Humanities forums address evil and ethics

“Evil in the 21st Century: September 11 and Beyond” is the topic of a free public talk by Claudia Card, professor of philosophy, at 7 p.m, Tuesday, Sept. 10, at the Marshall Community Library, 605 Waterloo Road, Marshall.

Her lecture is the first of six in the series Humanities Forums on Contemporary Issues presented by UW–Madison faculty at public libraries throughout Dane County from September 2002 through March 2003.

Forums are sponsored by the Center for the Humanities and the Dane County Library Service, with support from the UW–Madison Division of Continuing Studies. For more information, call (608) 263-3409.

Using contemporary examples, Card will explore what distinguishes evils from ordinary wrongs. Is evil today worse or on the rise? What makes a person or institution evil? Is evil an inevitable aspect of the human condition? Are some evils unforgivable? Are there some we should tolerate? How can we best live with evils?

Card is the Emma Goldman Professor of Philosophy at UW–Madison, where she has taught since 1966. Her recent books include the forthcoming “The Atrocity Paradigm: A Theory of Evil,” to be released in September by Oxford University Press, as well as “The Unnatural Lottery: Character and Moral Luck” and “On Feminist Ethics and Politics.” She is also engaged in a project on the responses to such atrocities as genocide and major terrorism.

Other forums this fall:

• Harry Brighouse, professor of philosophy, “Ethics in Politics? A Look at the Wisconsin Elections,” 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 8, Stoughton Public Library, 304 S. 4th St. Stoughton, (608) 873-6281.
• Rodney Stevenson, professor of business, “The Crisis in Business Ethics: Enron, Worldcom and the Culture of Greed,” 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 12, Sun Prairie Public Library, 1350 Linnerud Drive, Sun Prairie, (608) 825-7323.