Scaperlanda on Catholic Legal Theory and "Assumptions Regarding Liberty"

Michael's talk is called "Challenging the Common Assumptions regarding Liberty."  He reflected on his nearly 3 decades of law teaching and talked a bit about the different courses he teaches, how he teaches them, and what Catholicism and/or Catholic Legal Theory contribute to them.  One of his courses is, in fact, "Catholic Legal Theory" and he sketched the structure and aims of that course and emphasized his efforts to get students to think about freedom, restraint, and liberty, and about how -- drawing on the classic movie Groundhog Day -- being the "sovereign chooser" is not really freedom.  One is more free when one chooses to live for others, and as a gift for others.  But, as Michael recounts, many of his students are afraid to "judge," evaluate, or rank different choices -- in part because of fears about the reality of human frailty and the inevitability of human failure.