On January 16th, the Society convened for its inaugural meeting on the subject of "the enduring moral order" as described in Russell Kirk's Ten Conservative Principles. Professor of Political Science Darel Paul contributed to the discussion, tracing the history of conservative social thought through Burke and Kirk and providing insightful commentary on an array of topics.
A moral order was defined as a religious or ethical framework that governs human behavior and establishes the permanence and objectivity of moral truths. Differences between past societies which clearly adhered to moral orders (such as Roman civic allegiance or Christianity) and the relativistic postmodern era were discussed. Though it was recognized that Christianity has historically served as the principal moral order of the West, America's religious plurality and recent trends towards secularization prompted the students to discuss the roles of other religious and non-religious ethical frameworks as alternatives.
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