Great news via Stephen Hicks’s website: the Department of Philosophy at Rockford College announced a new minor track in Ethics.

The core courses include several sponsored by CEE: Introduction to Ethics, Biomedical Ethics, Sports Ethics, Business and Economic Ethics, Ethics and Entrepreneurship, and Ethical Theory. The department will also offer occasional special topics courses with a strong value component that can count toward the minor.

Take a look at the flyer for the Ethics minor here [PDF].

Mary Mazzio is an award-winning independent filmmaker, Olympic rower, and former law firm partner with Brown Rudnick. She received her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College, a law degree from Georgetown University, and studied film production at Boston University. Her company, 50 Eggs, LLC, has produced five independent films shown across the United States on television, in classrooms, and in theatres. We met with Ms. Mazzio outside of Boston, Massachusetts, to explore her thoughts on entrepreneurship and the challenges and excitement of making documentaries.

Kaizen: You’ve been a lawyer, an Olympic rower, and now a documentary filmmaker. When you were young, did you have any idea your adult life would be so varied?

Mazzio: Not at all. Although as a kid I remember always having a sort of boundless enthusiasm for whatever it was that I was doing. So I always thought that good things would happen in the end but I had no idea.

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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:

The Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship has invited three interesting guest speakers to Rockford College this semester:

William Kline: David Hume and Ethics

March 17

Dr. William Kline is Assistant Professor of Liberal Studies at University of Illinois, Springfield. He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He has published in the Journal of Value Inquiry and the Journal of Business Ethics.

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Jeffrey P. Orduno: Property Rights and the Law

March 30

Jeffrey Orduno is an associate in the law firm of McGreevy Williams. He is a Rockford College alum and received his JD from John Marshall Law School. His practice includes business litigation and transactions, as well as matters related to land use and construction.

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Douglas B. Rasmussen: Aristotle and Contemporary Ethics

April  23 & 26

Dr. Douglas Rasmussen is professor of philosophy at St. John’s University in New York. He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy at Marquette University. Dr. Rasmussen has authored numerous articles in a variety of journals and is coauthor (with Douglas J. Den Uyl) of Norms of Liberty: A Perfectionist Basis for Non-Perfectionist Politics (2005).

All who are interested may attend. We hope to see you there!

Also, view the PDF of our flyer.

Locations and exact times forthcoming.

For more information, contact CEE [at] Rockford.edu

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.

Part I:

Part II: