Speaking & Workshops
Possible Topics for Talks and Workshops

Below I list a few topics on which I am ready to speak and offer workshops. I am of course happy to discuss other topics that might be of interest to you.

• 3001. Is our civilization facing collapse, or can it survive until 3001? How can we avoid collapse? What would civilization look like in 3001, if we succeeded?


• AM I MY BRAIN? Or my mind? My body? Or both? Do the brain's diverse bodily, motor, psychological, and social support systems make us who we are? How?


• IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) POSSIBLE? Already computers have powerful memory, learning, and control powers. But can a computer simulate all our intelligences? Will the day come that you can make a pass at a cyborg? And a robot makes a pass at you?


• PRIVACY, do you have any? And, Who really is Big Brother? Equifax, Facebook, Google or Government?


• A ZERO ETHIC started with Hippocrates' famous maxim: 'First Do No Harm.' And now need to apply it to the environment and other species. It also means Zero Waste / no garbage; instead, total recycling. And a new sustainable steady state economy.


• MARKETS AND ETHICS ~ Trade, Communication and other mutually beneficial exchanges. The Silk Road and the Ethics of trade.


• TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION ~ from fire and axes to optics, printing cars, contraception, computers and the Internet. From tools and technologies to technology networks and fields. Their benefits and risks are often unpredictable.


• CICERO, CAESAR AND DEMOCRACY. Cicero opposed Julius Caesar's dictatorship because it threatened Rome's democratic republic. But the republic was weakened by years of civil war, and the emperor dictators kept Rome going for another 400 years. So who was right: Cicero or Caesar?

NOTE: I am happy to work with groups to ensure my remarks are helpful and relevant to their interests. Normally a talk plus discussion takes from 45 minutes to an hour. There will also be handouts for the audience / workshop participants. While I normally use Power Point for my presentation, I can work without it. Pleased contact me re fees.

~ Everything flows. Heraclitus of Ephesus. 500 BC ~



Past Speaking Engagements

• Darwin, Ethics and God. Public Lecture in honour of the Bicentenary of Darwin's birth, to the University of Toronto Mississauga Freethought Association on February 12. Also presented in the Georgian College Think talk Series on Jan. 29, and to the Barrie Humanists Association on Feb. 25, 2009.


• Views of Egypt. To Barrie Art Club. Feb. 5. 2009.


• Intellectual Property and the Entrepreneurial Academe. York University Brown Bag Lecture. 21 January, 2003.


• Ethics in Business. Georgian Learning Institute, Collingwood, Ontario. 8 October, 1999.


• The I of the Storm-Ethics in Politics. Georgian Learning Institute, Collingwood, Ontario. 29 October, 1999


• The Social Market and Social Democracy. Social Marketing and Entrepreneurship Institute. Centra Hotel, Auckland, New Zealand. 15 April, 1998


• Information System Ethics. Presented to the Graduate School of Management in The University of Western Australia, in Perth, Australia. 3 April, 1998.


• Ethical Problem-Solving in Business. Presented to the Department of Management of The University of Newcastle, in Newcastle, Australia. 8 April, 1998.


• Environmental Ethics in Technical Settings. To environmental technicians and local environmental technical personnel. Sault College, Eliot Lake. Campus. 25 January, 1995.


• Environmental Policy: An Approach Appropriate to Developing Countries. (Manejo Ambiental: Un Enfoque Apropriado a Paises en Desarollo.) INMADI. The Institute for Investigation into the Environment and Industrial Development. (Instituto y Investigacion Sobre Medio Ambiente y Desarollo Industrial). Museo de la Nacion. Lima, Peru. 6 May, 1994 .


• Sustainable Development and Environmental Management in Mining. (Desarollo Sustenible y Manejo Ambiental en la Mineria.) The National Club for Mining and Petroleum in Peru (Sociedad Nacional de la Mineria y Petroleo de Peru). Lima, Peru. 4 May, 1994.


• Ethics and Controlling Technological Systems. National Association for Science, Technology and Society 6th Annual Technological Literacy Conference. Washington DC. 2 February, 1991.


• Ethics in Technology Management. MBA Women's Association of Toronto, Toronto. 21 February, 1991.


• Training and Literacy. Sudbury Skills and Training Network. Cambrian College. Sudbury, Ontario. 11 December, 1991.


• Biomedical Waste and Environmental Ethics. Sudbury and District Medical Association. 21 November, 1991.


• Professional Ethics in Occupational Health and Safety. Occupational Hygiene Association of Ontario. Annual meeting. 28 March, 1990.


• Privacy in the Information Age: do you have any? Talk sponsored by the Centre for Society, Technology and Values. University of Waterloo. 16 January, 1990.


• Innis on Oral and Literate cultures. Culture and Technology Literacy Series. McLuhan Program, University of Toronto. 1 April, 1985.

Workshops Given

• Ethical Issues in Technological Change. Organizational Values and Ethics Workshop Series. Stephen Maguire, Director. Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, Ottawa. 12-13 February , 2003.


• Ethical Problem Solving Workshop. Presented at IIPE/EPAC Conference. Ottawa. 28 September, 2001


• Human Resource Management and Ethical Problem-Solving. Presented to the New Zealand Association of Human Resource Professionals. At University of Auckland Business School, Auckland, New Zealand. 25 May, 1998.


• Business and Society in the 21st Century. Co-leader of workshop with Sandra Waddock. International Association of Business and Society. Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. 11 June, 1998.


• EthicScan Conference For Ethics Officers And Practitioners: Ethics Essentials 1995. Co-Presenter with David Nitkin and Len Brooks of EthicScan. 12 June, 1995.


• Enhancing Ethical Management in Canadian Corporations: Trends, Techniques, Challenges. Co Presenter with David Nitkin, Suzanne Jackson and David Powell of EthicScan. 22 November, 1994.


• Media Ethics. Presented at the Canadian Radio Television News Directors Association, annual conference. Sudbury. 15 May, 1988.


• Ethics Management. For the Canadian Society for Association Executives. Annual Convention. St. John, N.B. 12 August, 1987.