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Against Equality
by Julian Savulescu Equality is an ideal born of the vice of envy, one of the seven deadly sins. But equality has no intrinsic value and panders to our vicious nature to be envious of others. Levelling down is absurd. And why level up if we can raise everyone, improving all of their lives instead…
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Critical Care ethics grand round
by Dominic Wilkinson Today I gave a talk at the John Radcliffe Medical Grand Round on Advance Directives and treatment withdrawal decisions in intensive care – based on a case I was involved in last year. A middle-aged patient presents with acute respiratory failure, and is intubated and transferred to the intensive care unit. After…
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Drugs in sport debate: Proposer’s update
by Julian Savulescu So far, there has been no debate. I agree entirely with nearly all John William’s points. The topic is “Performance Enhancing Drugs Should Be Allowed in Sport.” It is not “All Performance Enhancing Drugs Should Be Allowed in Sport.” I have argued that some should according to certain criteria, including being consistent…
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Religion, Tolerance and Intolerance Conference resources available online
The AHRC-Funded 'Science and Religious Conflict' Project team here at Oxford (www.src.ox.ac.uk) is pleased to announce that resources from our recent conference on 'Religion, Tolerance and Intolerance', held at Oxford 17-19 May are now available online at http://www.bep.ox.ac.uk/archive_events_data/religion_and_tolerance_conference_may_2010 This includes audio files of all talks, and several PowerPoint presentations.The audio files are also available as podcasts from…
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Drugs in sport debate: Proposer’s response to comments
by Julian Savulescu two early comments on the online debate website raise concerns about allowing performance enhancing drugs in sport:
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Whether to die, or when to die? The distinction between assisted suicide and ‘aid in dying’
Assisted suicide is illegal in the state of Connecticut. But two doctors have sought to circumvent the law by requesting that the administration of lethal agents to terminally ill patients be classed as “aid in dying” rather than assisted suicide. The doctors’ lawyers reportedly drew the distinction as follows: "Suicide is a choice of whether…
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Oxford Debates — Performance-Enhancing Drugs Should be Allowed in Sport — Moderator’s Opening Statement
Oxford Online Debates by Roger Crisp Taking drugs to improve one’s sporting performance seems, on the face of it, a paradigmatic example of a wrong action. It combines two activities usually considered shameful: the use of banned substances, and cheating. But on closer inspection the issue is more complicated. The use of some drugs, such…
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Oxford Debates – Performance enhancing drugs should be allowed in sport – Opposer’s opening statement
Oxford Online Debates by John William Devine In just over two years the world’s elite athletes will descend on the U.K. for London 2012. Should these athletes be permitted to use performance enhancing drugs or should the fight to eliminate such drugs from sport continue? The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) maintains that the use of…
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Oxford Debates – Performance enhancing drugs should be allowed in sport – Proposer’s opening statement
[This is the first post in the Trinity term Oxford University Online Debate. Feel free to comment on any of the debate either at this blog or over at the official debate website. Votes can be cast after the concluding statements – between 5th and 9th July] by Julian Savulescu Two great sporting events are…
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Is it any of your doctor’s business whether you text and drive?
by Dominic Wilkinson "Absolutely!" is the answer of Boston physician Amy Ship writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, and interviewed over at the LA Times blog. She includes questions about seatbelts and phone use while driving in her routine questions for patients