On Campus - Tuesday, November 3, 2009 14:30 - 0 Comments
Philosopher Peter Singer Thinks You’re All Unethical
If you were part of that not-so-exclusive fraternity of students chosen to make up the final class of NYU’s former General Studies Program, than you probably spent August of 2007 immersed in either one of two activities: deciding whether it was finally time to post the standard “Hey Roomie!” message on your new suitemate’s Facebook wall after the awkward round of pokes, or resisting the urge to hurl the required summer reading—Peter Singer’s How Are We To Live?—at the nearest household pet when you got to the chapter concerning speciesism, a theory that equates eating meat with being a Nazi, among other things.
Singer was back at NYU, and considerably more down to earth, yesterday for the Sharp Lecture Series in Kimmel to promote his 30th book, The Life You Can Save. While the Australian philosopher’s bold opinion that most Americans need to lead more ethical lives can be mildly condescending (if not accurate) when read in his books, listening to him speak is a far less irritating experience.
Though idealistic for sure, the former professor seemed entirely genuine in his call for society to develop an “ethical standard that people would feel is obtainable.”
On Campus - Friday, October 23, 2009 12:00 - 3 Comments
G. Gordon Liddy Describes the Alternate Universe He Lives In to NYU Class
I’ve decided that the “G” in G. Gordon Liddy must stand for “God.” It’s the only way to legitimize some of the more outrageous claims made by the hyper-conservative radio talk show host, especially the ones that paint him as the all-knowing authority on politics, journalism, and (why stop there?) life itself.
“I knew that it would unravel all along,” the G-Man said at one point, referring to the 1972 Watergate scandal in which he acted as a chief conspirator, something that he has since capitalized the hell out of. He later went on to describe in detail an alternate reality in which America could have won Vietnam had we only “bombed the Red River dykes,” cutting off the food supply and starving the people into surrender.
These and a wealth of other “huh?” moments were shared when the self-proclaimed “American legend” made his annual visit, via satellite audio feed, to Prof. Mitchell Stevens’ Foundations of Journalism class yesterday.
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