Slaves to Passion: The Sequel
 Two weeks ago, we attempted to discuss the extent to which liberty is, in fact, related to the body and one's physical confinement.  The leading question was: can one still be a a slave although one is not subject to external constraints?  We turned to some passages from Sartre, Hume, Aristotle and Plato (see the PDF in our 'show resources' page).We had a rich philosophical discussion about the role that consciousness, interpretation and culture are related to freedom.  This week, we take a second pass at this topic and those passages.  The guiding questions are these:  1) can one be enslaved by one's own body and bodily passions; and 2) to what extent does culture and society affect one's freedom.  Big questions indeed, but, following Sartre, "nothing ventured, nothing gained".

Slaves to Passion: The Sequel

Socrates said that talking about virtue and the good life is one of the most important things a human being can do. That's where "Ethics-Talk" fits in.  Housed in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Central Michigan University (CMU), The Center for Professional and Personal Ethics brings you discussions about ethical issues, both pure and applied. For us at EthicsTalk -- "ethics" is broad and encompasses things that affect a human being's flourishing.  To that end, students working with the Center discuss ethics-related topics such as academic integrity, intrinsic motivation, procrastination, and cultivating self-regulation and other powerful habits. Additionally, we discuss study and motivational strategies related to intimidating endeavors such as studying for the bar exam. We are also very interested in how technology can either promote or hinder flourishing and discuss "media ecology" issues including the thought of Walter Ong and the concept of "digital virtue". In addition to our student produced show, scholars, authors and practitioners (such as Michael Strong, Anya Kamenetz, Lindsay Hyde, Thomas Farrell and Dr. Jeffrey Wigand) discuss ethics related issues with the Center's Director. To learn more about the Center, visit us at http://ethics.cmich.edu and follow us on twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/ethicstalk.******************************************IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS FEED comes from BLOGTALKRADIO and does not include our complete archives. So we set up ANOTHER itunes feed which has the complete archives. thereafter.  To access the COMPLETE archives, go to itunes, search for "ethics talk" and click on the hedgehog. Oh, and we like the hedgehog for the same reason that Jim Collins does.

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We continue discussing Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, focusing on the relationship between the individual, rational being and the Commonwealth or "World City".   This week we will be approaching the topic from the lens of self-interest.   How does Marcus Aurelius' view of a Commonwealth of rational beings connect with notions of self-interest?  Further, how do Marcus Aurelius' exhortations to rid ourselves of anger and promote tolerance and patience connect with one's self-interest?  These are some of the questions on which we will focus for this week's episode of EthicsTalk.

MARCUS AURELIUS CONTINUED: MEMBERSHIP IN THE COMMONWEALTH

In his Meditations, Marcus Aurelius repeatedly affirms that human beings are both reasonable and social.  And in Book X, Verse 2, he appears to identify a deep connection between aspects of human nature when he claims “what is reasonable is consequently also social”.   In this show, we will explore the meaning of this connection.  What is the nature of relationship between the reasonable and the social?  Do human beings possess the natural capacity for reason to serve the social?  Or are human beings social so that their rational natures can be developed?  Or perhaps the reasonable and the social are inter-entailing and ‘co-dependent’ in some way.  The objective of the show is to gain a better understand Marcus Aurelius’ view of the relationship between the ‘reasonable’ and ‘social’ aspects of human nature and how this facet of Marcus Aurelius’ philosophy connects with his metaphysical views about the nature of the universe and the ‘human commonwealth’

Marcus Aurelius: Reason and Human Fellowship

In this show, we sit down with Caitlin Cheevers (President) and Randi Shaffer (Promotional Manager) of the Central Michigan University Chapter of Invisible Children.  Caitlin and Randi will discuss the hugely successful KONY 2012 campaign from the inside.  Our objective is to provide our listeners with a deeper understanding of the Kony 2012 campaign - its overall aims, and the challenges it has faced.  Additionally, both Caitlin and Randi will talk about how this campaign has changed the nature of their leadership positions (both have been working with Invisible Children for a number of years, well before KONY 2012 put Invisible Children on the radars of young people).   If you are intrigued by Invisible Children and the Kony 2012 campaign, tune in!

Kony 2012: Inside the Campaign

In this show, we introduce the listener to 'Atrocity Law' - the legal framework which saw a growth spurt with the historic Nuremberg trials of Nazi Germany.   But atrocities also occurred in World War 1 - including atrocities against the Armenian people - a Christian minority  living within the then Ottoman Empire - which is currently Turkey.  While Turkey does not want to label what happened to the Armenians as "genocide" - many scholars and politicians nevertheless do.  In this show, we focus on the tragedy of the Armenians in order to talk about what it means -legally- to classify an atrocity as "genocide".  We will also discuss different "labels" -some legal, some moral- ("Crimes Against Humanity", "violation of Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights"), which may be used to classify such tragedies.

An Introduction to Atrocity Law: The Armenian Tragedy 101

On March 8-9, 2012, The International Criminal Court Student Network (ICCSN), with generous support from Central Michigan University, convened an historic conference in The Hague, Netherlands, on the eve of the The International Criminal Court's first verdict which will be delivered on March 14, 2012, in the case of The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo.  In this show, special guest Megan Blue interviews Hope Elizabeth May, who help organized the conference, and Erica Maylee who not only worked behind the scenes at the conference, but also delivered a paper on restorative justice.  The aims of the show are two: to have the listener appreciate and understand one way in which education about human rights can be practiced, and that education about human rights consists not just in words, but also in actions - in activity and practice.

Slaves to Passion: The Sequel

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