Princeton University | December 11 - 13, 2008

Hosted by
Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University

Organized by:
The Research Program on Family, Marriage, and Democracy of the Witherspoon Institute

Co-sponsored by
The Institute for the Psychological Sciences
The Social Trends Institute

Consultation Overview

The Social Costs of Pornography Consultation was organized by the Witherspoon Institute in conjunction with the Institute for the Psychological Sciences in Washington, DC and held at Princeton University, December 11 - 13, 2008. The consultation was hosted by Robert P. George, Herbert W. Vaughan Senior Fellow of the Witherspoon Institute and McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University. This meeting assembled leading experts in the fields of psychiatry, psychology, neurophysiology, philosophy, sociology, law, and political theory to present a rigorously argued overview of the problem of pornography in our society and to make recommendations. The primary purpose of the meeting was to examine the real nature of pornography in its moral and social consequences.

Although the scholars who participated in this consultation represented a wide range of political perspectives, they shared a common concern to address pornography's devastating social cost. At the two-day-long consultation, ten scholars delivered papers on subject-specific aspects of pornography's impact, and approximately twelve scholars served as discussants. This format ensured that the issues were assessed fairly and rigorously.

Presenting Scholars

Roger Scruton, Institute for the Psychological Sciences
Hadley Arkes, Amherst College
Norman Doidge, M.D., Columbia University
Jill C. Manning, licensed marriage and family therapist and author
Ana Bridges, University of Arkansas
Pamela Paul, author and journalist
Gerard V. Bradley, University of Notre Dame Law School
James Stoner, Louisiana State University
K. Doran, Bradley Visiting Fellow, The Witherspoon Institute
Hamza Yusuf, Zaytuna Institute

Discussants:
Patrick Fagan, Family Research Council
Robert P. George, Princeton University
Mary Graw Leary, Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America
Sara S. McLanahan, Princeton University
Michael New, University of Alabama
Joseph Price, Brigham Young University
Gladys Sweeney, Institute for the Psychological Sciences
W. Bradford Wilcox, University of Virginia
Paul Vitz, Institute for the Psychological Sciences; New York University Emeritus
David Tubbs, The King's College (New York City)
Mary Eberstadt, Hoover Institute
Donna M. Hughes, University of Rhode Island
Candace Vogler, University of Chicago