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Ethics Program

Ethics is the rational investigation of how human beings ought to live. The scope of ethics includes questions of justice, goodness, rightness, virtue, obligation, agency, and responsibility. Within the discipline of philosophy, ethics employs methods of conceptual analysis and logical argument to explore which moral beliefs, standards, and theories are rationally justified.  

Mission: The ethics program seeks to promote an ever greater understanding of ethical questions, principles, and values among members of Agnes Scott College and the Atlanta-area community. 

The ethics program promotes this mission chiefly by offering courses in ethics through the philosophy department and by organizing public lectures on ethical topics.

Ethics Lectures

Although some years feature stand-alone events, most of the lectures sponsored by the ethics program are part of an annual series on a shared topic. Speakers approach the topic from a variety of disciplines and perspectives. Ethics lecturers have included not only philosophers but also astronomers, economists, clergy, lawyers, physicians, and psychologists.

Selected ethics program lectures:

  • Anita L. Allen (Henry R. Silverman Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania), “First Black Woman Philosopher: the Ideas and Ideals of Joyce Mitchell Cook,” 2022
  • Samantha Harris (Vice President of Policy Research, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education), "Freedom of Speech on Campus and Beyond," 2018 (part of the “Freedom of Speech” lecture series)
  • Shelly Kagan (Clark Professor of Philosophy at Yale University), “The Meaning of Life: An Exploration,” 2014 (part of the “Meaning in Life” lecture series)
  • Lee M. Silver (Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University), “Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humankind,” 2007 (part of the “Improving Humans: Genetics, Technology, and Ethics” lecture series)
  • Arthur Caplan (Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Robert and Emmanuel Hart Professor of Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania), “Dying in America: Ethics Issues at the End of Life From Karen Ann Quinlan to Nancy Cruzan to Terri Schiavo,” 2005 (part of the “Ethics at the End of Life” lecture series)

Meet the Faculty

Lara Denis

Lara Denis

Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Ethics Program

Email: ldenis@agnesscott.edu

Phone: 404.471.5364

Location: Buttrick 345

Elizabeth Hackett

Elizabeth Hackett

Associate Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Philosophy

Email: ehackett@agnesscott.edu

Phone: 404.471.5039

Location: Buttrick 317

Hal Thorsud

Harald (Hal) Thorsrud

Professor of Philosophy

Email: hthorsrud@agnesscott.edu

Phone: 404.471.6211

Location: Buttrick 347

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