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James Robenhalt and John Dean speak on “The Ethics of Clarity” through a behind-the-scenes examination of the Watergate scandal, in which Dean was involved, at Thursday’s Interfaith Lecture in the Hall of Philosophy. Photo by Lauren Rock.

Dean, Robenalt discuss ethical clarity through Watergate case-study

August 24, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 0 Comments

“Joan told us that we had to say something religious during this talk, (since we’re speaking on) tapes uncovering wrongdoing and all that: Luke 12:3 ‘Therefore whatever you have said in the dark side shall be heard in the light, and what you whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops,” said James Robenalt, a partner at Thompson Hine LLP, during the 2 p.m. Interfaith Lecture.

On Thursday, in a continuation of the Week Nine Department of Religion theme, “The Ethics of Presidential Power,” Robenalt spoke with John W. Dean, former counsel to President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal, to present a lecture titled “The Ethics of Clarity: Waking Up From Wrongdoing.”

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neckers

Neckers explores science-government relationship

August 23, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 0 Comments

German chemist Gerhard Schrader was thrilled with his discovery in 1936: an insecticide able to destroy farm pests and protect crops. Years later, Schrader’s research into nerve agents would be used to murder millions of European Jews, gypsies, homosexuals and other innocent civilians. When the Nazi government became involved, the scientific discovery turned into a deadly political weapon.

Government doesn’t always bring out the worst in science, but it greatly influences the real-world effects of hours spent in the laboratory. In recent years, research by American chemist Douglas Neckers has led to the United States military’s development of blood stimulants that look and act like real blood. About 70 percent of deaths in combat are caused by blood loss in the first 30 minutes after injury, Neckers said, so the fake blood tricks the body until that person can get to a clinic.

Neckers, CEO of photochemical science business Spectra Group, Ltd., will discuss the relationship between science and government at 2 p.m. today in the Hall of Philosophy. His lecture is titled “Curiosity Didn’t Kill This Cat: Why Science Must be an American President’s Imperative.”

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John Q. Barrett, professor of history and law at St. John’s University, discusses presidential judicial appointments at Wednesday’s Interfaith lecture in the Hall of Philosophy. Photo by Lauren Rock.

Barrett traces presidential ethics and values through judicial appointments

August 23, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 1 Comment

On Wednesday, John Q. Barrett, a constitutional law and history professor at St. John’s University, continued the Department of Religion’s Week Nine Interfaith Lecture theme, “The Ethics of Presidential Power,” with a lecture titled “Civil Rights and Judicial Appointments: Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and Their Successors.”

In his 2 p.m. lecture, Barrett touched on six main points: the federal court and judicial appointment process; criteria for presidential appointments; judicial appointments during the modern civil rights era — starting with Calvin Coolidge; a case study of Judge A. Leon Higginbotham; an examination of presidential appointments following Kennedy and Johnson; and a discussion of the court’s future progress.

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James Robenault

Robenalt, Dean speak on ethical lapses behind Watergate scandal

August 22, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 0 Comments

People hate losing more than they love winning.

It is knowledge that might seem common to competitive types, but it now has a name — prospect theory — and a Nobel Prize to back it. The theory, which describes behavioral economics and found that people dislike losing more than they like winning explains why people lie, cheat, cover up and act irrationally when they are in trouble. See the Monica Lewinsky or Penn State scandals, said Thompson Hine LLP partner James Robenalt, who has studied prospect theory in legal ethics and who now works closely with John Dean — former White House counsel to President Richard Nixon who was called “master manipulator of the cover-up” by the FBI and later became a key prosecution witness.

Robenalt and Dean will discuss the Watergate scandal and ethical obligations of lawyers at 2 p.m. Thursday in the Hall of Philosophy. Their conversation is titled “The Ethics of Clarity: Waking Up From Wrongdoing” and is based on their national tour of lectures on the 40th anniversary of the Watergate break-in.

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Barrett

Barrett examines ethics of JFK, LBJ in civil rights era

August 21, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 0 Comments

President John F. Kennedy made a statement in 1961 when he appointed Thurgood Marshall — who later became the first African-American Supreme Court justice — to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a country polarized by racism.

Though racial discrimination in judicial appointments is now a thing of the past, the country is perhaps more polarized than ever before, said law professor John Q. Barrett, and President Barack Obama has the chance to make a similar statement — by appointing gays and lesbians.

Barrett will discuss civil rights, the ethics of Kennedy and Johnson, and modern judicial equality at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Hall of Philosophy. Though he is a renowned teacher and lecturer, Barrett said he has not spoken about that particular topic, and he enjoyed preparing it for Chautauqua. Barrett has lectured at the Institution every summer since 2001.

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Nash

Presidential ethics of nuclear age oversimplified, Nash says

August 20, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 0 Comments

The decision to drop atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, was one of the biggest ethical dilemmas of the mid-1900s — but it wasn’t a real decision at all, said historian Philip Nash. Rather than a choice, it is more accurate to talk about the assumption that the bomb would be dropped.

For a week on “The Ethics of Presidential Power,” President Harry Truman’s “OK” to drop two bombs that killed more than 100,000 people seems like a perfect topic, Nash said. But Truman actually had little involvement in the process and never made a “yes” or “no” decision to use the bombs. Instead, the question was “how” to use them.

Nash, an associate professor of history at Penn State University, will discuss the context surrounding the bombs, the moral considerations that were involved and Truman’s limited voice at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Hall of Philosophy.

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White

White explores Lincoln’s faith through 2nd inaugural address in 1865

August 19, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 0 Comments

In a country hot with debate surrounding the economy, health care, war and gay rights, the ethics of presidential power are closely scrutinized — especially in an election year.

During this week’s Interfaith Lecture Series, experts on American leaders will discuss presidential ethics from the Civil War, World War II and the Manhattan Project, Vietnam and civil rights, and Nixon and the Watergate scandal.

Today, professor and presidential biographer Ronald White Jr. will talk about an ethically conscious, faith-oriented side of Abraham Lincoln that many biographers have neglected. His lecture, titled “Lincoln’s Sermon on the Mount: The Second Inaugural Address,” is at 2 p.m. Monday in the Hall of Philosophy.

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Rabbi Arthur Waskow speaks with the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, director of Chautauqua’s Department of Religion, about social issues Friday afternoon in the Hall of Philosophy. Waskow insists that every generation has to struggle for freedom from oppressors. Photo by Eric Shea.

Waskow dialogues on radically renewing, transforming the world

August 19, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 0 Comments

Rabbi Arthur Waskow is a radical, a pioneer; he has been one for a long time and has no intention of giving up anytime soon.

On Friday, Waskow sat down for an intimate conversation with the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell in the Hall of Philosophy for the final lecture on the Week Eight theme, “Radicalism: Burden or Blessing?”

In a discussion titled “Radicals, Radishes and the Spiritual Root of Social Action,” the two touched on the fight of the radical, Waskow’s work with the Jewish renewal movement, the inspiration behind his interfaith action and the new radical movement both Waskow and Campbell belong to: the U.S. Council of Elders.

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