Date: September 28, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm
Speaker: Carlos Casanova, Dr. Michel Bastit
Location: Hamilton School, 5th Floor, Room E581 (CSE Building)
Join the Hamilton School for the release of Genealogies of Rights: On the Origins of Two Conflicting Versions of Rights by Carlos A. Casanova, presented by Hamilton founding director John Stinneford and University of Burgundy's Dr. Michel Bastit. In this careful philosophical and historical study, Casanova examines two rival understandings of subjective rights that have shaped the political order of the West. Drawing on Norberto Bobbio’s observation that different versions of rights exist, he traces the classical-Christian tradition and the liberal tradition to their roots. A native of Venezuela, Carlos A. Casanova holds a law degree from the Catholic University Andrés Bello and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Navarre. He has taught at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and previously served in senior legal roles in Venezuela before leaving the country under political threat. He has been a visiting scholar at Boston University and a senior research associate at the Jacques Maritain Center at the University of Notre Dame. His work focuses on political and social philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, and classical Greek thought. This event marks the publication of an important contribution to the ongoing conversation about the meaning and origins of rights.
