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Moralism and Reproduction: Ten Infringements of Liberty
One of the great success stories of British science in the last 30 years was the introduction of In Vitro Fertilisation by Steptoe and Edwards in 1978. They should have won the Nobel Prize. Around 3% of babies are now born after IVF. Testing of and experimentation on early human embryos offers great prospects for…
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Ad usum Delphini: should we Bowdlerize children’s books?
The Ture Sventon books are a series of Swedish children’s detective stories written by Åke Holmberg 1948-1973. They are locally well-known and appreciated, but henceforth Ture Sventon i Paris (1953) will likely not be republished. The reason is that the publisher Rabén & Sjögren wanted to remove the word “neger” in the book, and the…
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Will the protection of animals be left to corporations?
There is a pair of interesting stories connected to animal ethics in the media at the moment. One is an exposé of bad practices that persist in many British abattoirs — a mix of cruelty and sloppiness that is against the rules but happens regardless. The other is an exposé on the bad effects of…
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Reminder: Everyday philosophy
Quick reminder of a forthcoming talk at the Oxford Playhouse on the 11th February, given by Philosophy Bites author Nigel Warburton: What is philosophy? Who needs it? Writer and podcaster Nigel Warburton, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the Open University, discusses the relevance of philosophy to life today. From questions about the limits of free…
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All between the ears? Homeopathy and experimental treatments for chronic fatigue syndrome
On Monday, Belgian endocrinologist Francis Coucke appeared before the ‘Orde van Geneesheren’, a national body responsible for enforcing standards within the medical profession. Dr Coucke risks a two year suspension from the profession because his treatment (mainly hormone treatment) of patients with the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has been deemed non-scientific: it has not been…
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‘Spend a day with Charlie Teo’
Over the last few days the Australian media has been covering Sydney based Charlie Teo’s auction of ring side seats in his operating theatre. The auction is reported as raising about $1500 for a children’s cancer charity and while this might raise some eyebrows Teo has been clear about his commitment to ensuring that patient…
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You want to publish? Let’s hear all your dirty secrets
Most scientific journals demand declarations by their contributors of any actual or potential conflicts of interests. In the case of contributors to ethics journals, everything about the contributor raises a potential conflict of interest. What’s to be done?
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The Ethics of Gamification: Little Rewards for Everything
Notice that the first word of this post is red. Point your mouse cursor at the words as you read them, and each subsequent word will be marked as ‘read’. You are now being graded on how quickly you read these words. And there’s a little reward in store for anyone who reads the first…
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Forgiveness: respect, autonomy and sovereignty
by Shlomit Harrosh Five years ago Joanne Nodding was violently raped by a man she knew. As part of a restorative justice programme, she has recently met with the man at her own request and with his consent. Nodding told him of her experiences during the attack and of its effects on her family. The…
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Solving the Puzzle of the Moral Status of the Embryo and Fetus
In March 2006, 21 yo Cleveland man Christopher Challancin was driving home from a party with his 17 yo girlfriend, Jessica Karos. She was 4 months pregnant. They began to argue about her ability to care for their child. Challancin, who had been drinking, became angry. He began to weave high speed through traffic and…