Ethics-Talk: The Greatest Good of Man is Daily to Converse About Virtue Ethics-Talk

This show continues the discussion of the “legacy of learning” bequeathed by Nurse Catherine Pine in her Last Will & Testament (discussion of 4/21/24).  In that show, we were joined by British historian Elizabeth Crawford, who discussed her research on  the Last Will and Testament of Nurse Catherine Pine (1864-1941), and in particular, on the gift of the “suffragette medal” which Pine bequeathed to the British College of Nurses.  In this show, we focus on the other "suffrage memorabilia provision" of Nurse Pine’s Will which bequeathed “books and photographs” to the “Women’s Social and Political Club”.  As we discuss, the “Women’s Social and Political Club” was the “Suffragette Fellowship Club," and it is the early history of the Suffragette Fellowship Club on which we focus.

This show is part interview/part philosophical discussion that focuses on the work and legacy of Nurse Catherine Pine (1864-1941). Joining us is Elizabeth Crawford, an authority on the British Suffrage Movement, who has written on Pine as well as earlier suffragists such as Milicent Fawcett (1847-1929) both in books and in Crawford’s blog “Woman and Her Sphere.” Crawford explains the research process by which she discovered that Pine’s Last Will and Testament contained a bequest of several suffragette treasures: books, photographs and a “suffragette medal””. We discuss the suffragette movement of which Nurse Pine was a part; and how Elizabeth Crawford’s research uncovered a mystery that has both philosophical and legal dimensions.

Bertha von Suttner's Lay Down Your Arms (Part 4). In our last show of 5/18/22, we began and ended with the final sentence of Chapter 6, pg. 140: "What a foolish world -- still in leading strings -- cruel, unthinking! This was the result of my historical studies." In this show, we focus on Chapters 7 & 8 (pages 141-186). In these chapters, Martha endures the departure of Frederick for war with Denmark. This is the second time she has suffered the departure of husband for war and it takes its toll. The couple is reunited after much grief. We discuss some of the philosophical and political aspects of various passages. This English translation of LDYA has 19 chapters and is 410 pages long. We are about 1/2 into the text. Follow along with the text which you can download at http://www.berthavonsuttner.com/ldya.pdf.

This show continues our discussion from 10/7/21 of Bertha von Suttner's most famous and well-known work, Lay Down your Arms! (LDYA).  Since our last installment, 7 months ago, Russia has invaded Ukraine, and this conflict has endured for almost 3 months.  On this Peace Day, and the 2 year anniversary of this show, Bertha's book is all the more relevant.  Today we focus on chapter 6 (116-140), which we interpret as an account that foreshadows Hannah Arendt's philosophy on the relationship between thoughtlessness and evil ("the banality of evil"). In Chapter 6, Bertha stresses the link between armed conflict and thoughtlessness, both of the individual and the masses, as we discuss. This English translation of LDYA has 19 chapters and is 410 pages long.  We are about 1/3 into the text.

This show continues our discussion from 9/16/21 of Bertha von Suttner's most famous and well-known work, Lay Down your Arms!. In this episode, we focus on Chapters 4-5 (about 60 pages) Martha Dotzky’s (nèe Althaus) and Baron Friedrich von Tilling's relationship intensifies and we witness the beginning of heightening and developing of both consciences through their encounter. Through intellectual discussion and a shared "humane viewpoint" Martha, who originally swore off Freidrich von Tilling as a suitor because he is a soldier, begins to realize that he is different. A conversation about Darwin's The Origin of Species is identified as the moment in which Martha begins to fall in love with Friedrich. In this show, we discuss the philosophical implications of the encounter between Martha Dotzky and Friedrich von Tilling and other interesting episodes in Chapters 4-5.

This show focuses Bertha von Suttner's (1843-1914) most famous and well known work, “Lay Down your Arms !”. Originally published in the German language in 1889 with the title Die Waffen Nieder!, the first English translation appeared in 1892. Suttner would become the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize (in 1905). This show introduces Suttner's book, a fictional autobiography, of 19 chapters. In this show, with Dr. Hope Elizabeth May who founded The Bertha von Suttner Project in 2013 (berthavonsuttner.com), we discuss some of the features of the book, with a focus on the contents of the first 3 chapters.