A Reading of Dr. Ahmed Zayed's Book The Question of Ethics in the Project of Modernity at Cairo International Book Fair
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As part of the events of the 57th Cairo International Book Fair, the “Writer and Book” hall hosted this evening a seminar to discuss the book The Question of Ethics in the Project of Modernity: The Controversy of Presence and Absence by Dr. Ahmed Zayed. Speakers included Dr. Ahmed Zayed, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina; Dr. Hassan Hammad, Professor of Modern Philosophy at Zagazig University; Dr. Mohamed El-Sayed, Professor of Philosophy of Science; and Dr. Abdullah Shalabi. The seminar was moderated by Dr. Samia Qadri, Professor of Sociology, and was attended by a host of intellectuals and thinkers.
Dr. Ahmed Zayed said that human actions, however great or small, should not be exaggerated at the expense of daily life, stressing that the focus should be on the impact of ethics and behavior on lived experience.
He explained that writing in the social sciences should be understood as an experimental process, similar to artistic or theatrical work, where experience and practice are more important than strict rules. He also noted that his interest in issues of ethics and values began nearly twenty years ago in light of common challenges related to technological systems, multinational investments, and standards of treatment within changing work environments.
He said that despite the presence of ethics in public and private discussions, it is often absent from daily practice, noting that the book seeks to build a real relationship between ethical knowledge and everyday reality, so that ethics has a tangible presence in individual and social life, away from theoretical symbolism of purely academic nature.