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Throughout the year, the CPE hosts lecture series, student presentations, debates and other activities open to students, faculty and community.
Hiliare, Belloc, The Silence of the Sea
The Main Event will be held on November 12th, 2011, with training starting the first week of classes of the Fall 2011 semester; the cases will be released in early September.
The fee is fifty dollars for each school plus twenty-five dollars per team. If your school sends one team, the fee comes to $75; two teams would cost $100; and so forth. Make all checks payable to St. Mary's University.
Contact Robert Boyd Skipper, Ph.D., in the Philosophy department, for more information:
Robert Boyd Skipper, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of PhilosophyDirector, Ethics Bowl
Director, Center for Professional Ethics
Office: Chaminade Tower 508
Phone: (210) 431-6857
Email: rskipper@stmarytx.edu
Full Bio Details
Cases
Seven cases, written by a committee, will be available in September for use by all regional events.National Event
The Texas Regional Ethics Bowl (TREB) serves as a qualifying event for the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl (the national ethics bowl), sponsored by Illinois Institute of Technology.The consequences of placing high. As usual, the top four teams of the TREB will receive a trophy. Our arrangement with IIT works this way. Our regional event will have a number of places determined by the total number of teams competing in regional bowls around the country. Ten regional bowls mean that we may get to send four teams or we may only get to send three. We won't know for sure until after the completion of all the separate bowls. The top three (or four) schools from our event (not the top three teams) will receive an invitation to send one team each to the national event. Schools who have two or more winning teams only receive a single invitation (but, see the note below).* If a school with a winning team declines to accept the invitation, it passes down the list again. To make matters even more complex, teams may receive "undistributed places" at the national event. That is, after the national organizers distribute the guaranteed places, they sometimes endu up with a few left over. They then fill those places with runner-up teams from regional events, determined by a complex formula you may examine on this page. Therefore, even if your team does not win one of the top three places, you may still find yourself invited to compete nationally.
2010 Ethics Bowl First Place Team
The University of Oklahoma
- the programs and schools oriented to the education of professionals
- the Universitys departments of Philosophy and Theology
- the disciplines that study persons and meaning
- members of the larger community vitally concerned with ethical matters
Upcoming Events
Below is a list of upcoming events. They are free and open to the public.March 24, 2011
"The Future of American Cities as a Moral Question"
Paul Eugene Kidder, Ph.D.University Center, Conference Room A
7:30 p.m.
Overview
American culture has a love of the future. Its visions of what a truly good city is like have long been futuristic visions. Every such vision contains a moral dimension, a sense that it is morally good for one generation to work toward realizing better cities for future generations. Dr. Kidders slide lecture will give examples of how this sense of moral obligation to the future has shaped American cities, exploring how competing visions of the Ã à ‚ Å“good cityÃ à ‚ Ã à ‚ à ₠œ such as the clash of visions that characterized New York in the late 1950s Ã à ‚ à ₠œ have shaped debates on contemporary urban affairs. In considering these examples Dr. Kidder will highlight the kind of thinking that moves questions of urban life from the realm of prudence, politics, and commercial choice to the realm of ethical reflection.
Paul Kidder is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Core Honors Program at Seattle University, where he has taught courses on ethics, urban life, and the philosophy of art and architecture for more than twenty years. His publications in these areas include articles on the North American urbanist, Jane Jacobs, and a forthcoming contribution to a volume in memory of St. Marys faculty member, Dr. James Sauer. Dr. Kidder specializes also in the areas of existentialism, interpretation theory, and the Catholic intellectual tradition.
Past Speakers
Spring 2010
Glenn Hughes, Ph.D.
St. Mary's UniversityProfessor of Philosophy
Speaker Profile
In "The Concept of Dignity in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," Glenn "Chip" Hughes, Ph.D., examined the concept of inherent human dignity as referenced in the United Nations' 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Is human dignity inherent? If so what are the implications? In his lecture and summary of his Fulbright findings, Hughes demonstrated how the document affirms, and invites questions about the foundations of, human dignity. He received a Fulbright Scholar Research Grant that facilitated his work with the International Peace Research Institute of Oslo. A professor of philosophy at St. Mary's, Hughes is the author of numerous books and articles.
A more detailed essay based on Dr. Hughes talk has been accepted by Journal of Religious Ethics It will appear in March 2011, Vol. 39, No 1. The article is available for purchase from the Wiley Online Library
Fall 2009
Henrik Syse, Ph.D.
Senior Research Fellow, International Peace Research Institute, OsloSpeaker Profile
Henrik Syse, Ph.D., presented a discussion of "Practical Ethics and the Realm of the Imperfect: The Place of Moral Philosophy in War and Business.Ã à ‚
Henrik Syse (M.A., Boston College; Ph.D., University of Oslo) is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO). He also is a part-time associate professor of ethics and military affairs at the Norwegian Defense University College, as well as chief editor (with Martin L. Cook) of the Journal of Military Ethics. He was head of Corporate Governance for Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages Europes largest sovereign wealth fund, from 2005 to 2007, and he continued, until June 2009, as an advisor and consultant on social issues for NBIM.
Dr. Syse has published widely in the fields of philosophy, politics, and ethics. He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2007, and he is a frequent lecturer in Norway and abroad. Among his recent books are MÃƒÆ tehold [Ã à ‚ Å“ModerationÃ à ‚ ] (Cappelen Damm, 2009), Natural Law, Religion, and Rights (St. Augustines Press, 2007) and Ethics of War: Classic and Contemporary Readings (edited with G. Reichberg and E. Begby; Blackwell, 2006).
Video Resources
We are pleased to offer video recordings of our most recent speaker.Archived videos are available for purchase by downloading and completing the resource order form.
Glenn "Chip" Hughes, Ph.D.
"The Concept of Dignity in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights"Part 1
Part 2
Recommended Reading
The Center for Professional Ethics proudly recommends the following:- Transcendence and History: The Question of Ultimacy from Ancient Societies to Postmodernity, by Glenn Hughes, University of Missouri Press, 2003
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In Transcendence and History, Glenn Hughes contributes to the understanding of transcendent meaning and the problems associated with it and assists in the philosophical recovery of the legitimacy of the notion of transcendence. Depending primarily on the treatments of transcendence found in the writings of twentieth-century philosophers Eric Voegelin and Bernard Lonergan, Hughes explores the historical discovery of transcendent meaning and then examines what it indicates about the structure of history.
Dr. Hughes' cogently crafted book is available for purchase.
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- A More Beautiful Question: The Spiritual in Poetry and Art by Glenn Hughes
- your text here...
- A More Beautiful Question explores how art in general, and poetry in particular, may serve as important vehicles for spiritual expression and spiritual orientation in contemporary culture. Interpreting the modern and postmodern crisis of faith as, above all, a breakdown in understanding the human relationship to transcendent meaning, the book shows how poetry and art, at their best, both illuminate transcendent meaning and explore with precision and nuance the difficulties of living in-between worldly and transcendent reality. Relying in part on treatments of consciousness, transcendence, and art in the writings of twentieth-century philosophers Eric Voegelin and Bernard Lonergan, the book examines our need for artistic symbols that successfully evoke the mystery of transcendence; ways in which poetry and art illuminate the spiritual meanings of human freedom; and the benefits of a loving study of great literature and art./li> Dr. Hughes' much anticipated book will be available for purchase through the University of Missouri Press, Spring 2011.
- Overcoming Cynicism William James and the Metaphysics of Engagement by Megan Mustain, Ph.D., Continuum, January 2011 Scholars, public figures, and prominent theologians alike clamor to diagnose our age as cynical. Combating the notion of a healthy cynicism, Overcoming Cynicism demonstrates that the cynic engages not in genuine critique, but rather in a denial of the possibility of fruitful change. Mustain first uses two historical versions of cynicism - ancient Greek and Victorian - to describe competing currents within the cynical attitude. She brings this historical discussion to bear upon two contemporary sources of cynicism: Christian fundamentalism and scientism. Christian fundamentalism, with its location of possibilities in an otherworldly realm, pronounces worldly amelioration impossible, and scientisms reduction of all phenomena to their most basic material components renders worldly change at once inevitable and meaningless. Mustain offers an alternative path which seeks to confront the real problems we encounter in our experiences of relations without either explaining those problems away or making them fundamental. In so doing, she suggests ways of possible amelioration whereby we might unseat the cynicism that dominates our age, supplanting it instead with genuine relational engagement. Overcoming Cynicism has received several notable reviews, for more information on Dr. Mustains impressive and insightful work: http://www.continuumbooks.com/books/detail.aspx?BookId=158571&SubjectId=1020&Subject2Id=1346 /p>
Order Form
Items found under the CPE "Resources" tab are available (where indicated) through our office.Simply download and complete an
order form, and mail it to us with your payment.
Contact Us
CPE Chair:
Robert Boyd Skipper, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of PhilosophyDirector, Ethics Bowl
Director, Center for Professional Ethics
Office: Chaminade Tower 508
Phone: (210) 431-6857
Email: rskipper@stmarytx.edu
Full Bio Details
Website Manager:
Andrew W. Getz, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Miller Professor of Catholic Medical and Biomedical Ethics
Office: Reinbolt 205
Phone: (210) 431-4348
Email: agetz@stmarytx.edu
Degrees
B.S., Lenoir-Rhyne College, 1989
M.A., The Catholic University of America, 1994
Ph.D., Duquesne University, 2006
Other Committee Members:
William D. Buhrman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Department Chair, Theology
Associate Dean for Program Administration
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Office: Reinbolt 204
Phone: 210-431-2022
Email: wbuhrman@stmarytx.edu
Degrees
B.A., The University of Texas at San Antonio, 1994
M.A., The University of Texas at San Antonio, 1997
M.A., St. Mary's University, 1999
Ph.D., Marquette University, 2004
Courses
Foundations of Reflection: God
Christ and the Christian God
The Catholic Church and Christian Community
The Catholic Literary Experience
Introduction to Catholic Studies
Research and Teaching Interests
Dr. Buhrman's research interest is probably best described as theological anthropology. He investigates the role of Christian teachings about Christ, salvation, and grace in interpreting our experience. At the same time, he is particularly interested in the way our experience of freedom poses important questions for theology to answer meaningfully for the culture in which we live. This often leads him to an interdisciplinary focus in theology and literature, but also to other areas such as Black Theology of Liberation or consideration of the relation of theology to modernity.
Select Publications and Distinctions
"Nostalgia and Redemption in Joseph Kanon's The Good German." Literature and Theology 22.4 (2008): 475-490.
Nathan Scott's Literary Criticism and Fundamental Theology. New York: Peter Lang, 2006.
