Audi and Kamen to Lecture in November

Nov. 17 is shaping up to be a great day for guest speakers at the Wake Forest University Schools of Business.

Robert Audi, a professor and author, will lecture at 3:30 pm on Egoism, Altruism and Objectism as Ethical Standards in Business. He will lecture at Carswell 111 (Annenburg).

Ambition is often considered essential for success in business. Is it anything more than disguised greed? Can the right kind of ambition be a virtue? Is ambition compatible with altruism, or does altruism entail self-sacrifice that deserves the condemnation we seem to find in, for instance, Ayn Rand? Might altruism be an ideal for the religious side of life, but unrealistic in business? How are these traits-ambition, greed, and altruism, related to trust? Does leadership depend on any of them-or on trust?

Audi is the author of 13 books, including the recently published, "Business Ethics and Ethical Business," and more than 200 papers in journals and edited volumes. He is a past president of the American Philosophical Association and has served as general editor of the First Edition (1995) and Second Edition (1999) of The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy.

Audi's talk will end in time for the next speaker.

At 5 pm, Dean Kamen, the founder of DEKA Research and Development, will speak as part of the ongoing Broyhill Executive Lecture Series. His lecture will be at Worrell 1312.

In his talk, “Personal Passion Changes the World,” Dean will discuss his various inventions and work, including a new water purification system. Kamen is an inventor, an entrepreneur, and a tireless advocate for science and technology. He invented the “Segway,” “AutoSyringe,” a new type of mobile dialysis system for medical applications, the first insulin pump, and an all-terrain electric wheelchair known as the iBOT.

For more information, contact Joanne Davidson at davijc@wfu.edu.