Espionage receives a historical and ethical treatment at the next Tea & Ethics discussion series on Friday, Oct. 26, at 3:30 p.m. in Johnson Auditorium. Free tea and snacks will be offered 30 minutes prior to the discussion. The event is free and open to the public.

The lecture will focus on espionage at the government, corporate and individual levels and examine why it may be necessary. Questions such as whether espionage is ever morally justified and what kinds of actions count as espionage will provide the framework for the discussion.

Coastal Carolina University professor Jonathan Smith, also the director of the Intelligence and National Security Studies Program, will lead the discussion, along with Jonathan Trerise, an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. Smith is a 23-year veteran of the U.S. Naval Reserve, where he served as an intelligence officer. He received a master's degree in international studies and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of South Carolina.

Trerise earned a masters and Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Missouri at Columbia and a bachelor's in philosophy from California State University, Fullerton. His interests include the political and applied ethics aspects of philosophy.

The James J. Johnson Auditorium is located in the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business and Administration at 119 Chanticleer Drive E. in Conway.

The discussion is sponsored by the Jackson Family Center for Ethics and Values. For more information, visit www.coastal.edu/jacksoncenter or call at 843-349-4149.