Center for Human Values

Center for Human Values
Name	Center for Human Values
Formation	1980s
Type	Academic research center
Location	Princeton, New Jersey

Center for Human Values is an academic institute based at a major Ivy League university that focuses on ethics, moral philosophy, and public policy. The center connects scholars, fellows, and practitioners from diverse institutions to address questions about rights, justice, and civic responsibility in contemporary contexts. Its activities span conferences, publications, fellowships, and curricular collaborations with colleges and professional schools.

History

The center was founded in the late 20th century with support from university donors and trustees influenced by debates surrounding John Rawls, Isaiah Berlin, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Charles Taylor. Early patrons included figures associated with Princeton University, Harvard University, Yale University, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, reflecting broader trends that also involved scholars from Oxford University, Cambridge University, Columbia University, and Stanford University. Founding directors drew on intellectual currents linked to the revival of virtue ethics, analytic moral philosophy represented by Peter Singer and Thomas Nagel, and political philosophy exemplified by Jürgen Habermas and Michael Walzer. Over subsequent decades the center expanded ties with policy institutions such as the Brookings Institution, Council on Foreign Relations, United Nations, and the World Bank, and hosted visiting fellows from the Hastings Center, Kennedy School of Government, and the School of Social Science.

Mission and Programs

The center's stated mission emphasizes research into normative questions addressed by thinkers like Immanuel Kant, Aristotle, John Stuart Mill, and David Hume while engaging practitioners associated with The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and The Atlantic. Programmatic strands have included ethics in public life, bioethics in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, and law and morality with partners in the United States Court of Appeals and law faculties at Yale Law School and Harvard Law School. The center administers seminar series that bring together residents from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UCLA, Duke University, and University of Chicago with alumni from McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs, and Amnesty International.

Academic Research and Publications

Scholars affiliated with the center produce monographs, edited volumes, and articles published by presses and journals such as Princeton University Press, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Ethics (journal), Philosophy & Public Affairs, and The Journal of Political Philosophy. Research topics have included debates influenced by Robert Nozick, Martha Nussbaum, Michael Sandel, and Joseph Raz, and empirical collaborations with institutes like the Pew Research Center and the RAND Corporation. The center has sponsored special issues on themes related to rights, distributive justice, and global ethics featuring contributors from Columbia Law School, Georgetown University, Brown University, and New York University.

Education and Fellowships

Educational offerings include undergraduate seminars cross-listed with departments such as those at Princeton University and visiting courses taught by scholars from Rutgers University, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, and University of Michigan. The fellowship programs attract postdoctoral fellows, visiting professors, and practitioners from Harvard Medical School, Duke Law School, Stanford Law School, MIT Media Lab, and think tanks including The Aspen Institute and The Hoover Institution. Alumni have gone on to positions at institutions like Oxford University Press, Harvard Kennedy School, Yale School of Medicine, and nonprofit organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Doctors Without Borders.

Public Engagement and Events

Public-facing events include lecture series, conferences, and workshops that have featured speakers from Supreme Court of the United States clerks, diplomats from the U.S. Department of State, and journalists from The Economist. The center has co-hosted symposia with museums and cultural institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, collaborations with legal centers at Columbia Law School and NYU School of Law, and joint events with international organizations such as the European Union delegations and the World Health Organization. Media coverage and podcasts have connected center debates to audiences via outlets like NPR, BBC, CNN, and scholarly platforms including Project Syndicate.

Leadership and Governance

Directors and advisory board members have included philosophers, legal theorists, and public intellectuals affiliated with Princeton University, Harvard University, Yale University, Oxford University, and Cambridge University. Governance involves coordination with university offices including the provost, trustees with links to foundations such as the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and collaborations with academic departments and centers such as the Center for Policy Research and the Program in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy. The advisory network comprises fellows from The Brookings Institution, Council on Foreign Relations, American Philosophical Society, and professional schools including Harvard Business School and Columbia Journalism School.

Category:Princeton University