Dear lovers of wisdom You are all warmly invited to come to listen to Trinity’s own Michael Levenstein who is going to speak about his latest book (called 'The End of Knowledge'), the main themes of which are rationality, ethics and convergence among moral theories (for more information see the abstract below).
Here are the spatiotemporal details: ***************************************************** Michael Levenstein on The End of Knowledge Thursday 24 October, 6.30 p.m. Junior Parlour, Trinity College ***************************************************** As usual, the talk will be accompanied by gallons of wine, firkins of cheese, and the hardest and subtlest of (unrestrictedly) all philosophical ponderings. Come along: a true bertrand is only a derek away! (Consult Dennett’s Philosophical Lexicon if you have troubles understanding that.) With lots of philosophical hugs TPS Committee Michael Levenstein, End of Knowledge (ABSTRACT) Michael Levenstein is the author of The End of Knowledge: A Discourse on the Unification of Philosophy. This ambitious work has three principal objectives: firstly, to redefine traditional philosophical conceptions of reason so as to broaden its understanding beyond a tool of pure rationality to include experiential, emotional and intuitive forms of knowledge acquisition. Secondly, in applying this reformulated definition, it seeks to demonstrate the unity of moral theories considered hitherto incompatible, namely consequentialism (in the guise of utilitarianism) and deontology. Levenstein argues that in order to retain coherence, deontological theories must invariably reduce themselves to a special form of rule utilitarianism, which itself must take into account a hierarchy of pleasures dependent upon the different modes of knowledge acquisition made available through reason. Thirdly, the practical ramifications of this unified ethical theory are discussed, particularly in regard to economic and political organization within society. Its implications are also considered on the far more personal level of its capacity to generate long-term and durable happiness, the result of a properly-calibrated internal locus of identity, moral purpose and stoical disposition. Levenstein is a finalist reading Law at Trinity College, with two prior degrees in politics and public policy from Penn and Oxford, respectively. He is the published author of multiple books and articles, principally on ethics. For his work, he was elected one of the youngest-ever Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts last year. _____________________________________________________ Sent by the CamPhilEvents mailing list. To unsubscribe or change your membership options, please visit the list information page: http://bit.ly/CamPhilEvents Posts are archived here: http://bit.ly/CamPhilEventsArchive
