Sydney Ideas

Aristotle (384-322 BC), together with his teacher Plato, is one of the most widely recognised and studied philosophers of all times. His work established the fundamental traditions of rationalism and scientific logic. It is also a bridge that links ancient paganism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam and many modern philosophical, political and religious movements. In this lecture, Professor Vrasidas Karalis, offers a brief presentation of Aristotle's life, work and thought, focusing on his political and ethical ideas. It will attempt an evaluation of his continuing significance in the context of contemporary cultural pluralism and philosophical diversity.

The growth in foundations and philanthropic giving in Australia draws on a rich tradition in American culture. Two of America's leading voices on philanthropic giving discuss the effective philanthropy. Stephen Heintz, president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund addresses the question of philanthropy’s responsibility to communities and to society. Philanthropy, he says, cannot rely simply on the presumption that it will always automatically be seen as inherently good, but must think about the broader consequences of its decisions and actions. Bradford K. Smith, the president of the Foundation Center of New York details the past, current and future trends and organizations involved in US foundation giving in Australia. He demonstrates the values of openness and availability of philanthropic data for advancing the social sector through more effective philanthropy.

Assoc Professor Abbas El-Zein, School of Civil Engineering, University of Sydney and Tayanah O’Donnell, University of Canberra discuss the complexities associated with rising sea levels and the decision-making being made at a municipal level.

The idea of “East” and “West” as immutable and irreconcilable cultures, geographies and civilisations has been around for a long while. It has been used in various guises to imagine a “Middle East” that is the antithesis of – and inferior to – the “West” in values, practices and ideas. Arab migration to the “West” profoundly undermines this persistent argument, and the peregrinations of millions of Arab migrants lays bare its inherent contradictions. This talk by Professor Akram Khater (Director of the Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies, North Carolina State University) explores how Arab migration to the US shaped both the Middle East and the US, and tied them together inexorably through the movement of people, ideas and commodities over the past 150 years.

Guided by experimental tests of theory and practice, science and engineering have advanced rapidly in the past 500 years. Guided primarily by tradition and dogma, science education meanwhile has remained largely medieval. Research on how people learn is now revealing much more effective ways to teach, learn, and evaluate learning than what is in use in the traditional science class. SPEAKER: Professor Carl Wieman holds a joint appointment as Professor of Physics and of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. He has done extensive experimental research in both atomic physics and science education at the university level. Wieman has received numerous awards recognizing his work in atomic physics, including the Nobel Prize in physics in 2001 for the first creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate. He served as Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House in 2010-12. More info: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/professor_carl_weiman.shtml

Cancer is the most studied phenomenon in biology, with over a million published papers, yet it remains poorly understood. In the USA alone, more than a trillion dollars has been spent on cancer research, but mortality rates remain little changed in several decades. Maybe progress is so slow because we are thinking about the problem the wrong way? For the 2015 Charles Perkins Centre Oration, celebrated theoretical physicist, cosmologist, astrobiologist and author, Professor Paul Davies proposes that by regarding cancer as an ancient biological phenomenon, as opposed to a modern disease, new approaches to therapy can be suggested. A Sydney Ideas event held on 4 December 2015 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2015/professor_paul_davies.shtml

On 11 November 1975 the Prime Minister of Australia, Gough Whitlam was dismissed from office by the Queens Representative in Australia, Governor-General Sir John Kerr. Three scholars share their research on the long-lasting impact of the ‘The Dismissal’ on Australian legal and political life. Hosted by Andrew West, broadcaster and presenter of ABC Radio National’s Ethics and Religion Report. Panellists: Dr Harshan Kumarasingham, University of London; Professor Anne Twomey, University of Sydney; Associate Professor James Curran, University of Sydney. For more info and speakers’ biography see this page: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2015/dismissal_40_years_forum.shtml

Melanoma is known throughout Australia, however, it is only when our family or ourselves are directly impacted that we realise the seriousness of this type of skin cancer. Professor Graham Mann and Associate Professor Georgina Long explain firsthand the science behind the latest immunotherapy treatment for melanoma which has been heralded as "the most important development in the treatment of this disease ever and a landmark in terms of cancer treatment in general". This innovative treatment has seen life-expectancy rates triple and has made waves in the science and medical worlds. Professor Mann and Associate Professor Long also provides details of the University of Sydney's world-class melanoma program. This includes the Melanoma Research Database - containing information on over 40,000 patients' melanomas - and the ambitious Melanoma Genome Project that is mapping the entire genome of 500 melanomas. A Sydney Ideas co-presented with the Sydney Cancer Research Network event held on 10 November 2015 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2015/melanoma.shtml

Bassem Youssef - credited as a key figure in the Arab Spring - is a global icon of freedom of expression and political satire. Despite its immense popularity, in June 2014 Youssef had to end his TV satire show, Al Bernameg, and leave Egypt due to continued threats and harassment. Bassem Youssef joins The Chaser’s Chris Taylor for a conversation about the perils and power of laughing at politicians. For more info and speaker's biography see this page: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2015/bassem_youssef_and_the_chaser.shtml

Sydney Ideas partnered with the Confucius Institute to present Liu Cixin, leading contemporary Chinese science fiction writer, and recent winner of the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel. In an exclusive and rare appearance outside China, Cixin talks about his visions of modern China.