Bismarck Think & Drink: The Veil of Ignorance

Bismarck Think & Drink: The Veil of Ignorance

Featuring Dan Sportiello

Emcee, Todd Van Orman

Sunday, April 6

3:30-4:30 pm CT

5th Underground (below Peacock Alley), Bismarck

Is our economy fair? Would your answer to this question change were you to be randomly reassigned to another rung on the economic ladder? The philosopher John Rawls famously asked this question in his Theory of Justice. In this session, we'll put his answer to the test, constructing our own mini-economies from behind what he called the "Veil of Ignorance"; in doing so, we'll discuss markets, redistribution, sustainability, and to what extent we're really free.

Think & Drink events are a great alternative to your usual coffee catch-up with friends or even an interesting date idea! We’ll start with a presentation from our speaker and then you’ll have the chance to join in on discussions at your table, sharing thoughts and ideas with others. Each ticket includes one complimentary drink.

SPEAKER BIO:

Dan Sportiello is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Mary in North Dakota, where he won the Outstanding Faculty Award in 2020. He earned his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame in 2015. Prior to this, he won two other teaching awards and served as a Graduate Fellow at the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study. He lives in Bismarck with his wife and three children. In his research, he is interested in the ways that ethics intersects with other subfields of philosophy; he's also interested in questions about artificial intelligence. In his teaching, he shows his students that philosophy addresses the questions and concerns that they already have—the same questions and concerns that make them human; this means, of course, that philosophy is an expression of our condition—but also that it is a tool to interrogate that condition, to reorder our society and ourselves.

EMCEE BIO:

Todd Van Orman, MBA, BFA is a Professor of Finance and Economics at the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND. He earned his undergraduate degree in Banking and Financial Economics from the University of North Dakota, and his MBA from the University of Mary. Prior to joining the faculty at UMary, Todd worked for 15+ years in the financial industry. He has served on a number of boards throughout his career, including as a current member of the North Dakota State Investment Board Audit Committee, and previously as the Vice Chairman of the Bismarck Renaissance Zone Authority. Todd loves reading and traveling, and is an avid (fellow) lifelong learner.

HND VALUE STATEMENT:

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or Humanities North Dakota. However, in an increasingly polarized world, we at Humanities North Dakota believe that being open-minded is necessary to thinking critically and rationally. Therefore, our programs and classes reflect our own open-mindedness in the inquiry, seeking, and acquiring of scholars to speak at our events and teach classes for our Public University. To that end, we encourage our participants to join us in stepping outside our comfort zones and considering other perspectives and ideas by being open-minded while attending HND events featuring scholars who hold a variety of opinions, some being opposite of our own held beliefs.

Humanities North Dakota classes and events are funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities