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Gay marriage is topic of ethics lecture

Nov. 21, 2006

KALAMAZOO--A professor of philosophy will offer his views on why homosexuals ought to have the right to marry during a presentation Thursday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. in Room 242 of the Bernhard Center at Western Michigan University.

Dr. Russ Shafer-Landau, professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, will share his views that those who oppose gay marriage are relying on arguments that do not withstand scrutiny. His presentation, "In Defense of Gay Marriage," is sponsored by the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society and is open to the public free of charge.

Shafer-Landau will offer a central argument on behalf of gay marriage and then critically analyze the most popular arguments on the other side, with an eye to showing why they fail.

After receiving his doctorate from the University of Arizona, Shafer-Landau spent five years at the University of Kansas before arriving in Madison. He has published widely in various areas of moral theory and philosophy of law, including "Moral Realism: A Defense" and "Whatever Happened to Good and Evil," published by Oxford University Press in 2003 and 2004, respectively.

His visit to WMU is also supported by the WMU Visiting Scholar and Artists Program and the philosophy department.

Media contact: Mark Schwerin, (269) 387-8400, mark.schwerin@wmich.edu

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