Can Humanity Leave War Behind Us?
VIEW EVENT DETAILSEvening Presentation
Drinks reception: 6:30pm
Presentation: 7:00pm
Close: 8:00pm
“We the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war…”, UN Charter, 1945. 70 years later, the nightmare in Syria raises the question of whether humanity will ever escape the scourge of war. Out of so many different causes of war, this talk will discuss only one. Tribal psychology - based on nationality, ethnicity or shared belief - can erupt into war, followed by the cycle of violence and revenge that often follows defeat for either side. Are there lessons from history about successful and unsuccessful ways of containing or avoiding tribal conflict? Are some methods of keeping peace in the world likely to be more effective than others in damping down the cycle of violence? A single world government is in some ways a terrifying prospect. Are there strategies short of world government that give us a chance of leaving war behind us?
One of the world’s foremost bioethicists, Jonathan Glover is Professor of Ethics at King’s College London. From 1998-2007 he was Director of the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics at King’s College London. From 1967-1997 he was Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at New College, Oxford. He is the author of seven books. His seminal “Causing Death and Saving Lives” (1977) was the first book-length treatment of a cluster of ethical issues including abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, capital punishment and war. In “Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century” (2000) Prof. Glover defends the Enlightenment hope that moral philosophy may help bring about a world that is more peaceful and more humane. His latest book, “Alien Landscapes? Interpreting Disordered Minds” (2014), investigates the ethics and philosophy of psychiatry. Prof. Glover chaired a European Commission Working Party on Assisted Reproduction, the results of which were published as the Glover Report in 1989. He received his degree in philosophy and psychology and his B.Phil. in philosophy from Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
Co-presented with the Centre for Bioethics, Chinese University of Hong Kong