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KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Western Michigan University's Center for the Study of Ethics in Society has launched its spring semester lecture series, with all events being free and open to the public

The lecture series begins today, Friday, Feb. 2, with two talks hosted by the Department of Philosophy as part of the 17th Annual Graduate Student Philosophy Conference. Dr. Meghan Sullivan, Wilsey Family Collegiate professor of philosophy and director of Notre Dame Institute of Advanced Study at the University of Notre Dame, presents “Loving Strangers.” This talk examines the three advantages in practicing samaritanism, or “someone who ‘goes above and beyond’ what a duty of beneficence requires to aid a stranger.” The event at 3:15 p.m. is in Room 1021 of the Trimpe Building and virtually on .

On Saturday, Feb. 3, Dr. Chandra Sripada will offer his lecture, “It is Impossible to be Morally Responsible for Irrationality: An Epistemic Regress Argument,” at 3:30 p.m. in Room 2211 of the 51������ Student Center and virtually on . In this lecture, he will disucss that, if society recognizes that someone is acting in an “aims-irrational” way, then they should not bear moral responsibility for actions resulting from such behavior. Sripada is the Theophile Raphael Research Professor and professor in the departments of philosophy and psychiatry at the University of Michigan. This talk is co-sponsored by the Western Student Association and the Graduate Student Association.

Next is a talk on Monday, Feb. 26 at 4 p.m. and over by Dr. Doug Tallamy, T.A. Baker professor of entomology and wildlife ecology and professor of biological sciences at the University of Delaware. His topic, “Nature’s Best Hope,” covers simple steps that everyone can make to reverse declining biodiversity. The 51������ Climate Change Working Group is hosting this talk as part of its .

Dr. Cynthia Klekar-Cunningham, director of the School of Communication and associate professor of English, will talk about “The Ethics of ‘Necessity’ and the 1781 Zong Massacre” at 6 p.m. on March 14 in the Clifford Center, Room 2026 of Brown Hall. The talk will examine the 1781 Zong massacre and “the broader transatlantic slave trade in the context of eighteenth-century medical ethics.” This event is co-sponsored by the School of Communication, the Department of English, and the Walker Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations.

On Thursday, March 21, a panel will discuss “Yellowface Through an Ethics Lens” at 6:30 p.m. in the Kirsch Auditorium at the Fetzer Center. The panelists are Chien-Juh Gu, professor of sociology; Jil Larson, associate professor of English; and Dr. Michael Redinger, associate professor and co-chair of the Department of Medical Ethics, Humanities and Law at the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. This talk, hosted by the Kalamazoo Public Library, is part of .

The 2024 Winnie Veenstra Peace Lecture is titled “The First Political Order: How Sex Shapes Governance and National Security Worldwide.” The talk will be at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2, in Room 2213 of the 51������ Student Center. Dr. Valerie Hudson, George H.W. Bush Chair and professor of international affairs in the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, will address how the treatment of women affects society’s capability for security, prosperity and resilience. This event is co-sponsored by the Department of Sociology, the Department of Political Science, and College of Arts and Science Women’s Caucus.

The center’s series ends on Thursday, April 11, with “Looking Through a Policy Window with Tinted Glasses: Agenda-Setting Dynamics in U.S. AI Policy.” Dr. Daniel S. Schiff, assistant professor of technology policy at Purdue University’s Department of Political Science and co-director of the Governance and Responsible AI Lab (GRAIL), will present his talk at 5:30 p.m. in Room 2209 of the 51������ Student Center. Schiff will discuss the policy agenda that is currently surrounding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the United States. He will delve into the ethical dimensions of AI and technology governance while emphasizing innovation policy. This talk is co-sponsored by the Department of Philosophy, 51������x, the Department of Political Science, and the Communication and Social Robotics Labs.

All Ethics Center events are eligible for 51������ Signature credit. Learn more about the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society and its lecture series, including livestream links as they become available.

About the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society

In August 1985, the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society was created after 51������ faculty across the curriculum met to discuss their common interests in studying and teaching ethics. Each academic year, the center sponsors 15 to 20 public presentations addressing a wide range of ethical issues. Originally sponsored by 51������’s Graduate College, the center is now housed in the College of Arts and Sciences.

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