RCA PROGRAM IN ETHICS
2008-09 Theme: Personal and Professional Integrity
Lectures
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
9:00-12:00pm, Foothill Suite, University Union
RCA Closing Plenary: Student Ethics Essay Contest Winners' Presentations
Theme: Personal and Professional Integrity
The three winners of the 2008-09 Student Ethics Essay Contest will present their prize winning essays for public discussion. Winners are announced April 30th.
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
10:00-12:00pm, Hinde Auditorium, University Union
Wesley J. Smith, Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute
"Bioethics: Creating a Disposable Caste of People?"
Does human life have value simply and merely because it is human, or is membership in our species irrelevant to the value of an individual's life? Increasingly, in bioethics, what matters morally isn't "humanhood," but "personhood," a category that must be earned by possessing "relevant" characteristics, such as being self aware over time or being able to value one's own life. Under "personhood theory," some human beings are deemed non persons, including all embryos and fetuses, but also newborns (sometimes called potential persons), and those who might have lost cognitive capacities such as people with dementia or who have been diagnosed in a PVS. Being labelled a non person reduces the value of the now declared non person's life, perhaps permitting their killing or instrumental use as a source of organs. Wesley J. Smith will argue that personhood theory destroys the concept of universal human rights and will illustrate the discriminatory practices rejecting the equality of life ethic would permit, ranging from infanticide to medical futility.
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
3:00-5:00pm, Summit Room, University Union
Dr. Rick Schubert, Philosophy Department, Cosumnes River College
"Academic Integrity"
Prof. Schubert will discuss the value of academic integrity to students and institutions, why students should care about their own and others’ academic integrity, as well as offer some hands on guidance for how to steer clear of academic mischief.
Dr. Schubert (Ph.D., Ethics, University of California, Davis; M. A. and B.A., Philosophy, University of Connecticut, Storrs) is Professor of Philosophy at Cosumnes River College, where he teaches Ethics and chairs the institution's Academic Integrity Committee. His published work includes "Now Who is the Master?" (forthcoming in The Martial Arts and Philosophy, Open Court Press) and "A Review of Gary Steiner's Anthropocentrism and Its Discontents", appearing in the journal Between the Species. These reflect Prof. Schubert's areas of expertise, Comparative Philosophy and Ethics. His recent talks include "The Moral Dimensions of Master-Student Relationship in Traditional Asian Martial Arts" (invited presentation, University of California, Berkeley) and "Martial Arts and Holism in Education: Reply to Drs. Park and Shim" (invited presentation, University of California, Berkeley).Thursday, October 30th, 2008
Noon-2:00pm, Hinde Auditorium, University Union
Antonia Juhasz, Fellow, Oil Change International, and the Institute for Policy Studies; Senior Analyst, Foreign Policy In Focus
"The Tyranny of Oil: Big Oil's Destruction of Ethical Politics, at Home and Abroad."
In her new book, The Tyranny of Oil: the World's Most Powerful Industry--And What We Must Do To Stop It, Antonia Juhasz pulls back the curtain on Big Oil. Juhasz investigates the true state of the U.S. oil industry, uncovering its virtually unparalleled global power, influence over our elected officials, its lack of regulatory oversight, the truth behind $150-a-barrel oil, $4.50-a-gallon gasoline, and the highest profit in corporate history. Exposing an industry that thrives on secrecy, Juhasz shows how Big Oil manages to hide its business dealings from policy makers, legislators, and most of all, consumers. She reveals exactly how Big Oil gets what it wants—through money, influence, and lies--and the ethical destruction laid in its path. Drawing on considerable historical research, Juhasz explores the parallels between today's companies and Standard Oil, the most powerful corporation of the early 20th century, whose stranglehold on the economy and government was broken only by the vision and persistence of activists and like-minded politicians. We are in a similar position today, she argues, with the 2008 elections offering a unique opportunity for ordinary Americans to come together, reclaim their voices, and shore up our nation's crumbling democratic and ethical foundation.Monday, October 20th, 2008
8:30-5:00pm, Hinde Auditorium, University Union
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Edwin Hartman, Stern School of Business, New York University
Annual Fall Ethics Symposium
Thursday, October 9, 2008
10:00-Noon, Willow Suite, Modoc Hall
Dr. Lida Anestidou, DVM, PhD, Program Officer, The National Academies in Washington, DC.
Responsible Conduct of Research - A Concept for All
A workshop for specific faculty and their students, focusing on specific strategies and practices related to the ethics and integrity issues that emerge in doing student research. Note: This event is a faculty and staff workshop offered in partnership with the Center for Practical and Professional Ethics and the Office of Research and Contract Administration.
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