And what were you doing last night?

Well, you could have been joining us for another fascinating session last night on practical ethics guided by Professor Ian Thompson and Professor Henry Thompson!

Both Dr Elizabeth Drummond Young and Odile Pilley contributed their reflections on experiences working in the financial sector and EU institutions respectively. The background papers and handout for this session are available here. Biographies of participants are here.

A couple of other useful links. Elizabeth mentioned the effects of the Big Bang and referred to an oral history project on its effects. That project can be found here. Henry mentioned the philosopher Bernard Williams and his emphasis on narratives and concrete detail in moral reflection. An article on Bernard Williams from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy can be found here.

Next session 13 May:

Certainty and Uncertainty in Ethics — Can computers give us moral certainty?

Machines and Humans: practical wisdom & casuistry, ethical decisions versus ethical policy
— Zenon Bankowski, Professor Emeritus of Legal Theory, University of Edinburgh School of Law
    with Henry Thompson and Ian Thompson

[Details of image: The New York stock exchange trading floor in September 1963, before the introduction of electronic readouts and computer screens. Full details here.] 

Follow up from session on 15 April...

Many thanks to Professor Ian Thompson for starting his series of evening sessions last week!

As well as the lengthier background notes material which we've already made available on this site (see here) I've now put up two additional handouts:

1) The importance of names in personal identity

2) The nature of practical ethics -what it is and what it isn't. (Particularly relevant for session 2 on 29 April.)

Both of these are also available on the course handouts' page here.


Ian also mentioned it would be worth looking at the Wikipedia article on Dietrich Bonhoeffer (which can be found here. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy page on Bonhoeffer can be found here.)

Look forward to seeing you again at the next session: 29 April 2015. (If you didn't get to the first session, that's no problem. You're welcome to come to individual sessions!) Details of the next session can be found here.

Reading for next session 15 April 2015

And just an update from the last post...


Ian has produced background reading material for the first two sessions which can be downloaded from the 'handouts page' here. (I'll put up further material when it becomes available.) As I've said there, please don't feel you have to read them before Wednesday! They're simply for those who want to read further in the issues raised.

New session classes commencing on 15 April 2015

The new session for the Institute's classes will begin on 15 April 2015.  The classes this term will be as follows:

ETHICS AND FAITH IN THE REAL WORLD

In Academic and Professional, Business and Public Life

Seminars to be held at the Catholic Chaplaincy, 24 George Square, Edinburgh
From: 6pm to 7.30pm on Wednesday evenings




AIMS OF THE SERIES:

1. To facilitate seminars in which those of us who support the mission of the Albertus Institute can explore together some of our concerns and intellectual interests in the relation between faith and practical ethics in daily life today.
2. To share experience of how we exercise personal moral responsibility in the various areas of our lives and work, and of the role faith plays in our decision-making.
3. To discuss ways in which we can contribute both individually, and through the Institute, to promote more public dialogue about current issues of ethical importance.

Facilitators:
Henry S Thompson — Professor, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh
Ian E Thompson — Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame Australia

The facilitators' biographies can be found here.

Full details for the individual classes can  be found here. 

Classes are free, but donations welcome! (We are suggesting (but only for those who can afford this) £25 for the full term/ £5 for individual classes.)

Please register if possible! (It helps us know numbers.) Registration is here.

Any problems? Need more details? Please contact Elizabeth Drummond Young: elizdrummondyoung@gmail.com (or leave a comment in the comment box below). 

Christ is risen!

Happy Easter!

(Classes recommence 15 April 2015. Full details to follow. A poster giving details is downloadable by clicking here. Please share with your parish or other interested groups!)

[Image: Dieric Bouts, Resurrection, 1455. Details here.]