Lord Plant appointed Gresham Professor of Divinity

Raymond Plant, Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Philosophy at the Dickson Poon School of Law, has been appointed as Gresham Professor of Divinity by Gresham College and the Corporation of London. The appointment will see him deliver 18 lectures over three years on a general theme of “Religion and Values in a Liberal State: The Morals of Markets”.

Gresham College has given free public lectures in the City of London for over 400 years, and currently runs over 100 public events every year. The College has eight Professors from academia (mostly Oxford, Cambridge and the colleges of the University of London) and industry who give regular lectures across a full range of subject areas. The Divinity chair dates back to the College’s founding in 1597.

The hour-long free public lectures will take place at the Museum of London, EC2:

Moral Values and Limits of Markets – Tuesday 9th October 2012, 1pm
Markets, Freedom and Choice – Tuesday 27th November 2012, 1pm
Just Markets – Tuesday 29th January 2013, 1pm
Selling Yourself Short: The Body, Property and Markets – Tuesday 26th February 2013, 1pm
What’s It Worth: Values, Choice and Commodification – Tuesday 9th April 2013, 1pm
Trust in Markets? – Tuesday 14th May 2013, 1pm

These lectures will focus on some of the central ideas and principles that make up a liberal democratic society and its associated market economy, looking in detail at what a theological understanding can add to these questions. Freedom, justice, rights, community, civic virtue, property and charity – all of these are vitally important ideas and values in understanding modern society and there is a rich tradition of thought, including theological thought, about what they mean and how these meanings should be reflected in institutions. Thinking further on these values will lead to a better understanding of social justice and injustice, poverty and freedom, community and individuality, and rights and obligations in the context of a liberal capitalist society.

Full lecture descriptions are available from the Gresham College website.

Professor Raymond Plant joined the Law School in January 2002 as Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Philosophy. He is probably best known for his work on Hegel as a political, social and legal philosopher and for his work on conceptual issues to do with welfare particularly ideas such as needs, rights, obligations, community etc.  He is a Labour Peer and sits in the House of Lords with the title of Lord Plant of Highfield. In the Lords he is a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and has been a member of the Government and Law Sub Committee of the Committee on the European Communities. Professor Plant has also recently been offered and has accepted honorary doctorates from the University of Southampton and the University of Tallinn.