-
Panopticon Problems: Purists rather than Privacy?
Would a transparent society where we could all watch each other be a better society? A recent paper has made me wonder whether the big problem might not be privacy, but purists.
-
What is it like to be a bee?
Do bees have feelings? What would that mean? And if they do have feelings, how should we treat them? Do we have a moral obligation toward insects? Honeybees “exhibit pessimism” according to a recent study published in Current Biology, and summarized in this Wired Science article. Pay attention to the Wired headline – “Honeybees might have…
-
Choosing To Die
Matthew Rallison is a sixth-form student who is visiting the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics for his work experience placement. Sir Terry Pratchett’s documentary, “Choosing to die” and the recent deaths of Ann McPherson and Jack Kevorkian (inventor of the Mercitron) have recently raised the debate of the legalisation of euthanasia, alongside criticism of…
-
Uterine transplants: applaud, and then shut up
By Charles Foster It was reported this week that 56 year old Eva Ottosson is planning to give her 25 year old daughter, Sara, the uterus in which Sara herself gestated. Sara suffers from Mayer Rokitanksy Kustner Hauser Syndrome: she was born without a uterus. Predictably the newspapers loved it. And, equally predictably, clever people…
-
What is my “true self”?
Joshua Knobe has got a very interesting piece in the New York Times in which he discusses the ideas of authenticity and the “true self” and their normative implications. The starting point of his reflection is the case of evangelical preacher Mark Pierpont, known for his work as an activist encouraging homosexuals to seek a…
-
Sequel to ‘Human Centipede’ Refused Certification
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has refused to certify the sequel to the film the Human Centipede. I haven’t seen either film, though I was intrigued enough by the title of the first film to read the description when I was browsing in my local DVD store, though I immediately wished I hadn’t…
-
Announcement: Welcome to members of the International Neuroethics Society
We are pleased to welcome members of the International Ethics Society (INS), who are collaborating with us on the new Neuroethics blog. The new blog is co-located with our existing practical ethics blog, and all neuroethics articles will be automatically cross-posted between the two. You can access the neuroethics blog by clicking here. Martha Farah,…
-
The Savage in Us All
Many since the nineteenth century, including Ghandi and Churchill, have said that a society should be judged by how it treats its weakest members. They must be right – although of course it’s not the only relevant measure. The Panorama programme which uncovered the systematic abuse of highly vulnerable people by staff at the Winterbourne…
-
Excitement vs Importance: Do we have any sense of proportion?
When I was choosing a topic to write about today, I almost passed over a story on the grounds of it being too boring. It was about a large corporate donation of vaccines for developing countries — much less exciting than some other stories, such as the outbreak of killer bacteria in Germany. But then…
-
Should the Danish Ban on Marmite be Spread?
It has been widely reported that Denmark has banned the sale of Marmite, a move that has shocked and outraged many Britons who love Marmite. Similarly, many Australians have been shocked and outraged by reports of a Danish ban on Vegemite. These reports are somewhat inaccurate. Companies that wish to market products that are fortified…