Piers Benn

Piers Benn

Piers Benn is a lecturer in philosophy, member of the British Humanist Association. His research interests include ethics and medical ethics in particular. He's also interested in religion. [ [http://www.srcf.ucam.org/hmmsoc/recent.htm Theistic Proofs. Does belief in God require evidence?] - talk given on Oct 24, 2003 at Queens' College, Cambridge]

Work

He received his PhD degree in philosophy ("On Human Death: its Nature and Significance") from Birkbeck College, University of London (1992). He has been lecturer at the University of Leeds, University of St Andrews, Imperial College School of Medicine (University of London), and other places. [http://www.humanism.org.uk/site/cms/contentviewarticle.asp?article=1245 Members of the Humanist Philosophers' Group, BHA] ] He has also written articles in various journals and appeared on British media, including BBC [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/nightwaves/pip/tax34/ "Night Waves" 2005, Radio 3, BBC] ] .

His 1997 book "Ethics" is a textbook for undergraduate courses. The book is both an introduction into the subject and a substantive argument in favor of the neo-Aristotelian view of the objectivity of moral claims. [ [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0031-8094(200007)50%3A200%3C410%3AE%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I A review of Benn's "Ethics"] , "The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 50, No. 200 (2000), pp. 410-412] It covers the following topic, in the corresponding chapters.
# Authority and relativism
# The objectivity of morality
# Consequentialism
# Kant's ethics
# Contractualism
# Free will and the moral emotions
# Virtue
# Reasoning about ethics

Views

He was among the 43 signatories of a 2002 letter sent to Tony Blair concerning teaching Creationism in British state-funded schools. [ [http://www.humanism.org.uk/site/cms/contentviewarticle.asp?article=1352&splash=yes Letter to Tony Blair about teaching Creationism in schools] ]

At the 2005 conference "End-of-life issues in renal medicine" Benn argued that ethical rights, such as right to dignity or freedom from suffering, may be used as ethical justifications for the legalisation of assisted suicide. [ [http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/ClinicalMedicine/0506novdec/0506_novdec_conf1.htm "End-of-life issues in renal medicine"] ]

Commenting on Islamophobia in New Humanist, Benn suggests that people who fear the rise of Islamophobia foster an environment "not intellectually or morally healthy", to the point that what he calls "Islamophobia-phobia" can undermine "critical scrutiny of Islam as somehow impolite, or ignorant of the religion's true nature", encouraging "sentimental pretence that all claims to religious truth are somehow 'equal', or that critical scrutiny of Islam (or any belief system) is ignorant, prejudiced, or 'phobic'". [http://newhumanist.org.uk/524 "On Islamophobia-phobia"] , "New Humanist, Vol.117, Issue 2 (Summer 2002)"]

Bibliography

* "Ethics", "Fundamentals of Philosophy" series, McGill-Queen's University Press / UCL Press, 1997 ISBN 0-7735-1700-6 (hardcover), ISBN 0-7735-1701-4 (paperback, 1998), Routledge, 1997 ISBN 1-857-2845-34 (paperback), ISBN 1857286790 (hardcover), ISBN 0203046285 (e-book)
* "How Should We Treat the Dead?", in " [http://www.humanism.org.uk/site/cms/contentViewArticle.asp?article=1712 Thinking about Death] ", British Humanist Association (2002)
* " [http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/other-editions/0415304830?language=en%5FJP Is Nothing Sacred?] ", essays, by Richard Norman, Piers Benn, Simon Blackburn, and Michael Clark, 2004, Routledge ( [http://mqup.mcgill.ca/book.php?bookid=486 see description] )

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Benn — is a surname, and may refer to:* A. W. Benn (1843 1915), British rationalist/humanist writer * Arthur Shirley Benn (1858 1937), British politician, later Baron Glenravel * Brindley Benn (born 1923), Guyanese politician * Carl Benn, historian *… …   Wikipedia

  • Islamophobia — This article is about discrimination. For criticism of Islam, see Criticism of Islam. For criticism of political Islam, see Criticism of Islamism …   Wikipedia

  • Eltham College — This article is about the school in London, England. For the school in Research, Australia see Eltham College of Education. Infobox UK school name = Eltham College size = 120px latitude = longitude = dms = motto = motto pl = motto = Gloria… …   Wikipedia

  • Anti-Islamismus — Islamfeindlichkeit, synonym zu Islamophobie und Antiislamismus, bezeichnet als wissenschaftlicher Begriff die feindselige Ablehnung des Islam als abstrakte Kategorie und der als Minderheit in einer Mehrheitsgesellschaft lebenden Muslime als… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Antiislamismus — Islamfeindlichkeit, synonym zu Islamophobie und Antiislamismus, bezeichnet als wissenschaftlicher Begriff die feindselige Ablehnung des Islam als abstrakte Kategorie und der als Minderheit in einer Mehrheitsgesellschaft lebenden Muslime als… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Islamdiskussion — Islamfeindlichkeit, synonym zu Islamophobie und Antiislamismus, bezeichnet als wissenschaftlicher Begriff die feindselige Ablehnung des Islam als abstrakte Kategorie und der als Minderheit in einer Mehrheitsgesellschaft lebenden Muslime als… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Islamfeindlichkeit — Islamfeindliches Plakat der Lega Nord. Hier wird ein geplanter Moscheebau in Trient mit islamistisch motiviertem Terrorismus in Verbindung gebracht. Islamophobie (Griechisch Phobos/φόβος, „Furcht“) bezeichnet in der Soziologie …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Islamophob — Islamfeindlichkeit, synonym zu Islamophobie und Antiislamismus, bezeichnet als wissenschaftlicher Begriff die feindselige Ablehnung des Islam als abstrakte Kategorie und der als Minderheit in einer Mehrheitsgesellschaft lebenden Muslime als… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Islamophobie — Islamfeindlichkeit, synonym zu Islamophobie und Antiislamismus, bezeichnet als wissenschaftlicher Begriff die feindselige Ablehnung des Islam als abstrakte Kategorie und der als Minderheit in einer Mehrheitsgesellschaft lebenden Muslime als… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Islamphobie — Islamfeindlichkeit, synonym zu Islamophobie und Antiislamismus, bezeichnet als wissenschaftlicher Begriff die feindselige Ablehnung des Islam als abstrakte Kategorie und der als Minderheit in einer Mehrheitsgesellschaft lebenden Muslime als… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”