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Kony 2012, Malaria and Pizza
Last week this blog mentioned the Kony 2012 video, and suggested that many of the criticisms of it were âdishonestâ in a particular sense, and biased. Criticisms of such a worthy cause, and other charities seeming to piggy-back on Kony 2012âs success, often meet with great anger. But such piggy-backing is entirely justifiable.
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Planet of the (Little) Apes
The Daily Mail has recently published an article entitled âPlanet of the (little) apes: Save the world by genetically engineering humans to be smaller, suggests NYU philosopher.â (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2114430/Save-planet-genetically-engineering-humans-smaller-suggests-NYU-philosopher.html) Â It is always good to see the Daily Mail covering philosophy and covering issues in applied ethics in particular. The NYU philosopher in question is former Uehiro…
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Which is least unethicalâbuying a Mac, or buying a PC?
Recent news stories have brought to public attention the fact that many Apple products, including iPhones, iPads, and Macs, are produced in part in factories with a record of using child labour, failing to provide safe work conditions, and requiring employees to work long shifts for low wages (see, for example, here, here, here and…
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How Tony Nicklinson Already Has the Right to Die
According to a BBC report, Tony Nicklinson, 58, from Melksham, Wiltshire, has “locked-in syndrome” after a stroke in 2005 and âis unable to carry out his own suicide.â âHe is seeking legal protection for any doctor who helps him end his life.â In fact, it is not quite correct that Tony Nicklinson âis unable to…
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Free Speech: Some Comments
The issue of free speech has been directly addressed by at least one recent post   and raised during the course of a number of other discussions. So, here are some of my own observations on the subject. 1       As a rough generalisation, I would say that those who discuss the subject tend to fall into…
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Kony 2012 and Saying What You Mean
Kony 2012 has become the highest profile issue of international justice on social media by far. For those without a Facebook account, Kony 2012 is a slick 30-minute YouTube film about Joseph Kony, leader of the Lords Resistance Army. The video explicitly seeks to mobilise support for efforts to arrest Kony, who has been indicted…
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Arbitrary Execution: Why the Law Needs Help from Neuroscience, Psychology and Philosophy
On February 29th, 2012, Robert Henry Moormann was executed in Arizona for murder. Back in 1984, he was in prison for kidnapping and molesting an eight year old girl, when the state gave him three days of compassionate leave. His elderly adoptive mother took a long bus trip to go and meet him. After an…
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Is it OK to have an affair if your partner is asexual?
I am desperate to start a sexual relationship with an old acquaintance but his wife, who has no interest in sex, would be appalled if she knew. Does that matter? I read this in the Guardianâs âLife & Styleâ section. Every week, a reader can present a dilemma she/he is faced with in her/his âprivateâ…
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ASSASSINATING CITIZENS: How not to fight terror
By Brian Earp See Brian’s most recent previous post by clicking here. See all of Brian’s previous posts by clicking here. In this ‘hour’ of danger: Civil liberties and the eternal threat of terror NBCâs Pete Williams reports: The U.S. government is legally justified in killing its own citizens overseas if they are involved in…