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institution2003-present

Witherspoon Institute

Summary

A non-partisan research center in Princeton, New Jersey, that works to enhance public understanding of the moral foundations of free and democratic societies. Named after John Witherspoon, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Publishes Public Discourse and hosts academic programs on natural law and the liberal tradition.

Core Contribution

Provides institutional home for natural law scholarship and conservative social thought; through Public Discourse, shapes intellectual discourse on marriage, family, bioethics, and religious liberty.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • natural law
  • conservatism
  • Princeton
  • family policy
  • bioethics
  • religious liberty
  • political philosophy

Historical Influences

Robert George Alasdair MacIntyre John Finnis American founding tradition

Intellectual Lineage

John Witherspoonnatural law tradition Princeton intellectual heritage

Allied Works

Public Discourse What Is Marriage?Defending Life

Contemporaries & Peers

American Enterprise Institute Heritage Foundation Ethics and Public Policy Center

Minds Influenced

conservative Catholic political philosophyreligious liberty legal argumentsnatural law revival in academia

Intellectual Posterity

Public Discourse Witherspoon Fellowshipnatural law academic network

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