Student Scholar Presentations

Natural Right and Political Religion in Young Lincoln

Fred Larsen, Harvard College’ 24

Through his appeals to political religion, unimpassioned reason, and scientific realism, Lincoln invites us to question the role of the statesman in crisis—to what extent ought the statesman compromise natural right for the sake of preserving the integrity of his political institutions?

Fred Larsen is a Harvard College Sophomore from North Carolina studying the history of political thought. He is interested in the rise of modernity, the political thought of Abraham Lincoln, and the works of Leo Strauss.

George Fitzhugh and the End of Southern Order

David Brannon, Harvard College ‘22

George Fitzhugh was the pure expression of the Old South’s ideals, and these ideals continue to haunt Southerners. He is the first and the last proslavery thinker to articulate a coherent and logical paradigm for the South. Thus, he is the ‘end’ of the South both as intellectual culmination and as existential conclusion.

This lecture argued that the Virginian advanced a sociology based on slavery principles, advocated an ethical theory inherited from Aristotle, challenged modernity with a peculiar conservatism, and urged political Caesarism for a return to monarchy.

Originally from South Carolina, David is a senior concentrating in History at Harvard College. His research focuses on American political thought and Southern intellectual history, and he is a former Chairman of the John Adams Society. Outside school, David started a coffee shop and wine bar in his hometown, and he will join Cooper & Kirk in Washington, D.C. as a Rehnquist Fellow after graduating.

Authority, Resistance and Revolution in Early Modern Political Thought

Amy Chandran, PhD Candidate, Harvard University Government Department

This seminar traversed early modern theories of authority and obedience and the problems posed by questions of resistance, tyrannicide and revolution. It focused on writings from across the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with special attention to the contributions of Thomas Hobbes.

Amy Chandran is a PhD Candidate in the Government Department at Harvard University. She is writing her dissertation on French political thought and the works of Thomas Hobbes. Prior to undertaking her PhD, she received an MPP at the Harvard Kennedy School, and an LLB (Hons I) in Australia, where she also worked in the public service at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

A Preliminary Inquiry into Value

Collin Smith, Boston College ‘22

This lecture focused on the question of value and desire in economics and cybernetics through the work of Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger.

Collin is a graduating senior at Boston College studying finance and creating a major in value theory. At school, Collin is involved with the Fulton Leadership Society and the Investment Banking Association. After Boston College, Collin will be moving to New York City to work in Investment Banking.