Pascal Day

Pascal Day—an exploration of science, philosophy and faith—is an annual lecture series named for Blaise Pascal, a 17th century French scientist and mathematician. Pascal’s later writings on Christianity reveal a thinker whose faith deepened and grew stronger as the intricacy of creation’s workings became known to him through science.

Fourth Annual Pascal Day-- October 24, 2012

The Eugenics Movement and Misanthropic Philanthropy

Presented by William A. Schambra, Director, the Hudson Institute’s Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal. Prof. Schambra's spoke about the prominent role U.S. foundations played in promoting the eugenics movement, a chapter of their history they have never faced and would fain forget.

View the lecture here.

Tocqueville's Alliance of Religion and Liberty, Nov. 3, 2011

Harvard academic Dr. Harvey C. Mansfield on how democratic institutions gain strength when religious ideas are welcome in civic discourse during the upcoming Pascal Day lecture. Mansfield is the William R. Kennan Professor of Government at Harvard University, 

In addition to being a widely influential thinker in the field of political philosophy, Mansfield is a translator of Alexis de Tocqueville, a Frenchman whose travels in the United States in the early decades of the 19th century inspired Democracy in America, the work for which he is best known. The book's two volumes contain astute observations about the early republic's political and social institutions, and Tocqueville remains a touchstone for scholars and others attempting to come to terms with the nation's unique strengths and inherent weaknesses.

Dr. Charles Rubin, associate professor of political science, along with McAnulty College Dean James Swindal, organized this Pascal Day lecture as well as the previous two iterations of the event. This third installment of the biennial lecture series is sponsored by a grant from the Earhart Foundation.

2011