Maybe Harvard really is the Michigan of the East.
Thomas Scanlon Jr., the Alford professor of natural religion, moral philosophy and civil polity at Harvard University, delivered the University's annual Tanner Lecture on Human Values this weekend.
In his lecture, Scanlon asked the audience, composed mostly of graduate students and University professors, if "well-being really matters."
"It is absurd to say that individuals have no reason to be concerned with their well-being," Scanlon said. "But the fact is people aren't actively thinking about their overall well-being as they act on a day-to-day basis."
The lecture, titled "The Status of Well-Being," was held Friday afternoon in Rackham Amphitheatre. Saturday morning, at the Michigan League, Scanlon joined a panel of three scholars from various fields in a symposium to discuss and critique the lecture.
Scanlon, a Harvard philosopher, discussed issues ranging from the definition of well-being to what constitutes a "fulfilled life."
Reactions to the lecture were mixed.
"The lecture was pretty comprehensive, which is very impressive," said Rackham student Manyul Im. "The point of the talk was that well-being has more interest from a third-person view, from benefiting people, than in first-person deliberations."
Not everyone thought Scanlon's message was so clear.
"What was the point? I didn't see the point," said Blaine Neufield, a Rackham student. "It was a lot of rambling. It was very interesting, there were lots of interesting parts, but there was no punch."
Any questions about the lecture were answered in Saturday's symposium, which began at 9:30 a.m. and stretched until 2 p.m. The morning began with the panel discussing and critiquing Scanlon's lecture. Scanlon then was given an opportunity to respond to any issues raised, followed by both Scanlon and the panel fielding questions from the audience.
Participants in the symposium were Peter Hammond, professor of economics at Stanford University; Shelly Kagan, the Henry R. Luce professor of social thought and ethics at Yale University; and Cass Sunstien, the Karl N. Llewellyn Distinguished Service professor of jurisprudence, law school and department of political science at the University of Chicago.
The lecture and symposium served their purpose, Scanlon said.
"I'm very pleased with how it went," he said. "With philosophy, your laboratory is in your head. Talking to other people is sometimes the only way to check your data. The critiques to my arguments raised some very good objections, and that's why we do this."
Seeing Michigan after working at Harvard, Scanlon had an opinion about the "Harvard: The Michigan of the East" T-shirts.
"Harvard? Oh, I don't think it quite lives up to Michigan," Scanlon said.
MARGARET MYERS/Daily
Harvard Prof. Thomas Scanlon delivered the University's annual Tanner Lecture on Human Values this weekend. He spoke on the notion of well-being.