The Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics seeks to strengthen teaching and research about pressing ethical issues; to foster sound norms of ethical reasoning and civic discussion; and to share the work of our community in the public interest. 

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Latest News

Statement on Lowell House Event

March 18, 2024

Late this afternoon, we learned of the “Islamophobia, Antisemitism, and Religious Literacy” event to be hosted at Lowell House on March 21. This topic is an important one to address, but the event itself was finalized and announced without our Center’s review and approval. The composition of the event is not in keeping with the principles of civil disagreement we uphold at the Center, which demand representation from multiple perspectives, particularly on contentious issues of the moment. We have made clear that we cannot co-sponsor or support this event as it currently stands.

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Ethics Monday with Shira Hoffer featured in the Harvard Gazette

March 7, 2024

The Gazette published an article featuring ELSCE's Ethics Monday event with Shira Hoffer titled "Disagreeing Curiously About Israel/Palestine and Beyond." Hoffer created the Hotline for Israel/Palestine, a text-based platform offering nonpartisan information on the Israel-Hamas conflict. During the event, Hoffer spoke of her inspiration for the project and her belief that the world will be a better place when we learn to “disagree curiously.” Read the Gazette's article about the event...

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New article in WBUR’s Cognoscent

March 7, 2024

Edmond & Lily Safra Center fellow, Katherine Peeler, has published a commentary with several Harvard Medical Students in WBUR’s Cognoscent. The article discusses the alarming use of solitary confinement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the United States, shedding light on the conditions faced by immigrants already within U.S. borders. Read "ICE's wanton use of solitary confinement defies even its own standards" here....

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Embedded EthiCS @ Harvard Launches Exploratory Study

February 26, 2024

Embedded EthiCS @ Harvard has launched a survey study to better understand tech ethics education across Harvard SEAS.

The study will be ongoing over the duration of the Spring 2024 semester, with SEAS students receiving the opportunity to complete the series of two surveys at varying times based on their course enrollment. Results of the study will help to both inform and refine Harvard’s approach to tech ethics education, as well as the approaches of institutions implementing their own similar programs.

Anyone with questions should...

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Recording Available for Democratizing Work: Politics, Philosophy, and Practice Event

February 13, 2024

 

This panel event featured Lisa Herzog (University of Groningen) and Alex Gourevitch (Brown University) in conversation to discuss recent scholarship on work and its relations to property rights, economic independence, and the state. It was co-sponsored by the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School and the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University.

The panel event was part of "Recent Work on the Philosophy and Politics of Work," a day-long workshop co-convened by Nien-hê Hsieh (Harvard Business School) and Nicholas...

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From the ELSCE Community

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Post #9: How Bioethics Can Inform Ethical AI Governance

This week's entry explores the core discipline of Bioethics and consider the lessons we can glean from its history, principles, and practical applications within the field.

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An Interview with Amy Trask, Landscape Analyst Senior Fellow for the Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Partnership and Santa Fe College Undergraduate Student 

By: Alexis Jimenez Maldonado 

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This month we are highlighting Amy Trask, a pre-law student at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, FL. She currently serves as a Landscape Analyst Senior Fellow for the Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Partnership, where she has been a fellow since 2021. She is a three-time captain for Santa Fe’s chapter of APPE’s Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl team.

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