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PRÉCIS
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pré·cis /prāˈsē,ˈprāsē/
If you had to write an abstract—a précis—of your life going forward, what would it say?
PRÉCIS, which stands for "Philosophy, Religion, and Existential Commitments in Society," is an initiative of 3PR in collaboration with the Philosophy Department. Co-sponsored by the University Center for Human Values as well as generous private donors, the initiative is primarily focused on undergraduates and aims to foster philosophical and theological reflection on how we should live.
In particular, PRÉCIS seeks to consider what our deepest commitments are, where they come from, whether we should revise or stabilize them, and how they influence life choices – as individuals and as members of various communities. PRÉCIS involves significant scholarly, undergraduate, and public-facing programming, including conferences, reading groups, public talks, and courses.
PRÉCIS Events
This Spring, join PRÉCIS Postdoctoral Research associate Dr. Z Quanbeck for a reading group on C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. All readings will be done during the session, and no prior familiarity with Lewis or Tolkien is expected. All Princeton undergraduate and graduate students are warmly invited.
In partnership with LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman's Blitzscaling project and the Keller Center, on January 21 and 22, PRÉCIS is hosting a two-day Wintersession workshop on “How to Make Big Choices: Philosophy, Careers, and Meaning.”
Save for the date for our annual conference in the spring! More information coming soon.
Looking at the world today, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed. The environment is declining. Wars are breaking out around the world. In the face of so many evils, what reason is there for hope?
In this lecture, philosopher Brian Ballard argues that the very evils that might lead us to doubt there is a God should also lead us to hope there is a God. As long as God might exist, we can hope that all is set right in the end.
This Fall, join PRÉCIS Postdoctoral Research Associate Dr. Hüseyin Güngör for a new reading group on Islamic Philosophy, Theology, and Mysticism. We will be reading from Islamic Philosophy, Theology, and Mysticism by Majid Fakhry. Reading in advance is not required, nor is any background in philosophy or Islam expected. All Princeton undergraduate and graduate students are warmly invited.
This Fall, join PRÉCIS Visiting Research Scholar Prof. Brian Ballard for a reading group on C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. All readings will be done during the session, and no prior familiarity with Lewis or Tolkien is expected. All Princeton undergraduate and graduate students are warmly invited.
A full program for 3PR’s spring 2024 conference is now available. Attendance is free and open to all who register by emailing pppr@princeton.edu.
Join a Spring Reading Group! Students can sign up for one or both. A copy of the book will be provided. Pizza will be served. Email zquanbeck@princeton.edu to RSVP.
Group 1: Led by Z Quanbeck, we’ll explore “Aspiration: The Agency of Becoming," written by Agnes Callard.
Group 2: Led by Austen McDougal, "The Ethics of Breakups"
In collaboration with the Philosophy Department and the University Center for Human Values, the Princeton Project in Philosophy and Religion (3PR) is excited to announce a new initiative: “Philosophy, Religion, and Existential Commitments in Society” (PRÉCIS)!
Lara Buchak and Andrew Chignell will be teaching the inaugural edition of “Philosophy, Religion, and Existential Commitments” for undergraduates, this coming Spring 2024.
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Pilot Course
Philosophy, Religion, and Existential Commitments (PHI/CHV/REL 211)
Spring 2025
Taught by Prof. Lara Buchak
The choice of a kind of life involves both fundamental commitments and day-to-day decisions. This course is interested in zooming out and zooming in: how should we adopt commitments, and how do we realize them in ordinary life? What is the purpose of life, and how can you fulfill it? Should you live by an overall narrative, or is your life just the sum of what you actually do? Are commitments chosen or given to you? Are the decisions we think of as high-stakes important at all? When should you relinquish what you thought were your deepest commitments? What should you do when commitments clash?
PHI/CHV/REL 211 was first offered in Spring 2024 and was co-taught by Prof. Lara Buchak and Prof. Andrew Chignell.
Other Upcoming Courses
Spring 2025
Taught by Mark Johnston
Topics covered will be the mind-body problem, personal identity, the possibility of life after death, the self, the will and the ground of moral status.
Spring 2025
Taught by Eric Gregory
The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the most celebrated teachings of Jesus. By looking at diverse religious and secular interpretations of this story and its themes, this seminar examines the nature and scope of morality in an age of globalization (including debates about immigration, global poverty, and humanitarian intervention). The questions raised by these issues are neither abstract nor limited to public policy. They involve practical decisions that face ordinary people in everyday life. In fact, so the seminar will argue, they reveal basic understandings of politics, human nature, and the place of morality in life itself.
Spring 2025
Taught by Gabriel Citron
The most penetrating critiques of Christianity have the power to unsettle our sense of self and disrupt our most natural ways of being - for Christians and non-Christians alike. For these critiques don't focus on attacking religious beliefs alone; rather, they target many of the deepest values, attitudes, and tendencies at the core of Christianity and Christian-molded cultures, and perhaps even at the core of our humanity. This course explores some of the key 19th and 20th century critiques of Christianity. It will involve opening ourselves up to the self-reckoning demanded by the likes of Kierkegaard, Emerson, Nietzsche, Baldwin, and Butler.
Fall 2024
Taught by Andrew Chignell
We are what we eat—morally as well as molecularly. So how should moral concerns about animals, workers, the environment, our health, and our communities inform our food choices? Can we develop an effective and just model for feeding growing populations while respecting religious, class, and cultural differences? The main goal of this course is not to prescribe answers to these questions, but to give students tools to reflect on them effectively. These tools include a working knowledge of the main ethical theories in philosophy, and a grasp of key empirical issues regarding the production, distribution, consumption, and politics of food.
Fall 2024
Taught by Gabriel Citron
We suffer. Sometimes more, sometimes less - but we all suffer, and often profoundly. What is it about the human condition that seems to make suffering inevitable? What can we do to deal with it? One approach is to try to change the external conditions causing the trouble. A very different approach sees the most important change as being within ourselves. Can we eliminate - or at least assuage - our suffering by changing the way we direct our attention (Netflix...), by changing the way we experience (drugs...), or by changing our manner of desiring (spiritual practices...)? We will approach these questions practically and theoretically.
Fall 2024
Taught by Jonathan Gold
This course examines the philosophy, history, and methods of Buddhist meditation. Primary readings will be Buddhist works on the nature of the mind and the role of meditation on the path to liberation (nirvana). We will ask how traditional Buddhist views have been reshaped by modern teachers, and we will interrogate the significance of current research on meditation in the fields of neuroscience, psychology and the philosophy of mind. In addition to other coursework, students will be practicing meditation and keeping a log and journal.
Fall 2024
Taught by Eric Gregory
With a focus on contemporary controversies in public life, this course surveys philosophical and theological perspectives on the ethos of liberal democracy oriented toward rights, equality, and freedom. For example, what do Christian beliefs and practices imply about issues related to feminism, racism, nationalism, and pluralism? What is the relationship between religious conviction, morality and law? Special emphasis on selected political and economic problems, bioethics, criminal justice, sexuality, the environment, war, immigration, and the role of religion in American culture.
Fall 2024
Taught by Hans Halvorson and Z Quanbeck
This course investigates the concept of "objectivity" with special reference to its relationship to science and religion. We will examine the revolt against objectivity by 19th-century religious thinkers such as Kierkegaard, and the impact this revolt might have had on the development of the sciences—in particular, on the major revolutions in physical science in the 20th century (e.g., Einstein's relativity, and quantum physics). We will also consider the scope of objectivity in the social sciences, as well as the relationship between objectivity and values in accepting scientific theories, making religious commitments, and forming beliefs in other domains.