A four-day philosophy conference on Moral Epistemology, the nature and justification of beliefs about what is morally right or wrong, will begin tonight with a lecture on "Foundationalism and Coherentism in Ethics" by Oxford University and University of Florida Professor Richard Hare.
The conference, which was organized by Dartmouth Philosophy Professor Walter Sinnot-Armstrong, will feature paper presentations by prominent professors on such topics as moral theory of societies, science and moral theory, and moral skepticism.
Other presentations will include University of Michigan Professor Richard Brandt's paper on "Science as a Basis for Moral Theory" on Sept. 30 and University of Nebraska Professor Robert Audi's paper on "Intuitionism, Pluralism, and the Foundations of Ethics" on Oct. 1.
Sinnot-Armstrong said he plans to use the papers presented by each professor at the conference to create a textbook for students in Philosophy 26, Modern Ethical Theory, which he teaches every Spring term.
Malia Brink '96, a Presidential Scholar, was recruited by Sinnot-Armstrong to assist in organizing the conference.
Brink will preview and edit the professors' papers, which were submitted prior to the conference, so students can easily understand the textbook.
By editing the papers, Sinnot-Armstrong said he hopes to provide a reference of consistent terminology in the field of moral epistemology.
The professors will use the edited versions of their speeches during the conference to easily convey their ideas.
Brink said the conference will be an exciting opportunity for philosophy majors and will present a challenge to the popular notion that philosophy is dictated by long dead philosophers such as Aristotle.
After the conference, students can discuss the implications of the visiting philosophers' papers with the professors.
Sinnot-Armstrong said the conference will include a diverse group of views to create a more interesting textbook.
Presently, there is no appropriate college text on moral epistemology, he said. This volume, which will go to print at the Oxford University Press in December, should be ready for use in the spring of 1996.
The conference is funded by the Eunice and Julian Cohen Professorship for the Study of Ethics and Human Values at Dartmouth College fund and by the Dartmouth Humanities Institute.
