Professors Shawn Klein and Matt Flamm are conducting a new reading group this semester on Plato’s works on the trial and death of Socrates. From the flyer:
In 399 BCE, Athens executed Socrates for impiety and corrupting the youth. Plato immortalized the trial and death of Socrates in his dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo. These are not merely historical dialogues, but philosophical treatises that examine the nature of piety, philosophy, justice, and death. The Reading Group will discuss each of these dialogues and the philosophical issues they raise.
Each meeting will take place at the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship office on the second floor of Burpee, from 1-2pm. There will be light refreshments. A free copy of the book will be provided to participants.
Dates:
September 10: Overview and Introduction
September 17: Euthyphro
October 1: Apology
November 5: Crito
November 19: Phaedo
The Spring 2010 issue of The Journal of Private Enterprise, published by the Association of Private Enterprise Education, has just been released. It contains articles by leading Austrian School economists Israel Kirzner, Peter Boettke, and CEE guest speaker Steven Horwitz. See the journal’s website for more details.
Below is a short video interview of Steven Horwitz, conducted during his Spring 2009 visit.
Dr. Douglas Rasmussen, our final guest speaker of Spring 2010, gave two lectures at Rockford College recently. Dr. Rasmussen is professor of philosophy at St. John’s University in New York and is coauthor (with Douglas J. Den Uyl) of Norms of Liberty: A Perfectionist Basis for Non-Perfectionist Politics (2005). Here, Dr. Stephen Hicks interviews Dr. Rasmussen about his talk on Philippa Foot’s book Natural Goodness, given to Professor Klein’s Ethical Theory class:
Dr. Kline, Assistant Professor of Liberal Studies at the University of Illinois, Springfield, gave two CEE-sponsored talks this month at Rockford College. Here is Stephen Hicks’s interview with him on Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume:
Dr. Kline, Assistant Professor of Liberal Studies at the University of Illinois, Springfield, gave two talks this month at Rockford College. Here is Stephen Hicks’s interview with him on the main points of his talk on business ethics:
Forthcoming: Our interview Professor Kline on David Hume, who, according to a recent vote by contemporary philosophers, is the most influential dead philosopher.
An article in The Sacramento Bee explores the line between ethical and unethical uses of performance-enhancing technology in sports, focusing on the recent controversy over pro golfer Phil Mickelson’s wedge choice at Torrey Pines. The article features a quote from CEE Professor Shawn Klein on the issue.
Dr. Stephen Hicks, CEE’s Executive Director, talked recently with Fall 2009 guest speaker Dr. Jerry Kirkpatrick about why having a philosophical background helps businesspeople attain greater clarity and confidence in making important, ethically-charged decisions. Below are parts I and II of the interview.
“Though Kaizen is a tool used by corporations to achieve greater innovation, productivity, and general excellence, it’s also an approach, an approach that we can learn from and apply to our own lives as we strive for continuous improvement on a more personal level. We can call this ‘Personal Kaizen.’” Read more at Presentation Zen.
Below is a two-part interview wherein CEE’s Executive Director, Dr. Stephen Hicks, talks with Fall 2009 Guest Speaker Timothy Sandefur about the contrasting views of the Progressives and the Founding Fathers on liberty and human rights, how the Progressive agenda has led to an increase in political entrepreneurship, and philosophy’s role in stimulating positive changes in our political system.
“Entrepreneurship is increasingly studied as a fundamental and foundational economic phenomenon. It has, however, received less attention as an ethical phenomenon. Much contemporary business ethics assumes its core application purposes to be (1) to stop predatory business practices and (2) to encourage philanthropy and charity by business. Certainly predation is immoral and charity has a place in ethics, but neither should be the first concerns of ethics. Instead, business ethics should make fundamental the values and virtues of entrepreneurs — i.e., those self-responsible and productive individuals who create value and trade with others to win-win advantage.”
Professors Shawn Klein and Matt Flamm are conducting a new reading group this semester on Plato’s works on the trial and death of Socrates. From the flyer:
CEE’s Stephen Hicks’s essay on 
