UGC Academic Staff College
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Cordially invites you to the
Lecture series on Human Values
By
Professor MILTON FISK
Professor Emeritus of Philosophy
Indiana University, Bloomington
on
“Justice, Public Goods, and Divided Societies”
18th March 2008
9.30 AM at MIRANDA HOUSE
&
"The Influence of Philosophical Currents on Trade Unions"
20th March 2008
3.00 PM at Academic Staff College
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi
RSVP
VEENA ARORA
+91-11-2674 2532
asc.jnu@gmail.com
Brief Profile of Professor Fisk
Professor Militon Fisk is one of most eminent activist philosophers in the United States, Prof. Fisk has been defending Marxism, public goods and has been in the forefront of demanding health care for the poor from the state. Respected and admired for his deep involvement in public cause and bringing them into the domain of serious philosophical discourse. Prof. Fisk was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. Following the example of both of his parents, he became an academic. He received a BS in chemistry from Notre Dame and a PhD in philosophy from Yale. Prior to coming to Indiana University in Bloomington, he held faculty positions at Notre Dame and at Yale. He is the author of a number of books, including Nature and Necessity (1973), Ethics and Society (1980), The State and Justice (1989), and Toward a Healthy Society (2000).
Early in his career, he concentrated on a realist interpretation of physical science, which led him to develop a theory of causality based on a notion of natural necessity. An engagement with movements for social change led to his writing on issues in social philosophy and in political morality. In this work, one of his constant themes is that social divisions place a burden of proof on moralists who advocate universalism in ethics that they have not met. His recent study of health care reform led him to appreciate the important role public goods should play in political morality.
He served as a board member of the American Philosophical Association-Central Division, and is serving on the steering committee of the Radical Philosophy Association. He was a member of the Indiana Health Care Campaign and was active with Jobs with Justice, serving as a director of its Workers’ Rights Board for south-central Indiana. He is currently working on a living wage campaign in Bloomington.
Programme
20 March 2008
3.00 PM Welcome and Introduction of Speaker by
Dr. Rakesh Batabyal
Assistant Director, ASC – JNU
3.15 PM Presidential Address by
Professor Kamal Mitra Chenoy
Professor, School of International Studies, JNU
3.30 PM Professor Milton Fisk
Professor Emeritus
Indiana University, Bloomington
4.30 PM Vote of Thanks
4.40 PM Hi-Tea
