Geoffrey Claussen, assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies, co-chaired the program committee for the annual meeting of the Society of Jewish Ethics, held in Washington, D.C. from Jan. 6-8. The keynote speaker for the program was Michael Walzer, a renowned professor, author, and just war theorist, who spoke on the topic of “Conceptions of Peace in the Hebrew Bible.”
Other featured sessions included a panel on Judaism and bioethics with leading bioethicists Ezekiel Emanuel, Tom Beauchamp and Elliot Dorff.
The Society of Jewish Ethics meeting was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Society of Christian Ethics and the Society for the Study of Muslim Ethics. One session brought together scholars from all three societies on the topic of “Recent Trends in Thinking about War.”
Claussen, who serves on the Board of Directors of the Society of Jewish Ethics, also presented some of his own recent research on the virtues required of policymakers deciding on questions of military intervention.