Culture Wars in the Classroom: The Intelligent Design Controversy
Wednesday, February 15th, 7:30 PM, PAC 144 (Harlen Adams Theatre)
Environmental Responsibility, Ethics, and the Bottom LineHow should we decide what gets taught in the classroom? What is the current controversy over “Intelligent Design”? Why have proponents of I.D. proposed that it be included in high-school science curricula? What is motivating opponents’ resistance to this proposal? How does the issue of the separation of church and state, traditionally held to be foundational in a secular society such as ours, bear on the I.D. debate? Should the fact that we are a country predominantly populated by Christians have any influence on our assessment of the inclusion of I.D. in high school curricula? Finally, is there a way of moving beyond the cultural impasse at which thoroughgoing evolutionists and subscribers to I.D. find themselves?
Andy Flescher, Director for the Center for Applied and Professional Ethics (moderating)
Jeffrey Bell, Department of Biology
Troy Jollimore, Department of Philosophy
Joel Zimbelman, Department of Religious Studies
Cyrus Zal, Attorney at Law; counsel for case involving John Pelosa (high school teacher from San Juan Capistrano and proponent of I.D.), which went up to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
Do sustainable practices make good business sense? Can a company thrive and yet remain environmentally friendly? What real-world models are available for us to consult when thinking about how commerce and sustainable values overlap? On March 8th, four proven local business leaders in the Chico area will convene to discuss what they have done in their own companies for the cause of environmental sustainability, calling into question the oft held belief that “ethics” and profitability are opposing values in business.
Andy Flescher, Director for the Center for Applied and Professional Ethics (moderating)
Ken Grossman, Founder and CEO, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Valerie Reddeman, Founder and President, Greenfeet
Robert Seals, Founder and Chief Marketer, Kleen Kanteen
Bryan Gabbard, Owner and Operator, Eco-Cab
Conducting Ethical Research: The Question of Human
Subjects
Wednesday, March 22nd, 7:30 PM, PAC 134
The Free Market: Liberated but Not WildWhat are the dangers to participants in research in the human sciences? What ethical principles are appropriate and what constraints are necessary to protect participants from these dangers? What are the circumstances under which researchers should be made exempt from these constraints? What are some of the reasons for the federal regulations that govern research with human subjects? Can these regulations be implemented effectively?
Andy Flescher, Director for the Center for Applied and Professional Ethics (moderating)
Mark Morlock, Department of Economics
Tony Waters, Department of Sociology
Carolyn Heinz, Department of Anthropology
Daniel Worthen, Department of Psychology
Does the free market recognize ethics? Fred Foldvary not only resoundingly answers “yes,” but also contends that libertarianism is the most ethically sound of all the available moral theories. In his defense of libertarianism, Dr. Foldvary argues that the concept of voluntary human action implies an ethic which determines which acts are voluntary, and so within the market and therefore permitted, and which acts are involuntary, and so outside the market and therefore prohibited. But the same ethical rules that determine the meaning of the market also provide ethical guidance for governance and policy. Thus, he concludes, ethics both determines and requires a free market. As an example, pollution invades and trespasses into others' property, and in a pure market, the polluter would have to compensate the victims. So there would be relatively little pollution in a truly free market. Foldvary suggests that an error that critics of markets make is to assume that today's outcomes are caused by markets, when in fact there is also heavy government intervention in the economy. Poverty, for example, could be iatrogenic, caused by the very government that then seeks to alleviate it. In his talk, Foldvary presents a bold defense of libertarianism and critique of big government on exclusively ethical grounds.
Fred E. Foldvary received his B.A. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University. He has taught economics at the Latvian University of Agriculture, Virginia Tech, John F. Kennedy University, California State University at Hayward, the University of California at Berkeley Extension, and Santa Clara University. Foldvary is the author of The Soul of Liberty, Public Goods and Private Communities, Dictionary of Free Market Economics. He edited and contributed to Beyond Neoclassical Economics and, with Dan Klein, The Half-Life of Policy Rationales. Foldvary's areas of research include public finance, governance, ethical philosophy, and land economics.
Should High Profile Athletes be Considered Society’s
Role Models?
Co-Sponsored by the College of Business
Tuesday, April 18th, 7:30 PM, PAC 144
Do famous athletes have duties only to their respective teams and teammates, or are they also responsible for being good role models for their fans? If they should be good role models, what are the constraints of conduct by which they should abide, on and off the playing field? On what grounds? This special CAPE forum will feature famous figures from the high-pressure world of professional sports who will impart their views based on their first hand experience.
Andy Flescher, Director for the Center for Applied and Professional Ethics (moderating)
David Casper, Former Tight End of the Oakland Raiders
Jeff Nedved, Former Wide Receiver of the San Francisco 49rsChico State President, Paul Zingg, Respondent