The Cultural Cost of Placebo
A recent poll says that nearly all General Practitioners in the UK have given placebos to at least one of their patients. The story can be seen here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21834440 Everyone loves placebos. If you are a sci…
Read MoreJulian Savulescu and Robert Sparrow debate the ethics of designer babies
Last year, Julian Savulescu of the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics here at Oxford debated Robert Sparrow of Monash University on the issue of using techniques like embryo selection to ensure one’s children have the best life possible. S…
Read MoreAnnouncement: Journal of Medical Ethics – Special Issue on Circumcision
The Ethics of Male Circumcision by Brian D. Earp. Special Issue Edited by Julian Savulescu, Brian D. Earp and Bennett Foddy. The Journal of Medical Ethics is pleased to announce the forthcoming release of a Special Issue, ‘The Ethics of Mal…
Read MoreMale Circumcision and the Enhancement Debate: Harm Reduction, Not Prohibition
This blog is a brief response to ‘Out of Step: Fatal Flaws in the Latest AAP Policy Report on Neonatal Circumcision’ by Steven Svoboda and Robert Van Howe, and the AAP Task Force on Circumcision’s Response. This is part of…
Read MoreSponsoring student adventures, with added charity.
Last weekend’s work was greatly enlivened for me by keeping track of the updates for Trinity Jailbreak. The challenge: 37 student teams had 36 hours to get as far from Trinity College Dublin as possible, without spending any money. They wer…
Read MoreA reply to ‘Facebook: You are your ‘Likes”
Yesterday, Charles Foster discussed the recent study showing that Facebook ‘Likes’ can be plugged into an algorithm to predict things about people – things about their demographics, their habits and their personalities – that they didn’t ex…
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Brief announcement: Interview about ‘love drugs’ on “Q” with Jian Ghomeshi
By Brian D. Earp Interview announcement This is a brief note to alert the readers of Practical Ethics that research by myself, Anders Sandberg, and Julian Savulescu on the potential therapeutic uses of “love drugs” and “an…
Read MoreKyle Edwards: Methods of Legitimation: How Ethics Committees Decide Which Reasons Count (Podcast)
The most recent St. Cross Ethics Seminar took place on February 28th, 2013. Kyle Edwards, who is currently a DPhil Candidate at Oxford, led it. Her informative and compelling presentation was entitled “Methods of Legitimation: How Ethics Co…
Read MoreFacebook: You are your ‘Likes’
By Charles Foster When you click ‘Like’ on Facebook, you’re giving away a lot more than you might think. Your ‘Likes’ can be assembled by an algorithm into a terrifyingly accurate portrait. Here are the chances of an accurate prediction: Si…
Read MorePractical Ethics and Philosophy
It is now quite common to draw distinctions between three types of philosophical ethics. Practical ethics is meant to concern substantive moral issues facing many of us each day, such as abortion or climate change.
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