President Michael D. Higgins this week announced plans for 50 all-island initiatives involving seminars which will as he puts it ‘reflect and explore themes important to our shared life, restoration of trust in our institutions, the ethical connection between our economy and society, the future of a Europe built on peace, social solidarity and sustainability.
The seminars will include talks from international philosophers and leading thinkers in the area of ethics and will take place in mainly 3rd level institutions.
For this next phase of his term as President, Michael D. Higgins says he wants to reintroduce discourse on Ethics back into society so that ethics pervades or plays a part in everyday decisions that are made or considered.
so that there would be ethical considerations in economics, law, business, planning construction, banking all the areas where it was absent in the years gone-by.
He’s hosting 50 events to facilitate this mainly in 3rd level institutions and has invited a number of highly respected thinkers and philosophers to drive the discussion – people like Professor Martha Nussbaum Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, will speak at the University of Limerick.
Onora O’Neill, Cambridge Philosopher and Chair of the British Equality and Human Rights Commission, will deliver a lecture on the balance between rights and responsibilities in Trinity.
Newstalk's Shona Murray spoke to him about some of the many issues that involve ethical consideration including the treatment of whistle-blowers, adoption information rights following the worldwide support of Philomena Lee in the Oscar nominated ‘Philomena’.
He also talks about LGBT rights and the dangers of online bullying.
