On the 2nd December 2011, Upper Sixth Brentwood students attended an ethics conference held at Bloomsbury Baptist Church called 'Living the Good Life'. Dr. Peter Vardy held the conference and we heard presentations from him as well as special guest speakers, Dr. Bernard Hoose and Charlotte Vardy.
The conference began with Dr. Peter Vardy, who spoke about the meta-ethics unit of our A2 course. Peter Vardy presented this particularly challenging topic in such a stimulating and understanding way, especially when the theory is applied to war ethics. After the break, Dr. Bernard Hoose delivered an educational lecture on the Aquinas’ Natural Law theory. He was able to give us a broad outline of how we should answer and structure an examination question, in regards to the topic of natural law. After our lunch break, we then listened to a presentation given by Charlotte Vardy about Utilitarianism, which was thought-provoking and gave us a much broader understanding in the application of the Utilitarianist theory.
At the end of the day, we participated in a debate, with the motion being: 'This house believes political killing can never be justified'. We had Dr. Peter Vardy speaking for the motion and Charlotte Vardy speaking against the motion. Once the debate was open to the floor, many interesting points were made from everyone at the conference. Overall, it was fascinating to here peoples' unique perspectives on the matter and appreciate everyone’s opinions.
Holly, Upper Sixth
Posted by Holly Chapman