Academics & Research News

Visiting professor speaks on phronesis

Peter Grossman, visiting professor from Butler University, spoke on the U.S. and energy policy as a part of the Honors College’s phronesis minor program from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Honors College Commons.

“The basic idea is that in 1973, exactly 40 years ago, an event led us to a story about our energy situation, and that has dominated our thinking about energy for the past 40 years,” Grossman said. “The story was wrong back then and still is now, but we cling on to it because it politicians know it works politically.”

Alongside speaking for phronesis, Grossman, who has acted as a guest speaker for the University before, also wanted to let people know about his book, “U.S. Energy Policy and the Pursuit of Failure.”

“Last spring, I was a visiting professor here,” Grossman said. “Knowing some of the people here, when they asked me to come down and speak, I also wanted to make sure they knew about my book … which addresses some of the issues I spoke about.”

Grossman advocates that the economical world of energy itself also repeats itself, and not just the U.S., causing a cycle.

“For the last 140 years, people in the energy world have claimed oil is about to be exhausted,” Grossman said. “Then there’s a (surplus); they find this supply and say, ‘Oh, we have all this oil,’ then 20 years later: ‘Oh, we’re running out of oil again.’”

Phronesis, which is a minor concerning politics, law, history and ethics, focuses on discussion and dissection of ethics in social issues. The Ancient Greek word “φρόνησις”, or phronesis, means a type of wisdom or intelligence, sometimes translated as prudence.

“Phronesis is a fantastic minor, and it is available to anyone interested in politics, law, and history,” said political science senior Randall Towns. “The speech applied to phronesis because energy policy is a complex issue that impacts all our lives. Phronesis deals with politics and ethics; it gets to the bottom of complex issues.”

Phronesis is a minor, and the guest speeches pertaining to it are part of a program put on by the phronesis program within The Honors College.

“You do not have to attend any of the (phronesis guest speakers’) speeches, only the specific set of courses pertaining to the major,” Towns said. “Also, the phronesis program receives grant money and the like, so it benefits the University as a whole.”

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