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24th Annual Christopher Roberts Lecture

September 24, 2022

Join us for a lecture on "Socratic Love," Agnes Callard, associate professor from the University of Chicago.

Saturday September 24, 2022 2:30 p.m. in Rubendall Recital Hall

SOCRATIC LOVE: How is the inherent restlessness of love compatible with our longing for commitment? We can articulate this question in terms of a paradox about whether it is possible for love to be both stable and rational. If your love for me is rational, then I am loved because I instantiate a set of good qualities. If someone else turns out to instantiate those qualities more fully than I, they should be preferred as a substitute for me. If love is stable, and beloveds are irreplaceable—you will keep loving me, no matter what, even if you find someone better—then it seems love is not rationally grounded in the goodness of the beloved. I explore a Socratic compromise: philosophical love is not fully stable, because the lovers themselves are in flux, nor is it fully rational, because their love, instead of being grounded in the goodness they have, is aspirationally grounded in the goodness they seek. 

Further information

  • Location: Rubendall Recital Hall
  • Time: 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Calendar Icon
  • Cost: Free