Our theme for this year is "Happiness and the Good Life" and will be held July 25th through July 29th.

Applications to join this year's Iowa Lyceum are available here.

Applications are now CLOSED. Be sure to check your email if you applied!

This year's Lyceum includes presentations from (see below for our schedule and some descriptions of the presentations):

  • Richard Fumerton
  • Diane Jeske
  • Ali Hasan
  • David Cunning
  • Greg Stoutenburg (University of Iowa alumnus and Iowa Lyceum founder)
  • Andrew Younan (author of Advice from Aristotle)

More information coming soon. Stay tuned!

Manual for this year's Lyceum can be found here.

2022 Lyceum Schedule*

Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
10:00am Introductions Good Life Game (Jill Schenk) Epictetus on Happiness (David Cunning) Virtual Reality and the Source of Value (Ali Hasan) Participant Presentations
10:15am          
10:30am Metaethics (Chaeyeon Lee)        
10:45am   Break      
11:00am   Intro to Logic (Joe Glover) Discussion Discussion  
11:15am Reflecting Happy Life   Break Break  
11:30am Break   Lying, Misleading, and BS (Joe Glover) Art & Aesthetics (Emily Lemmon)  
11:45am Intro to Philosophy (Cassie FInley)        
12:00pm   Lunch Break      
12:15pm     Lunch Break Lunch Break  
12:30pm   How to Get Good at Stuff: Aristotle on Forming Habits (Andy Younan)     Lunch Break
12:45pm Lunch Break   Treatment or Enhancement? (Greg Stoutenburg) Skepticism (Andy Williams)  
1:00pm         Participant Presentations
1:15pm Which Pleasures are Most Important (Richard Fumerton / Diane Jeske)        
1:30pm   Discussion      
1:45pm   Break Discussion Presentation Ideas  
2:00pm   Technology and Virtue (Cassie Finley) Break Break  
2:15pm Discussion   Free Will (Mansour Golpour) Presentation Prep  
2:30pm Break       Reflecting on Happy Life
2:45pm Discuss Presentations        

 

*Subject to possible revision

Here are some brief descriptions of the talks given this year!

Professor David Cunning

  • The ancient Roman philosopher Epictetus defended the stoic view that the unhappiness of human beings is due to our allegiance to desires that do not serve us. We want things to go a certain way, and they often don’t, and we get frustrated or discombobulated. Epictetus argues that if we modify our desires and make them more realistic, we will be happy, and we will be invincible.

Professor Ali Hasan

  • What are the values and dangers of virtual reality, simulations, and gaming? Is it morally problematic to spend increasing amounts of time in a virtual reality with created online identities? Can you lead a good life in a virtual world?  What can we learn about the value or meaning of life by reflecting on the possibility of “plugging in” to virtual reality?

Professors Richard Fumerton and Diane Jeske

  • This is a two-part presentation from both professors focusing on what the most important pleasures are for a well-lived life. Professor Fumerton will tackle Plato's thoughts as presented by Socrates in Book IX of The Republic while Professor Jeske will focus on JS Mill's distinction between physical pleasures and mental pleasures as found in his text Utilitarianism.

Greg Stoutenburg

  • We'll explore a range of questions surrounding when and whether it is appropriate to engage in what we can call "self-modification". Sometimes it is obviously acceptable. If I lose a limb in war, it is acceptable to replace that limb with an artificial one. Sometimes it is obviously unacceptable. I should not cut off that same limb and replace it with an artificial one to improve my athletic performance. But why are those judgments correct, if they are correct? How do these thoughts apply to educational performance? Athletic performance? Personal satisfaction? 

Andy Younan

  • Ethical philosophy is, to Aristotle, about action as well as knowledge, and he has useful advice on beginning, working on, and perfecting habits. Let’s see what he has to say.