Mahatma GandhiMahatma Gandhi“Gandhi’s Satyagraha as the Keystone for Human Ecology” will detail Gandhi’s method, as well as the philosophy underlying it, and will explain how it provides a model for dealing with issues at the local, national, and international levels.

The talk takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 3, in McCormick Lecture Hall, beginning at 4:10 p.m.

Gandhi’s methods are especially relevant in the environment of moral relativism so prevalent in the world today, Cox said.

“By using Gandhi’s Satyagraha, one can testify to the moral truth in a way that will be heard by, and melt the heart of, the opponent,” Cox said. “Gandhi’s method provides a way of demonstrating objective moral truths, by providing a witness to those values that is backed up by a readiness for self sacrifice.”

Cox is a professor of peace studies at COA, a scholar of Gandhi, and the author of “The Ways of Peace: a Philosophy of Peace as Action,” published by Paulist Press. He co-taught “The Moral Arc of the Universe” for Acadia Senior College in the fall of 2014, and this winter is slated to appear on the panel “New Creative Interpretations and Reformulations of Gandhi for 2016” at Gandhirama, in India.

Cox’s latest paper, which is related to Gandhi’s method, is entitled “Reframing Ethical Theory, Pedagogy, and Legislation to Bias Open Source AGI Towards Friendliness and Wisdom.” The work has been accepted for publication by The Journal of Evolution and Technology

The Human Ecology Forum is a weekly speaker series based on the work of the academic community, which also draws on artists, poets, political, and religious leaders from around the world. The forum is open to the public and meets Tuesdays at 4:10 during the school term in the McCormick Lecture Hall.