Tues. May 15

If we were to show up at McIntyre & Moore Booksellers Tuesday May 15 at 7:30 p.m., sit down and join a discussion group where the subject is "Standards Evolving: Are We Making Moral Progress?," we'd probably scream "No!," cite reality TV, Virginia Tech, Iraq and just sputter off into the night, like a babbling madman. You can do better than that. Tom Clark, director of the Boston-based Center of Naturalism, hosts his monthly forum, The Davis Square Philosophy Cafe, and he'll steer it in a different direction. Clark will start with developments like the abolition of slavery, women getting the right to vote and rise of gay rights. Ok, all good stuff, right? To most of us, yes, but Clark will toss out the idea that some cultures might see these signs of progress as moral decline. (The abolition of slavery??? Haven't we all agreed on that? Wait, a minute, no it's still practiced. Think of sex slaves.) The question he'll pose: How do we justify our increasingly inclusive and egalitarian conception of human rights? And, is there a transcultural moreal ideal toward which we're heading, or is the very idea of universal human rights a cultural construction? Heavy thoughts. Join the philosophical fray for free.

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