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Selfishness And The Common Good: Was Adam Smith Right?
Walter Schultz at Midway Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, October 7
In the late 18th Century, Adam Smith significantly shaped the modern world by claiming that when people individually pursue their own interests, they together are led towards achieving the common good. But can a population of selfish people achieve the economic common good in the absence of moral constraints on their behavior?
Dr. Walter Schultz teaches philosophy at Northwestern College, holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, and is author of The Moral Conditions of Economic Efficiency.
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Ghostly Tales: Are There Things That Go Bump In The Night?
Gannon Murphy at Richfield Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, October 21
Gannon Murphy discusses the stories, myths, and realities of the paranormal. He navigates through the complexities and offers some explanations to the issues of ghosts, demons, and angels.
Gannon Murphy, Director of the Minnesota Apologetics Project, holds an M.A. in Theology from Bethel Seminary and is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wales.
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Enron, Ethics, And Excess
Roger Magnuson at Midway Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 4
Roger Magnuson uses his experiences in several white-collar criminal cases and securities and shareholder litigation to explore the apparent clash between business and morality.
Roger Magnuson, Esq. is head of Dorsey & Whitney’s Strategic Litigation group, and is one of the country’s most innovative and successful trial lawyers.
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Douglas Coupland: A Contemporary Search For Meaning?
Jock McGregor at Richfield Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 18
Douglas Coupland, author of Generation X, continues to write some of the most insightful and revealing novels of the contemporary period. But beneath his razor-sharp cultural analysis lies a deeper hunger and more than a glimmer of hope.
Jock McGregor is a member of L’Abri Fellowship where he has worked for many years in Switzerland, England, and now Rochester, Minnesota.
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Charles Dickens: A Tale Of Two Philosophies
Helen Aling at Midway Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, December 2
For over a century, scholars have debated Charles Dickens’ religious beliefs. One of his lesser known works, a summary of the Gospels written for his children but not published until 1934, sheds light on this controversy.
Dr. Helen Aling is a Professor of English at Northwestern College and a Dickens scholar. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.
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Bringing Justice To An Unjust World: Experiences In Uganda
Tim Bettenga at Richfield Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, December 16
Much of the Third World doesn’t have access to basic legal representation, resulting in a sense of hopelessness. Tim Bettenga shares his experiences as a pro bono lawyer in Uganda where he encounters injustice, suffering, and abuse.
Tim Bettenga, Esq. is Assistant General Counsel at Apogee Enterprises in Bloomington, Minnesota. He earned his degree from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. Tim has traveled extensively throughout the world and has been involved with justice issues as a pro bono attorney with International Justice Mission.
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Environmental Activism: A Basis In Spirituality
Paul Capel at Midway Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, January 6
Paul Capel is on the cutting edge of environmental protection. He discusses some results of his years of experience and our spiritual responsibility as the environment’s protectors in our day-to-day lives.
Dr. Paul Capel is a Research Chemist at the US Geological Survey and adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota studying the fate of pesticides in the environment.
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God Is Not Dead: He Has Moved
Walter Sundberg at Richfield Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, January 20
In the late 1800s, German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche predicted the death of the Christian God. However, more people have become Christian since World War II than in any other time in the history of the Christian Church. But, this church’s center has moved from Europe to America, Asia, and Africa.
Dr. Walter Sundberg teaches Church History at Luther Seminary. He holds a M.Div. and a Ph.D. from Princeton
Theological Seminary. He has taught systematic theology and is published widely.
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Modern Superstitions And Unpredictable Mysteries
Steven Calvin at Midway Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 3
There is great promise in the medical use of adult stem cells. Referencing Wendell Berry’s book, Life Is a Miracle: An Essay Against Modern Superstition, Dr. Calvin argues that there is an ancient moral boundary that should not be crossed in the use of embryonic stem cells. His vocation and avocation flow from a deep conviction that life is meaningful and miraculous.
Dr. Steven Calvin is a perinatologist specializing in maternal/ fetal medicine and Co-Chair of the program in Human Rights and Medicine at the University of Minnesota. He also teaches in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Women’s Health as well as the Department of Philosophy.
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Academic Freedom And The State Of The Campus
Katherine Kersten at Richfield Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 17
The Liberal Arts education is supposed to provide an environment for students to be exposed to many different ideologies and to help them think for themselves and to choose freely. Many universities, however, manipulate the student body by offering only slanted and limited ideologies.
Katherine Kersten is a Distinguished Senior Fellow for Cultural Studies at the Center of the American Experiment in Minneapolis and an attorney by training. She holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame, Yale University, and the University of Minnesota.
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Nation Building In An Age Of Cynicism
Robert Osburn at Midway Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 3
Academics and others have become deeply skeptical about foreign policy and the complicated task of building just, prosperous societies (especially in the wake of the Iraq war). Is it possible to engage the suspicious cynics while fostering a genuinely constructive and Christian vision for societies around the world?
Robert Osburn is the Executive Director of the MacLaurin Institute, a Christian study center at the University of Minnesota. He is a Ph.D. candidate in comparative and international development education at the University of Minnesota.
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Techno-Utopianism
Christopher Hook at Richfield Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 17
Utopian ideas have dominated history in the past three centuries and still guide our political and technological thinking today. Among these ideas are utopianism, reductionism, pragmatism, scientism, and gnosticism, all of which underlie and inform the larger movements of communism, fascism, contemporary liberalism, and transhumanism.
Dr. Christopher Hook is a Consultant in Hematology and Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic. He founded the Mayo Clinic Ethics Council and has served as the Director of Ethics Education for the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Dr. Hook serves on the DHHS Advisory Committee for Genetics, Health, and Society.
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Are Ancient Texts Reliable?
Mark Chavalas at Midway Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7
What happens when the historian is confronted with multiple accounts of the same historical event? Mark Chavalas examines the biblical account of King Hezekiah of Judah’s rebellion against Assyria, and compares it to the accounts from the annals of King Sennacherib of Assyria.
Dr. Mark Chavalas is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and holds a Ph.D. in Ancient Near Eastern History from UCLA.
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Efficiency, Management, And Hubris
Jennifer Alexander at Richfield Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 21
Efficiency has come to be a cardinal virtue in our society, but it is really a recent development. Efficiency used to describe the workings of God; now it describes the workings of machines and managers. Dr. Alexander will look at how the change came about, and its relationship to industrialization and consumerism.
Dr. Jennifer Alexander is assistant professor in the Program in the History of Science and Technology at the University of Minnesota. Her present work includes research projects on the history of the technical concept of efficiency and on the history of the biomechanics movement of the 20th century.
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Religion in the Academy: Risks and Rewards
Bryan Dowd at
Midway Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 5
The influence of religion on private and public affairs in the U.S.
continues to be
pervasive and significant. Institutions of higher education also
have an important
role in shaping society, but face a time of transition in dealing
with their errors and
prejudice.
Professor Bryan Dowd is the Director of Graduate Programs in Health Services
Research and Policy in the School of Public Health at the University of
Minnesota.
He received his Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis from the i
University of Pennsylvania.
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Person, Android, Or Machine? Visions Of Humanity In Science Fiction Movies
Denis Haack at Richfield Borders 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 19
Films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, The Matrix, and I, Robot not only entertain, they raise issues worth discussing. What does it mean to be human? Can technology threaten our humanity? Can life be meaningful if we become convinced we are only machines?
Denis Haack is Co-Founder of Ransom Fellowship and editor of Critique, a publication that seeks to thoughtfully engage culture from the perspective of Christian faith.
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Thanks to Borders Stores for hosting lectures in the Heart of the Matter Lecture Series