2009 Chautauqua Conference
 
 
Conference Registration 2009.doc Fifty-fifth Annual Conference The Chautauqua Institution June 20-27, 2009 CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS:  Ted Laurenson, Lawyer, New York City John Teske, Elizabethtown College Concepts of individual autonomy and responsibility underlie much of the thought, institutions and ways of living in modern societies. Yet they are shot through with complexity and contradiction, and may be problematic for a flourishing human future. This conference will address the religious, historical, social and developmental genesis of human individuality and its consequences. Taking as given the physical emergence of our universe and the biological and social emergence of humanity explored in our last two conferences, we will delve into the historical development and current significance of the autonomous individual. We will examine: 1) the psychological and social development of individuality, 2) its historical and cultural genesis and the contribution of religious beliefs and practices, 3) its centrality to the desirability and practice of democracy, 4) assumptions about the rational pursuit of individual goals in capitalist economic theory, 5) the need (or not) for separate institutional sources of power to oppose governmental subjugation, 6) the personal, cultural and religious paradoxes inherent in the nurturance and practice of autonomy, 7) the biases and illusions that inhere in the pursuit of individual happiness and 8) how the concept of self intersects with many religious doctrines, for example eternal life. Speakers from anthropology, psychology, economics, religious history, theology and political and legal theory will help us explore questions such as: • How do modern Western concepts of the individual differ from historical concepts in Western thought and in other cultures? • What model of individual autonomy makes sense in trying to understand ourselves as complex biosocial beings nurtured by and embedded in community, but having some degree of independence from it? • Does understanding the fragility of individual autonomy undercut its existence or enhance its benefits? • What are the dangers and advantages of individuality in the practice of our ethics, our democracy and our spirituality? • Does devotion to individual freedom produce a society so addicted to satisfying individual desires that it lacks the cohesion necessary to defend itself or deal with adverse ecological consequences? • Is capitalism a necessary corollary of individual autonomy? Of democracy? Is it true that centralized decision-making in human societies cannot work very well because of the kinds of animals we are? • Does human rationality, and even science, depend upon particular forms of individuality? There will be a professionally designed and led program for children and youth ages 3-17.  There will be a refereed poster program for young scholars, and clergy and seminarians will meet regularly during the conference to shape conference materials for use in their ministries.  CEUs upon request.   For registration information contact Joan Hunter, IRAS Registrar, 33 Village Street, Medway, MA 02053; email jbh_11@verizon.net.  For more information on the Chautauqua Institution, including travel information, see here.   Scholarship Opportunities  Griswold Senior Scholarship Application form.doc How Do I Get to Chautauqua?  You can find all travel directions to Chautauqua here. Directions. (If you experience difficulties with this website, please report them to braxton@juniata.edu.) Conference_files/Conference%20Registration%202009.docmailto:jbh_11@verizon.nethttp://www.ciweb.orgConference_files/Griswold%20Senior%20Scholarship%20Application%20form.dochttp://www.ciweb.org/faqs.htmlmailto:braxton@juniata.edushapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2shapeimage_2_link_3shapeimage_2_link_4shapeimage_2_link_5
The Mythic Reality of the Autonomous Individual