Are individual rights compatible with group rights? It’s a hotly debated question in Canada today, and Dr. Grant Havers, an expert in political philosophy and a professor of philosophy at Trinity Western University, will explore it during a public lecture on March 22 at the TWU campus in Langley.
“The reconciliation of individual rights with group rights is one of the most serious challenges facing liberal democracy,” said Dr. Havers. “Liberal democracies, in principle, uphold the rights of the individual to freedom of speech, worship and conscience. The rise of group rights has been fuelled by the well-meaning attempt to redress longstanding patterns of discrimination, which have been inflicted upon historically oppressed groups.
“In the process of legally implementing these rights, however, the mass democratic state has taken on the task of infringing upon individual rights in the name of enhancing ‘tolerance’ and ‘diversity.’ The outcome is the decline of individual freedom, the rise of the big state, and fierce competition between oppressed groups for power and prestige.”
Trinity Western University’s Dr. Robynne Healey, a professor of history, will respond to Dr. Havers’ presentation, and a Q & A session will follow. The event is part of the annual Mel Smith Lecture Series, which contributes to significant policy issues.
Date: Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Devries Centre Auditorium, TWU Langley.
Admission is free, and a reception will follow.