NEWS & EVENTS Matters to ponder
The aim of the Centre for Ethics & Spirituality is to spark a conversation, get us thinking and talking about some of the big questions in life.
• The uniqueness of our position to do some particular good Daniel summed up his stance by reminding the audience there was “a lot of good that needs doing out there in the world.” “A lot of people are starving, a lot are dying from diseases we could cure or prevent. These people have hopes and dreams and fears just like us and they deserve the same ability to make choices as us. We should all do our part to help ease that suffering and protect the freedom of those who need it most. We don’t have to spend all our time and money doing this, but we should all spend some of it. The more we have, the more we should do.” In August the Vicar of the Anglican Parish of Sumner-Redcliffs, Rev Thomas C Brauer looked at the role photography has played in
How do we know if we are doing enough good in the world? How do we justify spending time and money on ourselves while millions suffer? Daniel McKay, philosopher and ethicist from the University of Canterbury tackled these questions and more at a Centre of Ethics & Spirituality event in June. Philanthropy, its merits and the plethora of good causes to which we can contribute, were all explored in his talk, along with issues of effective altruism, moral obligation and moral demandingness. The audience were challenged to re-think their relative perspectives as Daniel outlined his proposed solution to determining how much good is good enough. He focused on: • How much good needs doing • Our own ability to do good
portraying the violence, suffering and trauma of people’s lives in his presentation When Good Pictures Go Bad: Public perception of private suffering. From the American and Spanish civil wars, through the Great Depression, to the conflicts and disasters of today, he explored the ethics of the photographic image. Does photography of suffering help develop compassion, or create compassion fatigue? Does photography of violence educate and inform or perpetuate conflict and pain? He also looked at how photography and digital media is used to document our lives and addressed the ethics of taking photographs of people at their most vulnerable and sharing these images with a global audience.
New Bishop – New Warden
Old Boy, Board member and Fellow of Christ’s College, The Venerable Dr Peter R Carrell has been named as the new Anglican Bishop of Christchurch. He becomes the sixth Bishop (five Anglican and one Roman Catholic) that College has produced, and hence Warden of Christ’s College.
Christ’s College Canterbury
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