2000-2001
Normalizing Biotechnology: Science, Ethics & Political Culture
Wednesday, September 13, 2000 - 11:30am to 1:00pm
Commentator:
Jeffrey Kahn, PhD
Center for Bioethics, University of Minnesota
Nature's Birthmark: The Separate World of Ecology
Wednesday, December 6, 2000 - 12:30pm to 2:00pm
Prof. Sagoff explored the prospects of ecology as an environmental science. He argued that nature has no separate order, direction, organization or design for ecologists to discover, asserting that those who study the natural history of places to understand their differences – not those who fruitlessly attempt to discern uniformmities among them – help society to appreciate and therefore protect the natural world.
The Ethics of Introduced Species
Wednesday, April 11, 2001 - 11:30am to 1:00pm
Prof. Shrader-Frechette focused on the controversy over introduced species such as zebra mussels, kudzu, brown tree snakes and other non-indigenous species (NIS) that have disrupted native ecosystems and caused billions of dollars in damage. She argued that there is no comprehensive, predictive theory of invasibility and adaptive dynamics that might guide ecological decision-making regarding NIS. She then laid out the legal and ethical reasons for severe restrictions on NIS.
Stem Cells, Cloning, and Genetic Choice in Reproduction
Prof. John A. Robertson, JD
University of Texas School of Law at Austin
Saturday, December 15, 2001 - 12:15pm to 1:15pm
William G. Shepard Room, Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum