4/25/08: Whereas small countries’ economies flourished in the globalization of the 1990s due to their agility and dynamism, Harold James notes that today their economies have been eclipsed by those of much larger nations that have become more globally assertive. He warns, however, that most of those powerful countries face imminent internal instability, which will likely have adverse global economic consequences in the future.

4/25/08: Whereas small countries’ economies flourished in the globalization of the 1990s due to their agility and dynamism, Harold James notes that today their economies have been eclipsed by those of much larger nations that have become more globally assertive. He warns, however, that most of those powerful countries face imminent internal instability, which will likely have adverse global economic consequences in the future.

4/23/08: The Witherspoon Institute announces the addition of three professors (Gerard V. Bradley, Kevin T. Jackson, and Daniel N. Robinson) to its roster of Senior Fellows and the appointments of three Doctoral Research Scholars (one postdoctoral scholar and two current Ph.D. candidates) whom the Witherspoon Institute will support in their various projects in the next few years. The Institute also has named Senior Fellow Robert P. George as the Director of the Program in Political Thought and Constitutional Government and Senior Fellow Harold James as the Director of the Program in Ethics, Culture, and Economic Development.

4/22/08: Rethinking Business Management, a book based on the Witherspoon Institute’s past conference of the same name (and the Institute’s first self-published book) is now available for order from our distributor, ISI Books.

4/18/08: Senior Fellow Harold James, observing weaknesses in the current global financial market, sees a cause for concern in the situation of small countries with internationally prominent investment banks. James notes that similar banks in small countries at the beginning of the 1930s are what gave rise to the gravest economic collapses of the Great Depression.

4/16/08: Calling him “Scotland’s best-known philosopher,” the University of Glasgow is awarding Senior Fellow John Haldane the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters.

4/15/08: The Center on Religion and the Constitution is accepting applications for its Summer Scholars Program, intended to support scholars in the publication of academic articles and monographs that further the work of the Center in the field of constitutional philosophy of religion.

4/10/08: For all those interested in the Moral Life and the Classical Tradition Summer Seminar, the deadline for application has been moved back to May 1, 2008.

4/10/08: The audio recordings of the lectures and Question and Answer sessions of the Witherspoon Institute’s November 2007 conference, The Christian Worldview and the Academy, are finally available online. We apologize that, because of unforeseeable difficulties, these files could not be posted sooner. Click here to download or listen to the recordings.

3/27/08: In the Chronicle of Higher Education, Fellow Margarita Mooney and a colleague report on their findings about the experience of Latino college students, noting among other points that “the ways in which individuals experience their minority status and perceive blocked opportunity vary enormously among high-achieving Latino college students.”

3/25/08: For all those interested in the Marriage, the Family, and the Social Sciences Summer Seminar, the deadline for application has been postponed to April 10, 2008.

3/20/08: The Witherspoon Institute announces the publication of a book of essays from its May 2007 conference Rethinking Business Management: Examining the Foundations of Business Education. Drawing together the work of distinguished scholars and professionals from medicine, law, business management, and the humanities, this groundbreaking book offers new, person-centered perspectives on business management and business education for the twenty-first century.

3/13/08: The Witherspoon Institute announces the creation of its Undergraduate Fellowship Program, dedicated to forming the next generation of scholars through seminars, colloquia, and internships.

3/10/08: The Center on Religion and the Constitution announces that it is receiving applications for two Junior Visiting Fellowships for the 2008–2009 academic year.

3/6/08: The Witherspoon Institute announces the launching of its Center on Religion and the Constitution. Under the direction of Prof. Gerard V. Bradley of Notre Dame Law School, the Center’s mission is to develop and promote a sound constitutional philosophy of religion.

2/21/08: Routledge publishes the book Biomedical Research and Beyond: Expanding the Ethics of Inquiry by Fellow Christopher Tollefsen. In his book, Tollefsen argues that ethical guidance is essential for all forms of inquiry, including scientific research, and that ethical inquiry should be based on the ideal of human flourishing.

2/15/08: The Witherspoon Institute announces the addition of Scottish philosopher John Haldane to its roster of Senior Fellows.

2/13/08: Robert P. George and Christopher Tollefsen defend the arguments for the inviolable dignity of human embryos contained in their new book, Embryo: A Defense of Human Life. They particularly respond to criticisms of the book made recently by William Saletan, a journalist of bioethics.

1/22/08: In a radio interview with National Review Online about his new book Embryo, Robert P. George discusses the dignity of the life of the human embryo, stem cell research, abortion, and the proper roles of both science and philosophy in the field of bioethics.

1/17/08: The Witherspoon Institute invites applications to the 2008 Thomistic Seminar, led by John Haldane of the University of St Andrews, Scotland. This year's theme: “Elizabeth Anscombe: Ethics, Value, and Practice.”

1/8/08: The Witherspoon Institute's Program in Bioethics and Human Dignity is pleased to announce the publication of the book Embryo: A Defense of Human Life, a collaborative effort of Senior Fellow Robert P. George and Fellow Christopher Tollefsen. Embryo sets forth rational arguments for why human embryos ought not to be destroyed for the sake of research.

1/4/08: Harold James writes that given the growing threats to the stability of the world economy, the International Monetary Fund should take charge of stabilizing the global financial market.

12/21/07: The Witherspoon Institute invites applications for its 2008 The Moral Life and the Classical Tradition Seminar, a week-long program for rising high school seniors interested in the classical philosophical tradition and its importance for leading a full, moral life.

12/21/07: The Witherspoon Institute invites applications for the 2008 Moral Foundations of Law Seminar, a week-long program for law students investigating the interaction between moral thought, legal theory, and the nature of moral legislation. Primary faculty include Gerard V. Bradley of Notre Dame, Witherspoon Senior Fellow Robert P. George, and John M. Finnis of Oxford.

12/19/07: The Witherspoon Institute invites applications for the 2008 Marriage, the Family, and the Social Sciences Seminar, led by Fellow Bradford Wilcox. This year's topic: Gender, the Family, and the Social Sciences.

12/18/07: The Witherspoon Institute invites applications to the 2008 First Principles Seminar. The topics for the seminar will be "Aquinas's Treatise on Law in Context," led by Senior Fellow Thomas D'Andrea and "The New Natural Law and Its Critics," led by Fellow Christopher Tollefsen.

12/17/07: The Witherspoon Institute invites applications to its new two-week student seminar for the summer of 2008: God, Politics, and the Jewish Tradition: An engagement of the theological and political dimensions of the Jewish tradition, with an eye to their contemporary relevance.

12/17/07: The Witherspoon Institute announces the conclusion of its recent conference on "Globalization and the Rise of the Left in Latin America." Participants found the conference very fruitful and hoped that collaboration between Latin American politicians, opinion leaders, and academics would continue in the future.

12/12/07: Speaking at the 2007 Erasmus Lecture of the Institute on Religion and Public Life, Robert P. George defends the sanctity of human life and the true definition of marriage, saying that it is right and necessary for the state to protect these truths in law.

12/10/07: Markus Grompe, along with Maureen Condic, writes in The Wall Street Journal about the recent discovery of induced Pluripotent State Cells as an ethical alternative to the use of human embryonic stem cells. The article cautions that these cells will not be able to produce therapies right away, though the authors say that iPSCs will be immediately useful for drug-testing and other kinds of research.

12/3/07: Cambridge University Press announces the publication of Body-Self Dualism in Contemporary Ethics and Politics, a book by Robert P. George and Patrick Lee.

11/26/07: Ryan T. Anderson in The Weekly Standard discusses the recent breakthrough that will allow scientists to obtain embryonic stem cells without creating, destroying, or manipulating human embryos. Anderson gives a history of the politics and science of stem cell research to date and points out what a boon this discovery will prove to be for science and for the protection of the dignity of human life.

11/19/07: An Associated Press article discusses mounting social science evidence that children living with adults who are not their biological parents are at a much greater risk of abuse at the hands of the non-biological parent, as seen specifically in the case of cohabiting men and women. Brad Wilcox is cited for his knowledge of the downsides of cohabitation for children.

11/8/07: Bradford Wilcox reviews D. Michael Lindsay's book Faith in the Halls of Power, calling it "a nuanced and engrossing account of the complex role that evangelical élites are now playing in U.S. politics, academia, the entertainment industry, and corporate America."

11/5/07: Ryan T. Anderson reviews John DiIulio's new book Godly Republic: A Centrist Blueprint for America’s Faith-Based Future in National Review. He praises DiIulio’s work to make government stop discriminating against faith-based social service organizations, but cautions religious groups against growing dependent on governmental support.

11/2/07: Fellow David L. Tubbs reviews the new anthology of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s works The Solzhenitsyn Reader. He finds the collection to be a welcome help for the study of Solzhenitsyn's thought, though he faults its editors for overlooking Solzhenitsyn's recent worries about the moral future of the West and of America in particular.

10/19/07: Senior Fellow Markus Grompe gives the philosophical case for why experimentation on human embryos for the sake of harvesting their stem cells is ethically impermissible. He encourages the use of "altered nuclear transfer" as a morally acceptable way of obtaining embryonic stem cells on which to experiment.

10/18/07: The Program in Western Civilization and American institutions at the University of Texas at Austin (of which Senior Fellow Robert C. Koons is a member) is now inviting applications for two post-doctoral fellowships to begin in academic year 2008-2009.

10/18/07: Ryan T. Anderson examines the recent World Health Organization—Alan Guttmacher Institute global report on abortion and considers its implications for abortion law.

9/25/07: Ryan T. Anderson reviews Francis Beckwith's new book Defending Life in National Review. Anderson finds that, all things considered, the book gives a successful treatment of pro-life and pro-abortion arguments that will be very helpful in future public debates about the issue of abortion.

9/24/07: Harold James examines the notion that the current financial crisis stemming from the mortgage industry has parallels with the panic of 1907 and the prelude to the Great Depression. He concludes that neither event is a correct historical parallel for today’s situation, which requires a solution different from those of the other crises.

9/21/07: Ryan T. Anderson reviews Samuel Gregg's new book The Commercial Society in The Weekly Standard. Anderson commends the work for describing the moral-cultural, economic, and legal foundations required for commercial societies to flourish, though faults it for ignoring the problems that commercial societies can create for human flourishing.

9/18/07: Fabrice Béland and Matthew Rose begin residence at the Witherspoon Institute as the Earhart Lehrman Junior Visiting Fellows. David Thunder begins his residence at the Institute as the Bradley Lehrman Junior Visiting Fellow. Béland, Rose, and Thunder will spend the academic year 2007-2008 doing research at the Witherspoon Institute.

9/11/07: Harold James says that despite the risks, uncertainties, and crises that have accompanied current evolutions in the financial market, history suggests that these changes will eventually turn out to be good. Worse than their short-term negative effects would be to control them by overregulation before they are fully understood.

9/5/07: The Witherspoon Institute announces the successful conclusion of its 2007 Summer Seminars for undergraduate and graduate students, including the First Principles Seminar, the Thomistic Seminar, and the new Marriage and the Social Sciences Seminar. Student participants call the experience well worth their while.

8-28-07: Bradford Wilcox reviews Allan Carlson and Paul Mero's The Natural Family: A Manifesto that argues against libertarian arguments that would downplay the need for protecting marriage in law. The book demonstrates the overall lack of progress in the pro-life, pro-family movement of the past thirty years and offers suggestions for a way forward.

8-10-07: Bradford Wilcox writes in the Opinion Journal on possible reasons why Evangelical Christians are concerned about issues such as abortion, sexual promiscuity, and marriage.

8-9-07: Princeton University Press publishes Fellow David L. Tubbs's new book Freedom's Orphans: Contemporary Liberalism and the Fate of American Children. Therein Tubbs argues that modern liberal political theory has becoming increasingly indifferent to the welfare of children.

7-26-07: Ryan T. Anderson points out the moral incoherence of recent statements of the executive director of Amnesty International, USA, who says that it is a violation of human rights to prosecute doctors who carry out abortions.

7-26-07: Bradford Wilcox, writing in the May issue of First Things, draws a connection between the transformation of the family and the rise or fall of various communities of religious faith in the United States in recent decades.

7-3-07: Ryan T. Anderson reviews Michael Sandel's book The Case Against Perfection in National Review. Anderson finds Sandel to be right in questioning the ethics of modern biomedical research, but faults him for concluding that embryo-destructive research is morally permissible.

7-3-07: Ryan T. Anderson reviews Christopher Wolfe's book Natural Law Liberalism in National Review. Although he finds the book a bit dated, Anderson commends it as a good resource for students of political philosophy seeking alternatives to modern liberal political theory.

6-18-07: An interview with Bradford Wilcox on the necessity of fathers for the stability of families and the personal development of children.

6-13-07: Ryan T. Anderson writes on the moral licitness of new techniques to produce pluripotent stem cells without destroying human life.

6-5-07: Harold James warns that societies that treat religion as a means to economic success and not as an end in itself ultimately destroy religion.

5-29-07: Bradford Wilcox reviews a book that examines the sexual activity of modern American adolescents.

5-21-07: On Mother’s Day, Bradford Wilcox praises faithful mothers for the good that their maternal care does for children, their husbands, and society.

5-10-07: Ryan T. Anderson is awarded a fellowship from the Phillips Foundation toward writing a series of articles “Reason and Religion in the Public Square” on the alleged chasm between faith and reason.

5-4-07: Bradford Wilcox interviews Phillip Longman of the progressive think tank New American Foundation about faith, global depopulation, and the world's economic future.

4-30-07: The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded the Witherspoon Institute $180,000 in outright funds toward its proposed website Natural Law, Natural Rights, and American Constitutionalism.

4-23-07: Robert P. George and Ryan T. Anderson review David Blankenhorn’s new book on how the law’s definition of marriage can either help or harm both children and actual marriages.

4-23-07: Bradford Wilcox publishes a study showing that church attendance may help urban mothers make the transition to marriage in communities where marriage has become increasingly infrequent.

4-23-07: Robert P. George speaks in Vatican City to reiterate that the inviolable dignity of human life can be known by reason alone without recourse to religious belief.

4-18-07: Ryan T. Anderson is named a 2007 Publius Fellow of the Claremont Institute.

4-12-07: The Witherspoon Institute appoints Mr. Frederic Clark of Pacific Equity Management and Inner-City Scholarship, Inc. and Professor Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe of Princeton University to its board of trustees.

4-12-07: The Witherspoon Institute names Professor Robert C. Koons of the University of Texas at Austin as a new Senior Fellow and Professor Christopher O. Tollefsen of the University of South Carolina as a new Fellow.

4-9-07: A class taught by Professor Robert P. George with Professor Cornel West is featured on the Princeton University home page.

4-2-07: Summary report on Faith and Economics, the Witherspoon Institute’s recent conference on the relationship between religion and national economic development.

4-2-07: The Witherspoon Institute names its 2007-2008 Lehrman Junior Visiting Fellows.

3-14-07: Robert P. George in The Wall Street Journal helps to outline six points about embryonic stem cell research on which all Americans should be able to agree.

3-13-07: Ryan T. Anderson on Africa's need for self-sacrificing assistance from the West beyond the mere material aid of the past several decades.

2-20-07: A report on Robert P. George's recent talk at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on why embryonic stem cell research is unethical.

2-20-07: Applications for the 2007 Thomistic Seminar for philosophy graduate students are now being accepted.

2-14-07: W. Bradford Wilcox publishes a report on the surprising causes of marital happiness for modern women.

2-9-07: Ryan T. Anderson on the British government's recent decision not to exempt religious adoption agencies in the UK from new anti-discrimination laws regarding homosexuality.

2-8-07: Applications for the Seminar on Marriage and the Social Sciences (June 13 - 16, 2007) for graduate students and recent Ph.D. graduates are now being accepted.

2-6-07: Applications for the First Principles 2007 Seminar are now being accepted.

2-2-07: A study co-authored by Junior Fellow Margarita Mooney compares and contrasts immigrant black students to American black students attending American Universities.

2-1-07: Robert P. George charts the way forward for the social conservative movement at the National Review Institute Summit in Washington, D.C.

2-1-07: CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT: The Witherspoon Institute will be holding a conference on "Faith and Economics" in Florence, Italy at the European University Institute, March 18-19, 2007.

1-29-07: Byron Johnson co-authors a case study on the success of faith-based and community initiatives in Ohio.

1-23-07: Another exchange between Robert P. George, Patrick Lee, and Princeton University Professor Lee Silver over the dignity of human embryos.

1-15-07: Senior Fellow Markus Grompe receives an award for research on a fatal genetic disorder.

1-4-07: Robert P. George pays tribute to the late Elizabeth Fox-Genovese.

12-28-06: Ryan T. Anderson in The Weekly Standard on the murder of infants for stem cells in the Ukraine, and signs that the same practice may come to the United States.

12-15-06: Ryan T. Anderson on the inviolable dignity of human life and the grave flaws in the utilitarianism of Princeton Professor Peter Singer.

12-11-06: Robert P. George testifies before the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee against civil unions or domestic partnerships that predicate benefits to non-marital partners on sexual conduct or relationships.

12-4-06: Applications for the Lehrman Junior Fellowship are due January 1, 2007. Also, the size of the grant has increased. Click here for details.

12-4-06: Ashgate Press announces the publication of Witherspoon Institute Fellow Thomas D. D'Andrea's book Tradition, Rationality, and Virtue: The Thoughts of Alasdair MacIntyre.

12-1-06: Senior Fellow Harold James reviews two books about changing attitudes and approaches to globalization in the world today.

11-13-06: An interview of Junior Fellow W. Bradford Wilcox on his recent study "What's Love Got to Do with It? Equality, Equity, Commitment, and Women's Marital Quality."

11-3-06: Ryan T. Anderson exposes erroneous information on stem cell research disseminated in controversial campaign advertisements for the coming elections.

10-30-06: Leading stem cell researchers meet in New York City to discuss the obstacles to the medical use of embryonic stem cells.

10-26-06: Ryan T. Anderson on the New Jersey Supreme Court's ruling yesterday extending the benefits of civil marriage to same-sex couples.

10-26-06: Senior Fellow Jean Bethke Elshtain speaks on the grave moral implications of euthanasia.

10-26-06: A comparison of the political leanings of Evangelical Christians and nonevangelicals according to Byron Johnson's survey of religion at Baylor University.

10-20-06: Robert P. George and Patrick Lee reply to Lee Silver's defense of his book against their critique of 10-3-06 (the article also contains a link to Silver's defense).

10-16-06: The Witherspoon Institute announces the creation of the Lehrman Junior Visiting Fellowship for graduate students writing their dissertations and scholars who have just completed their doctorates. Applications are now being accepted.

10-13-06: Ryan T. Anderson in First Things on growing awareness of scientific hurdles for embryonic stem cell research.

10-13-06: Marriage and the Public Good informs the debate surrounding Virginia's upcoming Constitutional referendum on a marriage amendment.

10-13-06: Senior Fellow Byron Johnson receives a federal grant to study the role of religion in promoting prosocial behavior among youth.

10-11-06: Ryan T. Anderson in First Things on civil unions and estate taxes.

10-03-06: Professors Robert P. George and Patrick Lee critique Princeton Professor Lee Silver's book on human-embryo ethics.

9-15-06: Ryan T. Anderson on the implications of a recent study on "Persistent Vegetative State" for the euthanasia debate.

9-11-06: Baylor University's study on the current state of American Religion, co-authored by Senior Fellow Byron Johnson.

8-28-06: Robert P. George on recent stem cell hype and promising developments in ethical methods to obtain embryonic stem cells.

8-25-06: Ryan T. Anderson exposes the falsehood of recent statements from some scientists who claimed to have obtained embryonic stem cells ethically.

8-17-06: Ryan T. Anderson in The Weekly Standard on the recent publication "Beyond Gay Marriage".

2005: Prof. Robert P. George speaks out on natural law and human rights.

Winter 2004: Professors Robert P. George and Patrick Lee on embryo research and when life begins.

Summer 2004: Fellows David L. Tubbs and Robert P. George on the inherent instability of same-sex unions.

7-30-01: Stem Cell Research: A Debate Between David Baltimore and Robert P. George, from the Wall Street Journal