Watch your words! The challenges of law around the end of life
by Dominic Wilkinson Here in South Australia last week, a bill has been proposed to clarify the legal status of advance directives. One very small part of that bill involves a modification to an older palliative care act. The modification c…
Read MoreTechnology is outrunning science
It’s a common trope that our technology is outrunning our wisdom: we have great technological power, so the argument goes, but not the wisdom to use it. Forget wisdom: technology is outrunning science! We have great technological powe…
Read MoreThe Ban on Doping, Not Armstrong, Is the Problem with Cycling: Armstrong Is a Scapegoat for Cycling’s Hypocrisy
The International Cycling Union has stripped Lance Armstrong of his 7 Tour de France wins . UCI president Pat McQuaid said: “Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling. He deserves to be forgotten.” The UCI is acting in response to…
Read MoreCharles Camosy versus Julian Savulescu on the Ethics of Abortion
When a believer and a secularist meet to discuss abortion, the result is often a disaster. After a few minutes of polite conversation, they start talking past each other, each failing to appreciate the deep concerns and genuine aspirations …
Read MoreRoman Catholic doctrine and abortion
Vice-President Biden is a Roman Catholic. In the recent debate with Paul Ryan he was asked his view of abortion and he said I accept my church’s position on abortion…. Life begins at conception. That’s the church’s judgment. I accept it in …
Read MoreArmstrong and Hesch: A tale of two athletes
Last week, shockwaves went through the sporting media as Nike officially cut ties with Lance Armstrong and Armstrong stood down as chairman of his Livestrong charity in the light of a massive swathe of damning evidence released by USADA, th…
Read MoreWant to increase breastfeeding? Then shut up about how it saves money!
by Rebecca Roache UNICEF today announced research showing that increasing breastfeeding rates in the UK could save the NHS tens of millions of pounds. The report notes that investing more money in encouraging more mothers to breastfeed, and…
Read MoreConjoined Twins, Cloning and Artificial Intelligence
Rosie and Ruby Formasa at 12 weeks are two ‘normal, smiling bubbly babies’. But they have already survived major surgery, just one day after their birth. Conjoined at the abdomen at the level of the umbilicus, the girls shared an intestine.…
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Religious vs. secular ethics and a note about respect
By Brian Earp See Brian’s most recent previous post by clicking here. See all of Brian’s previous posts by clicking here. Follow Brian on Twitter by clicking here. This is a rough draft of a lecture delivered on October 1st, 2012, at the 12…
Read MoreThe most important unsolved problems in ethics (Or, How to be a high impact philosopher, part III)
In 1900 the mathematician David Hilbert published a list of 23 of the most important unsolved problems in mathematics. This list heavily influenced mathematical research over the 20th century: if you worked on one of Hilbert’s problems, the…
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