Date/Time
Date(s) - 03/05/2026
12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Location
The Rose Battersea
Our meeting for May will be on Sunday 3rd May 2026 at 12:30. Björn Patricks will speak on the book The Globalization of Ethics edited by William M. Sullivan and Will Kymlicka
Our species has become dramatically more interconnected in the last couple of centuries. This has been driven by trade to a large extent. And in parallel with this there has been other interactions, like cultural and political ones, some of which have been more problematic than others. As people of very different backgrounds and mentalities have interacted more the demands on that interaction has also increased. To have just and fair arrangements for only small groups of people is difficult enough to accomplish, to do it for billions of individuals it’s no less so. Often enough this is indeed accomplished, but when it isn’t the consequences are destructive. Very destructive in the case of the World Wars, for example.
This talk is going to focus on the present day ethical systems on the planet, with their roots in bygone eras. It’s going to be based on the 2009 Cambridge University book “The Globalisation of Ethics”, and the themes presented in its chapters. It’s going to be about religions – catholicism, judaism, islam and buddhism. It’s going to be about an ethical system like confucianism. It’s going to be about more modern currents like liberalism, feminism and the international law tradition. Not that this is necessarily the most balanced approach, and something like socialism is almost omitted, and tucked in in other chapters. But it gives a foundation to consider these important issues.
With the emergence of the Internet in the last couple of decades the possibilities of interaction of people around the globe have increased substantially. This is of course positive in itself, but it could help if we’re aware of certain issues to make this interconnectedness as positive as possible.
We meet in The Rose Battersea, 74-76 Battersea Bridge Road, London SW11 3AG but the meeting will also be on Zoom for details see SLPC Zoom Meeting
We always welcome new speakers. If you would like to give a talk on a philosopher or a philosophical topic please contact Adrian Carter at southlondonphilosophy@gmail.com