First Things “Intellectual Retreat” in Los Angeles

The editors of First Things magazine will hold an “intellectual retreat” in Los Angeles, at which members of the Thomas Aquinas College faculty will conduct seminar discussions on a poignant and timely topic, The Search for Happiness.

“What do we mean by the search for happiness?” asks First Things editor R. R. Reno. “Sigmund Freud once said, ‘happiness is something essentially subjective.’ This view is commonplace today. A goal of the retreat is to examine this claim: is happiness truly in the eye of the beholder? If not, what would objective happiness be? And how can one be happy given the vicissitudes and suffering often found in one’s life?”

The retreat, which will take place at the University of California, Los Angeles, is a joint venture of First Things, Thomas Aquinas College, the Agora Foundation, and UCLA’s Center for Liberal Arts and Free Institutions. It will include a number of lectures and seminars, led by members of the College’s teaching faculty and the Agora Foundation, on relevant texts by Epictetus, Aristotle, Aquinas, and Bertrand Russell.

“We are pleased to be working with First Things on this retreat, and we look forward to giving retreatants a small taste of the sort of education we offer at the College,” says President Michael F. McLean. At Thomas Aquinas College, all classes take the form of small group discussions based upon the seminal works of Western civilization.

“The retreat,” says Mr. Reno, “will be a rare opportunity to meet First Things authors and like-minded individuals and, in community, discuss a topic that affects us all.” Registration is open to all. “There are no academic prerequisites or expertise required to participate,” adds Mr. Reno. “If you enjoy reading First Things or discussing the kind of ideas found in its pages, then this event is right for you.”