The Philosophy Department and Stevenson College at UC Santa Cruz will present a lecture by renowned Australian philosopher and ethicist Peter Singer on Thursday, May 11, at 4 p.m. in UCSC's Quarry Amphitheater. Singer will speak about his new book: The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter (Rodale Books; May, 2006). Admission is free and open to the public.
The author of Animal Liberation and coauthor of Animal Factories, Singer was named by Time magazine last year as one of 2005's "100 Most Influential People." He is often described as the world's leading ethicist, and The New Yorker once wrote that Singer "may be the most controversial philosopher alive." His theories have set off passionate debates that have been reflected today in arguments about abortion, stem-cell research, and euthanasia.
A professor of bioethics at Princeton University, Singer was the founding president of the International Association of Bioethics, and founding coeditor of the journal Bioethics. His works have appeared in 20 languages, and Singer is the author of the major article on ethics in the current edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
The Economist noted that "Singer's influence extends to the world beyond the ivory tower partly because he writes with such lucidity and quiet passion about genuinely pressing questions." And the New York Times Book Review noted that "No other living philosopher has had this kind of influence."
The event is cosponsored by KUSP, the Environmental Studies Department, and the Forum on the Environment--a new venture at UCSC initiated by Victoria Kamsler, a visiting professor this spring in the Philosophy Department from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J.
"The Forum will be videoconferencing in distinguished experts from around the world on environmental subjects," Kamsler noted. "It will meet weekly, and a local faculty member will act as interlocutor with our videoconferenced guests, who will take questions from our audience. The Forum will be podcast, and it has been designated as a pilot project for Media Services Webcasting," she added.
Parking is available at the East Remote Parking Lot for $5 with a free shuttle to the event. For more information, call (831) 426-1774, vkamsler@ucsc.edu.
