The virtue of Civil Disobedience is justly celebrated today.  But what about the opposite: when and why must we follow the law?  Penn’s Perry-Collegium Initiative presents a Legal Humanities Special Event that will examine a newly-published book by Professor Daniel Mark of Villanova University about the source of our obligation to be law-abiding citizens.

Professor Mark will offer remarks on his 2024 book The Nature of Law: Authority, Obligation, and the Common Good, in which he argues that our responsibility to the law originates in the fact that it is a set of commands oriented towards the common good. Professor Mark defines legal obligation as fundamentally related to moral obligation and religious obligation more broadly.

Professor Daniel Mark is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Villanova University and former Chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. His remarks will be followed with comment from Prof. Amy Sepinwall (University of Pennsylvania) and Dr. Evelyn Boyden (Princeton University).

Date: Monday, October 21, 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM (Lunch will be provided)

Location: Amado Recital Hall @ Irvine Auditorium, University of Pennsylvania

3401 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA 19104

To register, click the button below. Please direct any questions to Quinn Shepherd (qshepherd@collegiuminstitute.org).