CAL POLY POMONA ETHICS CONFERENCE

MISSION

The mission of the annual Cal Poly Ethics Conference is to promote critical dialogue concerning ethical issues salient in contemporary life. By bringing experts from a range of fields to our campus, the conference aims to educate our various constituencies about a range of ethical issues, thus encouraging responsible and engaged citizenship on a regional, national, and global level. The conference also provides the Department of Philosophy a regular opportunity to interact with its campus and community constituencies, thereby showcasing the vitality and perennial importance of ethical and philosophical inquiry.

CONFERENCE HISTORY

2007 marked the 13th annual Ethics Conference at Cal Poly Pomona. The theme was Marriage and Morals, and the roster of speakers included:

Raja Halwani

(School of the Art Institute of Chicago)

“Gay Marriage: The Main Philosophical Positions, Their Strengths, and Their Weaknesses”

Laurence Houlgate

(Cal Poly San Luis Obispo)

"The Ethics of Adultery"

Jon Mahoney

(Kansas State University)

“Can Democracy Tolerate Polygamy?”

Elizabeth Brake

(University of Calgary)

“A Proposal for Marriage Reform”

Stephanie Coontz

(Evergreen State University)

“The (A)morality of 'Family Values'"

Normally held in March or April each year, the conference has

addressed a wide array contemporary ethical issues. The conference has attracted speakers of national and international reputations, not only in philosophy, but in medicine, business, engineering, psychology, and public policy.

Previous conference themes include:

2006: Drugged America

2005: Ethics in War and Wartime

2004: Ethics Gone Mad: Morality and Mental Illness

2003: The Ethics of Art and the Art of Ethics

2002: Engineering Food, Engineering People: Ethics and the Biotech Revolution

2001: Philosophy of Love and Sex

2000: Privacy in the Information Age

1999: Professionalism in the Age of Self-interest

1998: Death and Dying: 21st Century Issues in Bioethics