, Jessica DeGroot, and Mary Hunt, conference schedule, and registration information are available at this link: 2006 conference.

Would you like to receive email updates on coming events? To join our mailing list, email us at info@murrayhillinstitute.org.