Professor ‘goes public’ at WFU about media exposés
John Haldane, professor of philosophy and director of the Centre for Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, will speak at Wake Forest University Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. in Pugh Auditorium in Benson University Center. Admission is free.
In his lecture, “Going Public: The Morality and Politics of Disclosure,” Haldane will discuss the morality of the increasingly common practice among media to expose the private lives of politicians and other public figures. He will explore the question of when, if ever, it is right to draw wider attention to personal problems and make those issues the subject of commentary. He will discuss how this fits in with privacy, free speech and responsibilities of correction and caution.
Haldane is a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the Royal Society of Arts and an executive council member of the Royal Institute of Philosophy. A prolific writer, he has published more than 150 academic papers in the history of philosophy, the philosophy of mind, metaphysics and moral and social philosophy.
His books include “Atheism and Theism,” “An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Religion” and “Faithful Reason,” which will be published in 2004.
Haldane has also been a frequent writer for The Tablet, an international Catholic weekly and has contributed a monthly ‘Credo’ column in The Times of London.
The lecture is part of Wake Forest’s 2003 theme year, “Fostering Dialogue: Civil Discourse in an Academic Community,” which is dedicated to exploring how free people with passionate interests and beliefs can communicate openly without turning dialogue into discord.
The event is sponsored by the department of philosophy as one of its Carswell Lectures. A reception will be held following the lecture in the philosophy library located in Tribble Hall, Room B316.
For more information, call 336-758-5359.
