Christian Philosopher Dr. John F. Crosby to Deliver 2018 Bitar Lecture - Geneva College
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Christian Philosopher Dr. John F. Crosby to Deliver 2018 Bitar Lecture

Picture of Christian Philosopher Dr. John F. Crosby to Deliver 2018 Bitar Lecture

(BEAVER FALLS, Pa.) — Geneva College’s Philosophy Program is pleased to offer the 2018 Dr. Byron I. Bitar Memorial Lecture. The lecture, which is open to the public, will be held on the campus, in Skye Lounge in the Student Center, Monday evening, April 9 at 7 p.m.

The 2018 Bitar Lecturer is the Christian philosopher, John F. Crosby. Dr. Crosby lecture is entitled, “Dietrich von Hildebrand’s Defense of Beauty Against Its Detractors.”

Dr. Crosby (B.A. Georgetown University, Ph.D. University of Salzburg) is Professor of Philosophy at nearby Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. He is Director of the MA Philosophy Program, as well as Founder and Senior Fellow of the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project.

Professor Crosby is known internationally for his work on John Henry Newman, Max Scheler, Karol Wojtyła, and Dietrich von Hildebrand. He has made a significant contribution to the area of philosophical anthropology or philosophy of the human person and has played a major role in the contemporary interest and discussion of that field through his books, The Selfhood of the Human Person (1996); Personalist Papers (2004); and The Personalism of John Henry Newman (2014), each published by Catholic University of America Press. He has also worked in the areas of ethics, phenomenological realism, and axiology, or value theory.

Dietrich von Hildebrand (1889-1977) was an Austrian Christian philosopher in the first part of the twentieth century. The child of a famous sculptor, he grew up in a villa in Florence, Italy, surrounded by art and artists. He became a believer as a teen, then pursued philosophical training in a tradition of phenomenological realism (along with philosophers Karol Wojtyla  and Gerard Ratzinger.) He is known especially for his contributions in ethics, surrounding matters of marriage and the family, as well as being the leading figure, in the public square, of the intellectual resistance to Nazism during World War II. His last work, published posthumously and only recently translated into English, is a two-volume work in aesthetics. This was a project that Dr. von Hildebrand anticipated writing throughout his lifetime.

The annual Dr. Byron I. Bitar Memorial Lecture in Philosophy was endowed by the William C. Kriner Family in memory of Geneva College’s beloved professor of a quarter-century, in order to continue his legacy and vision for philosophy. The Lecture was inaugurated in 2004, a year after Dr. Bitar’s untimely death, and has been held every year since that time. The Bitar Lecture endowment enables Geneva College to have the rare privilege of inviting the world’s finest Christian philosophers to speak to the students, faculty, neighbors and friends of Geneva. Past lecturers include philosophers Stephen Evans, Nicholas Wolterstorff, James K.A. Smith, Alvin Plantinga, Paul Moser, and Merold Westphal.

The mission of the Philosophy Program at Geneva College is: “Engaging the philosophical conversation, honing critical skills and passions, cultivating wisdom for service, for living, in submission to Jesus Christ the Truth.

For further information regarding the Bitar Lecture, contact Geneva College’s Philosophy Program Office, 724-847-6700.

Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 80 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs, and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top Three Best Value Regional University with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God’s Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today’s world.
Apr 9, 2018