Roundtable

In response to Conrad Crane's argument that moral judgments of a policy should be based more on intentions than on outcomes, and that we need a standard of right and wrong that can be applied beforehand, I would suggest that even intentions may be clearer in hindsight than they were at the time decisions were made. If people try really hard to make their actions consistent with their good intentions, and fail, we should give them moral credit.

Dear Colleagues,

I'm happy to announce a new edition of H-Environment Roundtables. This one discusses Jeremy Zallen's American Lucifers: the Dark History of Artificial Light, 1750-1865. The exchanges between the commentators and author are a fruitful examination of labor and progress tales in history. Please enjoy and distribute widely.

https://networks.h-net.org/system/files/contributed-files/env-roundtable-13-1.pdf

Roundtable Review, Vol. 13, No. 1 (2023)

The H-Diplo publication schedule for the period 30 January to 10 February is as follows:

Week of 30 January:

1.

Portraiture and Slavery:  Reflections and Resistance
Tuesday, January 31, 5:00 p.m.
Online via Zoom

This roundtable covers a fascinating yet little known moment in history. At the turn of the twentieth century, the brother and sister, Henri Bergson and Mina Bergson, were both living in Paris and working on seemingly very different but nonetheless complementary approaches to questions concerning the nature of matter, spirit, time, and memory. He was a leading professor within the French academy. She was a celebrated feminist and occultist, performing on theatre stages around Paris.