Rewilding Emerson (Second Annual PRÉCIS Lecture in Philosophy and Religion)

On October 26, 2026 Jonathan Weinberg (University of Arizona/Princeton University) will deliver the Second Annual PRÉCIS Lecture in Philosophy and Religion at Princeton University. Details TBA.

Abstract:

“Today we mostly encounter Ralph Waldo Emerson's writing on 'inspirational' office or dorm posters, or a sampler on grandma's parlor wall, or the occasional semi-artsy tote bag reading 'The earth laughs in flowers.' My aim in this talk will be to de-familiarize this overly cozy cliche of a greeting card aphorist, and start to acquaint us with the wild intellectual radical that he truly was. After all, there's both a reason the man got himself banned from Harvard for 30 years -- and why a generation later, they would name their Philosophy Department building after him.”

PRÉCIS, which stands for “Philosophy, Religion, and Existential Commitments in Society,” is an initiative of the Princeton Project in Philosophy and Religion (3PR), in collaboration with the Princeton Philosophy Department. The initiative is primarily focused on undergraduates and aims to foster philosophical and theological reflection on how we should live. The popular course “PHI 211: Philosophy, Religion, and Existential Commitments” is sponsored by PRÉCIS.