Beneficence means to do good-to practice kindness, generosity, and charity toward others. It means actively promoting and safeguarding the well-being of others because it is morally right and because you care.
Recent years have produced inspiring examples of beneficence as well as alarming manifestations of polarization and harm. In these challenging times, how should we think about our responsibilities to care for ourselves, for people that we know and love, and for others whom we don't know, disagree with, or have been harmed by? How are these responsibilities linked, in theory and in practice?
If we aspire to practice beneficence and care within our personal, public, and professional lives, how can we translate these values into actions? How might we increase our capacity for care and compassion? What are some barriers to practicing care for self and others within complex and dynamic relationships and social systems?
The Mudd Center's 2022-23 program will harness the wisdom of prominent and innovative thinkers whose work addresses concepts and practices of care. In addition to our traditional public lectures, this year the Mudd Center's program will include an interactive series of events - CareLab - that will personalize our year-long exploration of beneficence and care.
Go to the Beneficence Series page to access recordings of all the lectures.
"Good and Bad Helping: Moral Challenges with Beneficence"
Thursday, September 15, 2022, 5:00pm
Stackhouse Theater
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"Intersectional Neuroscience: Bringing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to the Neuroscience of Meditation"
Thursday, September 22, 2022, 5:00pm
Stackhouse Theater
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"The Hidden Curricula of Competitive Individualism and its Roots in Business Education"
Thursday, November 3, 2022, 5:00pm
Stackhouse Theater
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"Become Who You Aren’t: Friendship as Spectacle"
Monday, January 30, 2023, 5:00pm
Stackhouse Theater
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"Restorative vs Adversarial Justice: A New Paradigm for Addressing Crime and Conflict"
Thursday, February 9, 2023, 5:00pm
University Chapel
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"Belonging in the Bubble: How to Transverse the Indifferences that Divide Us"
Thursday, March 2, 2023, 5:00pm
Stackhouse Theater
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"Raising Caring, Justice-Minded Children in a Morally Troubled Time"
Tuesday, March 21, 2023, 5:30pm
Virtual
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"We Kin: Lessons of Care from the Garden"
Mudd Center Partnership with the Harte Center for Teaching and Learning
Thursday, August 25, 2022, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Virtual Webinar (Fall Academy)
Mudd Center Partnership with the University Museums and Library
"Ethics of Care Meditation Circle"
Sundays, Sept. 25, Oct. 2, Oct. 9, Oct. 23, Oct. 30, 2022
5:30 – 6:45pm: Elrod Commons Sacred Space
Retreat Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022
9:00 am – 4:00pm: House Mountain Inn/Irvine Estate
"Compassion and Connection Across Species: The Psychology of Human-Animal Relationships"
Wednesday, November 9, 2022, 5:00pm
Northen Auditorium
Museum Menagerie reception immediately following in Watson Gallery
Screening of Citizen James and playwright talkback
Tuesday, February 14, 2023, 5:00pm
Stackhouse Theater
"How Can We Embody Self-Care? Lessons from the Body Positivity Movement"
Thursday, March 9, 2023, 4:00pm
Hillel 101
A Dinner Discussion for K-12 Educators and W&L Students
Tuesday, March 21, 6:15pm - 7:45pm
Hillel 101