On Thursday July 11 and Friday July 12, 2002 The Institute for the Psychological Sciences will sponsor a conference entitled: "The Person, The Family and The Flourishing Life: A Psychological and Sociological Perspective". Reflecting the dignity of the human person and the needs of our secular society, the focus of this conference will be on Positive Psychology, which examines the components of health and goodness in the hope of facilitating a full, happy life rather than disease and disorder. The conference will explore the issue of character in the development of the happy person and the flourishing life.

The distinguished presenters and their topics:

Martin Seligman, Ph.D. is the Fox Leadership Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and a past-President of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Seligman will lecture on the topic "Positive Psychology: the Good Life".

Daniel Robinson, Ph.D., Distinguished Research Professor at Georgetown University, Edmund Campion Distinguished Scholar at the Insitute for the Psychological Sciences, Faculty Fellow at Oxford University, and Visiting Professor at Princeton University, will present on "The Person, the Family, and Civic Life".

Alan Carlson, Ph.D. is the Founder of the Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society. Dr. Carlson will deliver a lecture entitled "The Autonomous Family and the Good Community".

David Blankenhorn, Founder and President of the Institute for American Values, will present "Fatherhood and its Impact on the Family: a Sociological Analysis".

Hadley Arkes, Ph.D., Edward N. Ney Professor of Jurisprudence and American Institutions at Amherst University, will address the topic "Politics: an Irreducible Moral Enterprise".

Following their presentations, Dr. Seligman and Dr. Robinson will conduct a dialogue on the theme "Positive Psychology and the Polis". In addition, the conference will conclude with some remarks given by IPS Dean Gladys Sweeney, Ph.D.

For additional information visit the IPS web site www.ipsciences.edu