The Work
In 2007 Barack Obama was asked about the 20th century American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. His response was as enthusiastic as it was surprising, “I love him. He's one of my favorite philosophers”. Obama had studied international affairs and so he would have come across Niebuhr’s later work, The Irony of American History. In the short book Niebuhr explores how he understands the way in which Christians should engage in political, and international, affairs. Niebuhr’s starting point is that there is serious evil in the world, leading to hardship and pain which should not be underestimated. However this should not lead us to apathy or resignation, rather we should seek to do good whilst being realists about the world in which we live. Many commentators have spotted frequent references to Niebuhr’s realism in Obama’s speeches.
Speaker
David Carpenter is a lay member of the Chapter of Portsmouth Cathedral. He is a retired moral and political philosopher who worked at the University of Portsmouth for 30 years. David now works as an independent consultant and trainer in research ethics but most of his time is consumed by voluntary work with several clinical and research ethics committees. He is Chair of South Central Berkshire NHS Research Ethics Committee which has reviewed many COVID-19 studies including all the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine studies.
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