Biomedical enhancement and the need for more precise conceptions
Much of the discussion about biomedical enhancements is about arguing whether some biomedical enhancement would, or would not be a good, ethical, or efficient means for enhancing a particular human characteristic. In this blog and in other …
Read MoreWas it the State?
Two months ago today in Mexico, on September 26, María de los Ángeles Pineda, wife of the former mayor of Iguala, José Luis Abarca, prepared to give a speech in which she was to report on her work as president of the local public institutio…
Read MoreLying to children
A study published this month shows that school-aged children are more likely to lie to an adult if that adult had recently lied to them. The British Psychological Society’s Research Digest summarizes the study here. Hays and Carver took sch…
Read MoreThe Wrongness of Do Not Resuscitate Orders Being Ignored
Guest Post by Joseph Bowen Joseph is a BPhil Student studying at Oxford University. Following a surprise inspection of Colchester General Hospital by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on Friday 14th November, it was reported that inspectors…
Read MoreWhat Kind of Altruism is Most Effective?
Imagine that you have been left a large legacy, and would like to donate it to a charity, with a view to doing the most good possible. It’s natural to think that one set of charities you should consider are those which cheaply save people’s…
Read MoreThe ethics of DocAdvisor: Is accountability always a good thing?
Dominic Wilkinson @NeonatalEthics In the news this morning, the NHS has released data on individual surgeons’ performance, so called “surgeon report cards”. This represents the latest move towards increased transparency and accountab…
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Cognitive enhancement, legalising opium, and cognitive biases
Suppose you want to enhance your cognition. A scientist hands you two drugs. Drug X has at least 19 controlled studies on the healthy individual showing it is effective, and while a handful of studies report a slight increase in blood press…
Read MoreShould men be allowed to discuss abortion?
@JimACEverett www.jimaceverett.com Feminists are kicking up quite a storm in Oxford at the moment. Oxford Students for Life have organized a debate on abortion to happen tomorrow (the 18th November, 2014), which has inspired some rather tr…
Read MoreOne Million Readers: Thank You
We are pleased to have reached our one millionth reader since our records began. Thank you to all our authors, guest posters, readers and commentators who have supported the blog over a number of years. And thanks to reader one million, who…
Read MoreA Methodological Worry for ‘Top Down’ Accounts of Human Rights
The language of human rights is pervasive both in academic literature and international legal practice. We often take the satisfaction of human rights to be a necessary condition for a state’s legitimacy, and the failure of a state to respe…
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