Schall Award given to Leon Kass

The Second Annual Rev. James V. Schall, S.J. Award for Teaching and Humane Letters was presented to Dr. Leon Kass of the University of Chicago and the American Enterprise Institute on March 23, 2009.

In front of a large audience in the historic Copely Formal Lounge, Fr. Schall was honored with Professor Kass’s lecture, “Defending Human Dignity: What it is and Why it Matters,” in which Kass drew upon examples from a film and a song, among other things, in order to argue for the existence of and importance of human dignity.

In his comments after Professor Kass’s address, Fr. Schall summed up the lecture accurately, asserting that it is rare for such truth of content and strength of arguments to come together so well. Before the presentation of the award, Michael Maibach, one of Fr. Schall's  former students who established and supports the award, said a few words in honor of Fr. Schall and requested that others join with him in supporting the work of the Tocqueville Forum.

Dr. Kass’ lecture can be read here.

Prior to Dr. Kass’ reception of the award, the Tocqueville Forum was pleased to bestow upon Anthony C. Piccirillo (SFS’09) the first annual Rev. James V. Schall, S.J. Student Essay Award. Students read Fr. Schall’s essay, “A Reflection on the Classical Tractate on Tyranny: The Problem of Democratic Tyranny,” and wrote an essay responding to the question, “Can democratic tyranny exist in the United States?” A senior majoring in International History in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Mr. Piccirillo persuasively argued that democratic tyranny can and does exist in the United States, writing,

The glorification of a debased and empty understanding of tolerance and diversity has led to the creation of the “dictatorship of relativism” of which then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger spoke. … This democratic tyranny is ably sustained by the modern economic assumptions which place material goods above all else. If we desire to combat this tyrannical manifestation of democracy, … we must combat relativism and promote a search for the truth, especially through an emphasis the natural moral law which is accessible to all and is absolute, objective and universal. Secondly, we must work towards the development of fraternal and communal ties in order to establish true bonds among citizens in the face of economic materialism. Finally, we need to instill virtue in individual citizens, starting with ourselves.

Mr. Piccirillo’s paper can be read here.

In addition, three other students, Brenner Fissell, Alex Henderson, and Raymond Tolentino, received honorable mentions for their thoughtful essays. This first annual award was sponsored by a former student of Fr. Schall’s, Michael Maibach (M.A. Georgetown College, 1999), and The Maibach Foundation.

"Freedom sees religion as the companion of its struggles and triumphs, the cradle of its infancy, and the divine source of its rights. Religion is considered as the guardian of mores, and mores are regarded as the guarantee of laws..."

- Alexis de Tocqueville

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