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Rational and Reflective
On the morning of Friday 24 July, the University of Western Australia hosted a philosophy student seminar hosted by Dr Peter Vardy, an internationally renowned philosopher from the University of London. The topics included, Globalisation and Business Ethics, Environmental Ethics and The Problem of Evil.
A total of 37 Christ Church Grammar School boys accompanied Mr Wynne, Dr Mackay, Mrs Ferguson and Mr Hodnett. Some of the Year 11 and Year 12 boys who attended are currently studying the Philosophy and Ethics course of study with Mr Hodnett and this excursion gave them an opportunity to digest information relevant to their studies. Others, from Year 10, were simply curious to find out more about the sort of issues they might encounter if they went ahead and opted to study Philosophy and Ethics in the Senior School.
Boys agreed that Dr Vardy’s lively yet logical analysis of complex philosophical and ethical themes was extremely informative and thought provoking. A familiar comment was that boys were impressed with the manner in which Vardy was able to relate the theoretical framework of an ethical stance to a practical ethical issue. Vardy dealt with the obvious complexity of each issue by identifying prior assumptions relating to differing responses, and then explaining how each different thinker drew their own conclusions from them. It many ways it was a classic lesson in analytic philosophy.
Christ Church Grammar School has agreed to act as the host venue for this event in 2010. This is wonderful news, as it will provide an opportunity for greater exposure of Philosophy and Ethics to our community.
Mr Hodnett