Kiwi philosopher appointed to head UN bioethics committee

I suppose every philosophy student has had to put up with that old adage, “Philosophy – that won’t get you a job!”

Well, Otago University philosopher Donald Evans has proven a philosopher can find employment outside the academy, being recently elected president of the International Bioethics Committee (IBC) of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) at a meeting of the group in Mexico last month.

Evans observed;

“It’s a particular honour to be asked, as a philosopher, to chair this. It’s not usually the case, I must say.”

The only shame is Evans’ ideas of the “major issues” facing the world in the coming years.

“Firstly, the recurring, increasingly-pressing issue of delivering adequate health care to everyone, equally.

“The more we can do in medicine, the more demands are going to be made upon medicine. Far from decreasing cost, the very success of that medical intervention increases demand for it. The gap will only grow wider,” he said.

The other was the emerging new technologies – including cloning, stem cells, nanotechnology.”

Now I’m not sure how one defines what ethics are bioethics and what ethics are considered not to have a biological component.  The journal of the International Association of Bioethics considers within its scope the following: “international collaborative clinical research in developing countries; public health; infectious disease; AIDS; managed care; genomics and stem cell research.”

The gravest ethical issue that faces our world is the ongoing abortion of fetal human life by a population with greater access to intellectual and moral learning than any population that ever went before us.  Whatever a bioethicist does, he must address the ethical responsibility of a medical profession which increases peoples’ access to such unethical paths of action.  That should be the number one priority of Evans and his team at UNESCO.

Mike Moore on skepticism

A great article on the virtue of skepticism by none other than former PM and WTO head Mike Moore from his column in the NZ Herald, with reference to the global warming debate:

Scepticism is far healthier than a cooked plate of greens

From the article:

“I’m not a climate denier. I feel obliged to point this out to save believers from sharpening their carbon neutral pencils and writing to the beleaguered editor. It’s good young people are aware of the issues but some schools command kids to apostolate on environmental issues.

Bossy little people tell you not to eat meat or fly. It’s getting a bit like kids having to turn in their parents under fascism. No, it’s more like the Inquisition when you had to prove your innocence, and if you were innocent and died under torture that was OK because you were guaranteed a place in heaven.”

“What was silly is becoming sinister. Green ideology is becoming a theology that rejects the lessons of the Enlightenment, which was about freeing man so he could reason and choose. This new religion has many apostles, especially in the non-profit sector and the soft media.

It’s right and proper that politicians and business people face a sceptical media who scrutinise them, hold them to account, expose their flaws and contradictions. The green agenda is too often accepted at face value because they claim to have the planet’s interests at heart, unlike grubby politicians and greedy businesspeople.”

 ”There needs to be scepticism, everywhere, much more of it. Scepticism is the chastity of the intellect and should not be surrendered easily.

Scepticism is desirable, necessary; cynicism is death by instalment. After a long life in public affairs I now have a new rule of measurement. It’s the sacred law of humour. If someone can’t see the absurdities of life, then I get nervous.

The enemies of reason throughout history, convinced that there is just one way, usually end up burning books, killing sparrows and building furnaces. Even worse, they don’t laugh or blush.

Man is the only species on earth who can laugh or blush or needs to.”

A 21st Century Renaissance

Today is the beginning of the liturgical year in the Western Church, the first day of advent as we build towards Christmas Day, the celebration of God’s incarnation as Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary in the manger in Bethlehem.

Today is also the beginning of 21st Century Renaissance, a blog dedicated to welcoming the dawn of a 21st century enlightenment.  After more than three years of blogging at Put up thy Sword!, it is finally time for me to unleash this new direction.

Ever since I discovered philosophy and Christianity at the same time, when I entered university in 1999, it has become glaringly obvious how complementary philosophy and religion are to each other, and how they depend on interactions with each other for their accuracy and their survival.

It has been great to watch the growth in this interface in the last 10 years, as the work of philosophers like Jurgen Habermas, Alvin Plantinga and William Lane Craig is increasingly recognised, and as theologians such as Tom Wright and Miroslav Volf make an impact on the religious and political scenes.  I have enjoyed re-entering university part-time this last year to study philosophy and religious studies.  I have enjoyed posting the various essays I wrote to blogger and Facebook and the interesting discussions that ensued.

And now the watching and waiting is over.  This blog, 21st Century Renaissance, has been waiting to happen for a long time and I’m glad to announce its arrival.

To read more about the purpose and themes of 21st Century Renaissance read the “About” page.

You will also notice links to two more Renaissance projects – my business, Renaissance Consulting, and also the Renaissance Taranaki Trust, which I’m aiming to get off the ground in the near future.