Political Philosopher Goodin to Speak in Baldy Center Seminar Series

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy in the UB Law School will continue its Faculty Seminar Series on Institutional Analysis of Law, Politics and Society with a presentation on March 12 by Robert Goodin, a major contemporary political philosopher and theorist.

Goodin, joint professor of social and political theory and philosophy in the Research School of Social Sciences at Australian National University, will speak on "Democratic Accountability: The Third Sector and All" from 12:30-3 p.m. in 545 O'Brian Hall on the UB North (Amherst) Campus. James Gardner, professor in the Law School, and Ken Shockley, assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences, will serve as commentators.

Goodin is a pioneer in the political and philosophical analysis of institutional design, notes Gardner. "He is a noted political and moral philosopher in his own right, but his work is of special interest for the faculty seminar for his application of concepts in moral and political philosophy to concrete public policy issues, particularly questions relating to the best structures for social and governmental institutions.

"Law, of course, involves precisely the question of how social behavior should be regulated or channeled, so his insights are of special interest to the Baldy Center, which concentrates on the intersection of law and public policy," he says.

Goodin has written several books and numerous articles on institutional design. He is editor of a Cambridge University Press series on institutional design, and also edits Ethics, a leading scholarly journal of moral philosophy.

The seminar series is free of charge and open to all interested faculty members and advanced graduate students. Those who would like lunch, which will be served at noon, should contact the Baldy Center at baldycrt@buffalo.edu or 645-2102.

For further information about the seminar series, contact Baldy Center Director Lynn Mather at lmather@buffalo.edu.