Lifeboat Ethics: A Jewish Perspective
Recent events have highlighted medical issues relating to precedence of life. This presentation will examine Jewish ethical perspectives on a specific issue: Is it permissible to sacrifice a few innocent lives in order to save many? And if so, under what circumstances? By reviewing a famous case of lifeboat ethics – one that was adjudicated in an American court of law - we will examine some of the parallels and differences between American law and Jewish ethical teaching.
Presenter:
Dr. Shnayer Leiman
Distinguished Professor of Jewish History and Literature at Touro College, Graduate School of Jewish Studies
Dr. Leiman has served as Skirball Fellow in Judaic Studies at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies; Lady Davis Fellow and Visiting Professor of Bible at Hebrew University; and as Visiting Professor of Jewish History at Harvard University. He earned his doctorate from the Department of Oriental Studies at University of Pennsylvania and his rabbinical ordination from the Mirrer Yeshiva in New York.
Moderator:
Thane Rosenbaum
Novelist, Essayist, Distinguished University Professor at Touro College and Director of the Forum on Life Culture, and Society and Legal Analyst for CBS News Radio
Part of the online lecture series "Touro Talks" presented by Touro experts.
