“Expanding the Moral Community.”
Philosophers struggle with questions about the definition of being human and what it means to be a member of a moral community. These questions become especially difficult when considering people with disabilities. How should we think about our ethical obligations to disabled others? Should people with severe cognitive disabilities be included within the scope of the ethical duties we all share as human beings or do they warrant a separate category of moral consideration? The talk will explore these questions and propose an approach that expands the parameters of the moral community and the collective project of creating humanity.
Dr. Ken Anderson is professor of philosophy at Oxford College of Emory University in Oxford, Ga. He has been on the faculty at Oxford since receiving his Ph.D. from Emory University in 1991.
He has served in administrative positions at Oxford for many years, most recently as dean of academic affairs. In addition to teaching philosophy, he has accompanied students on trips to Poland, Bosnia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Cuba.
His scholarship has focused on the existential philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre and on disability studies. He has served as president of the North American Sartre Society and as vice president of the Atlanta chapter of Kids4Peace, an organization educating for peaceful solutions in the Middle East.
The highlights of his recent sabbatical were a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, walking the Portuguese route for 150 miles, and a road trip to Big Bend National Park exploring ideas of freedom, as well as numerous trips to Cincinnati to visit with his grandson, Owen.
He lives in Atlanta with his wife, Meredith. Raised Catholic, he attended St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church for many years, and still spends much of his time searching for the meaning of life with his students.
- Facilitator: Rev. Marsha Mitchiner
- Musician: Kathy McGuire