The fate of religious and moral traditions in the ruthlessly competitive business world is among a number of intriguing ethics topics to be discussed by experts Oct. 23 at the first annual University of Colorado at Boulder Japha Ethics Symposium of the Leeds School of Business.
The free public symposium, to be held at Folsom Stadium's new club level facility, is designed to bring together experts to discuss professional ethics in the context of business, technology, medicine, law, the environment and education, according to organizer Scott Peppet. The symposium runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
"We want to stimulate discussion on how people incorporate their religious and moral beliefs into work," said Peppet, an associate professor of law at CU-Boulder. "Most people get their principles from a religious background, so for me it was important to have that perspective in this conference."
He said the issue of whether there ought to be more acceptance of religion in the workplace and in business is one of the many questions panelists will address. "A lot of the issues we'll be talking about during the symposium have religious overtones. Medical ethics questions - a lot of those have religious components. The religious community has taken stands on issues like stem cell research and the sale of organs," he said.
Invitations and flyers promoting the symposium have been sent to churches, synagogues and other religious centers across the Boulder and Denver area. A panel of religious scholars will gather for a break-out session during the conference called "Spirit and Business: Integrating Religious and Moral Traditions into Work."
"The Japha Ethics Symposium is a timely initiative that will focus on a variety of critical sectors in business education and practice, as well as in the university community in general," said CU-Boulder religious studies Professor Fred Denny, who will participate in the "Spirit and Business" discussion. Denny will provide some thoughts on some of the key ethical principles of Islam as they relate to business. "Like Buddhism, Islam has a deep interest in business and commerce and how they should be conducted ethically," he said.
Denny will be joined by Thomas Coburn, the new president of Naropa University, and Brian Mahan of the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
Coburn offers an expert view of Buddhism as it is developing on the American scene. Buddhism has a long history of symbiosis between monks and laity, with the latter comprised significantly of those drawn from the world of business across most Buddhist cultures, according to Coburn.
Mahan, an assistant professor of Christian education at Emory University and former religion instructor at CU-Boulder, has stirred discussion recently with his book, "Forgetting Ourselves on Purpose: Vocation and the Ethics of Ambition."
Mahan said his symposium perspective will focus principally on how people's vocations are very much preoccupations that accompany them in all contexts of their lives. "Spirituality is less about this decision or that - how we might distinguish it from ethics - but about the underlying orientation of the whole person to values," Mahan said.
"What [Mahan is] interested in is, 'You're trying to succeed, trying to get ahead. What does that mean? How do you do that and still hold on to who you are?'" Peppet said.
Peppet teaches courses including "Honesty, Fairness and Lawyers" and "Professional Responsibility." A specialist in legal ethics and alternative dispute resolution and negotiation, he is an award-winning author on legal bargaining and has written and lectured extensively on such topics as "Can Saints Negotiate? A Brief Introduction to the Problems of Perfect Ethics in Bargaining."
For more information on the symposium, contact Peppet at (303) 735-0818, via e-mail at scott.peppet@colorado.edu or visit . Registration in advance is recommended by going to the Web site at .