Ronna Burger, Professor of Philosophy at Tulane, to Keynote Voegelin Institute Spring Conference

BATON ROUGE – Ronna Burger, professor of Philosophy at Tulane University, will deliver the keynote address for the Eric Voegelin Institute’s Spring Conference on “Re-reading Aristotle’s ‘Ethics’ Today” on Friday, April 22, at 3:30 p.m. at the French House. Her lecture will be titled “Aristotle’s ‘Philosophy of the Human Things’: the Pairing and Parting of ‘Ethics’ and ‘Politics’.”  The event is free and open to the public, with a Zoom link available at https://sites01.lsu.edu/faculty/voegelin/conference-re-reading-aristotles-ethics-today/. 

At Tulane, Burger holds the Catherine & Henry J. Gaisman Chair and the Directorship of Judeo-Christian Studies and is Sizeler Professor of Jewish Studies. She received her doctorate from the New School of Social Research, where she studied with Seth Benardete, several of whose books she has edited.  She is the author of “Aristotle’s Dialogue with Socrates: On the Nicomachean Ethics,” as well as books on three Platonic dialogues, Euthyphro, Phaedrus, and Phaedo. Her interests include Plato and Aristotle, Maimonides, and the Bible and Philosophy.  A reception will follow Burger’s talk. 

On Saturday, April 23, the conference will include several sessions between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Panelists include Robert Berman of Xavier University, Alexander Duff of the University of North Texas, Robert Koons of the University of Texas, and Usha Nathan of LSU. All sessions will be held at the French House, home of the LSU Ogden Honors College.  Pre-registration is available at the link above.

“Professor Ronna Burger’s book on the “Ethics,’ published a little over a decade ago, puts Aristotle in dialogue with his teacher’s teacher, Socrates,” said James Stoner, director of the Voegelin Institute and moderator of the conference. “Now she offers us a re-reading of the ‘Ethics’ in relation to the ‘Politics,’ revisiting that relation in light of subsequent political developments. The prospect of a major scholar rethinking her work, together with talks by leading scholars in philosophy and political science, promises a lively two days.”

The Eric Voegelin Institute, named for one of LSU’s original Boyd Professors and a scholar of international recognition and acclaim, is a humanities and social science research institute devoted to the revitalization of teaching and understanding of the great works of civilization.

For more information contact Stoner at 225-578-2538 or poston@lsu.edu.