February 01, 2000
Ethics Center Public Events Spring 2000
Citizenship in a Network Society
What does it mean to be a good citizen in the information age? How do technological innovations shape our concepts of community? David Batstone addresses these questions in his work on technology and ethics.
Dr. Batstone teaches social ethics at the University of San Francisco. During the 1996-1997 academic year, he was named the National Endowment for the Humanities Chair at the University of San Francisco for his work in technology and ethics. He is also the CEO of The Business Network, an Internet start-up company focused on the business-to-business marketplace. Batstone was a founding editor of Business 2.0 magazine and writes regularly for national media outlets. He is author and editor of several publications, including New Visions for the Americas: Religion and Social Transformation; Global Ethics; and The Good Citizen.
Batstone uses the term "network society" to describe the world that is coming into being as the new millennium dawns. In this society, people exist in complex networks, electronic and otherwise. As Batstone says in The Good Citizen, these "nets" in which we find ourselves bring with them both new opportunities and new responsibilities:
The virtuality of these nets should not be underestimated. They afford every citizen the chance to place their concerns on the public agenda and engage policy makers and their fellow citizens in civic debate. But whether that future burns bright depends entirely upon the commitment of its citizens to uphold certain virtues: freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, freedom to realize one's talents, freedom of imagination, freedom from arbitrary power, freedom to associate, and freedom to dissent.
In the future as in the past, the face of democracy will be shaped by the imagination of the world's citizens.
On March 1, Dr. Batstone will be leading a workshop for faculty and students and offering a public lecture in the evening. [See events calendar for time/location.]
Autonomy, Meaningful Work, and Welfare Reform
For many years, Dr. Iris Young has been one of the leading voices in feminist philosophy. Challenging traditional distinctions between the theoretical and the practical, she advocates feminist theory which develops "accounts and arguments that are tied to specific practical and political problems." Her work in the realms of both academia and public service stands as an excellent example of the integration of teaching, research, and social justice.
Dr. Young teaches at the University of Pittsburgh, where she is Professor of Public and Urban Affairs and International Development. She is the author of numerous articles and books, including Throwing Like a Girl and Other Essays in Feminist Philosophy and Social Theory and Intersecting Voices: Dilemmas of Gender, Political Philosophy and Policy. Dr. Young also serves on the boards of several public service organizations, including the Allegheny County Community Housing Resources Board and the Welfare Justice Board.
Much of Dr. Young's work focuses on feminist understandings of justice and difference. Examining the assumptions embedded in our cultural ideals, Young's analysis demonstrates that gender biases in our concepts of citizenship have detrimental consequences for women in our society, especially poor women.
During her time at Emory, Dr. Young will be offering a workshop for faculty and students and a public lecture in Winship Ballroom.
Blending Research, Business, and Ethics
As chief executive officer of Merck and Company, one of the largest pharmeceutical firms in the world, Dr. P. Roy Vagelos made a decision that saved millions of people from a devastating disease known as river blindness. Caused by parasitic infections, river blindness affects victims in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. When Merck researchers discovered that a drug called Ivermectic was effective in treating river blindness, Vagelos decided Merck would supply the drug free to developing nations. His bold move changed the face of global health and raised the standards of corporate responsibility.
Trained as a physician, Dr. Vagelos has extensive experience in biomedical research and business leadership. He joined Merck in 1975 as senior vice president for Research of Merck Sharp and Dohme Research Laboratories Division. He continued to serve the company for twenty years, including nine years as chief executive officer (1985-1994).
Since retiring from Merck in June 1994, Dr. Vagelos has remained active in civic and corporate life. He is currently chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. He also serves on the boards of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, The Prudential Insurance Company of America, and The American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Earlier this year, the Franklin Institute honored Vagelos with the Bower Award for Business Leadership. Dr. Vagelos will be featured in a workshop and public lecture on 24 February.
"Tuskegee": A Red Flag for Bioethics
On 16 May, 1997, President Bill Clinton issued a formal apology for the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male. The President placed the burden of responsibility for the abuse on the medical research establishment when he stated, "[T]he people who ran the study at Tuskegee diminished the stature of man by abandoning the most basic ethical precepts. They forgot their pledge to heal and repair." Almost 70 years after the study began in 1932, twenty-seven years after it was stopped in 1972, and two years after the presidential apology, there remains a legacy of mistrust among African Americans toward the medical research establishment.
Dr. Stephen Thomas, Associate Professor of Community Health in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education and Director of the Institute for Minority Health Research at Rollins School of Public Health will lead a workshop and public lecture examining this tragic legacy on 22 March. Thomas will argue that this mistrust is legitimate and illustrate how the long shadow of Tuskegee is a barrier to increasing the participation of African Americans not only in clinical research but also in accessing the health care services they need and deserve.
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