Peter Bolland

No two names are more associated with the influential ethical theory of Utilitarianism that Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) and his protégé John Stuart Mill (1806–1873). Attempting to bring scientific rigor to the messy business of morality, Bentham and Mill left a lasting legacy in the way we govern and legislate our collective decisions and navigate our personal moral calculations. Learn how Utilitarianism made modern rights movements possible, including women’s rights, animal rights and the rights of LGBTQ+ people. Whether you know it or not, you may already be a Utilitarian.

Join us for a four-day retreat where I'll be the keynote facilitator, alongside others, offering a variety of opportunities to learn, rest, expand, and grow. This retreat will sell-out, so please click here for more details, as well as registration options: https://uucamp.org/camps-for-adults/2026-adult-summer-break-camp-singing-in-the-pines/

Another of the British Empiricists, Scottish philosopher David Hume took Locke’s work to its logical conclusion, and shocked the philosophical world in the process. Known as skepticism, Hume’s philosophy openly questioned the existence of God, a radical stance in the early 18th century. Under Hume’s scalpel, no sacred cow was safe—not science, not reason, not theology, not even the existence of the soul. Join us for an inquiry into the brilliant, beloved, and unorthodox mind of David Hume.