Civil Society Brunch: Conservative and Progressive, American Style

A familiar aspect of contemporary American life is our seeming inability to understand the perspectives of those with whom we disagree politically.  In this talk, Dan Haybron aims to foster empathy and mutual understanding by articulating what may be the ur-political sensibility in the United States, which he calls American Rural Conservatism, along with its counterpart, progressivism. His focus in this talk will be on the conservative side because, on his view, that is where we most urgently need a better understanding, especially among intellectuals and the political class.

Dan Haybron is Theodore R. Vitali C.P. Chair in Philosophy at Saint Louis University.  He is the author of The Pursuit of Unhappiness: The Elusive Psychology of Well-Being (Oxford University Press, 2008) and Happiness: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2008) and a co-author of Against Happiness (Columbia University Press, 2023).  He was also the director of the St. Louis-based research project Happiness and Well-Being: Integrating Research Across the Disciplines (2015-2018). A new monograph, The Lives We Should Want, is under contract with Oxford University Press. He is also active in the policy arena, including work with the United Nations, Bhutan, and Mexico, and is currently a core workgroup member of the Vatican’s initiative on Science and Ethics for Happiness and Well-Being. 

Brunch will be served!  All are welcome for this free event; registration is requested using the RSVP link below.  

This event is organized by the Civil Society Initiative at WashU and is sponsored by the Frick Initiative and the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy.