Perseus and Andromeda, ca 1555. Creator: Titian (1488-1576).
Summary
This book series of dialogues that highlight wide range of ethical issues that are currently being debated (and not being debated) in modern universities. These include feminism, the “Me too” movement, gender identity, black lives matter, artificial intelligence, as well as the limits of secularism in academic research.
The book is available on AMAZON, SPOTIFY and AUDIBLE. I use the book in my law and ethics of IT classes and I have provided a note on teaching pedagogy: LINK.
Introduction AUDIO
We live in a time and age when knowledge is abundant and wisdom is scarce. Nowhere is this more evident than in the modern university. The reasons for the current state of affairs are both numerous and varied, and without a clear sense of what went wrong or how, it is difficult to see a way forward. While we may not have the answers, we can develop the courage to ask questions bravely. Part of the problem, however, is that the range of acceptable opinions, public or academic, has become far narrower than before. The kinds of questions we are prepared to ask have become more limited.
We sometimes shy away from research inquiries and discussions on contentious issues in order not to offend anyone or be singled out for having an unorthodox viewpoint. We say nothing, hoping that the controversy will pass and resolve itself in due course, or we seek like-minded individuals that share our own views (and biases). These intellectual pathologies plague academics, the university institutions they work at, the students they graduate and society in general. Unchallenged, our viewpoints become impediments to our own learning as we no longer have a solid foundation for our beliefs and are unable to act with any resolve.
Since we all learn by stories, it is by telling and retelling the stories that animate our culture and permeate our collective consciousness that we overcome our intellectual paralysis and become motivated to take the necessary action required to promote our highest ideals. This is a story about an assistant professor (who is a vampire) who has an affair with his graduate student. The student gets pregnant and has an abortion. This sets the stage to examine a range of ethical issues such as feminism, the “Me Too” movement, gender identity, Black Lives Matter, artificial intelligence, technological progress as well as the limits of secularism in academic research.
Fiction is somehow a more appropriate vehicle to communicate truth here because it requires a suspension of belief. This allows the ideas to be explored without the individual becoming identified or otherwise attached to them. The aim is to get back to examining and defending ideas honestly and fairly. One of the best ways to iron out the kinks in your thinking is through dialogue.
Sadly, in a world of misinformation, alternative facts, fake news, deep fakes and extremist views, having a reasonably held difference of opinion can be career limiting, resulting in social ostracism or online attacks. What seems more important than truth is that we look like we all get along and everyone feels comfortable. The polarizing effect this has had on public discourse is experienced most acutely on social media and the internet. Pundits and gurus emerge to fill the void left by reasonable people and our social problems become more precipitous and calamitous. Students coddled by safe-spaces find themselves intellectually cornered and unable to defend their ideas.
My hope is that these dialogues will help stimulate your thinking, challenge your beliefs, and we will both become stronger in the process.
Dialogue 2 – The Library Archive
Dialogue 3 – The Abortion
Dialogue 4 – Student Life
Dialogue 5 – Trial Prep
Dialogue 6 – Artificial Intelligence
