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# Practical Ethics

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## Posts

- [The UK plans to ban romantic AI chatbots for under-18s. Young people have bigger worries about AI.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2026/06/the-uk-plans-to-ban-romantic-ai-chatbots-for-under-18s-young-people-have-bigger-worries-about-ai/) - Written by Madeline G. Reinecke, David Lyreskog, Kathryn B. Francis, & Ilina Singh On June 15, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealed the government’s intentions to ban under-16s from accessing social media sites, like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. As part of this policy, "so-called AI 'romantic companion' chatbots – designed to simulate sexual relationships or
- [What do we mean by equity in global health?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2026/06/what-do-we-mean-by-equity-in-global-health/) - Part of the Network: Medical Humanities-Oxford Global Health: A Glossary for Global Health Written by Androulla Kyrillou (Oxford Global Health) The first Medical Humanities-Global Health Glossary Workshop brought together researchers from across disciplines to explore one of global health's most frequently used - and contested - concepts: equity. This question was at the heart of
- [Human Identity and Biotechnologies: special issue just published](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2026/05/human-identity-and-biotechnologies-special-issue-just-published/) - Alberto Giubilini, Andrew Moeller Crossposted from the TORCH Medical Humanities blog In 2024, the TORCH Medical Humanities Hub, in collaboration with the Stanford Boundaries of Humanity project and the Uehiro Oxford Institute, organized a conference on Biotechnology and Human Identity. The conference inspired a special issue of the journal Bioethics edited by the conference co-organizers
- [When Should we Argue?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2026/05/when-should-we-argue/) - by Professor Neil Levy; Cross-posted from Blog of the APA Don’t feed the trolls arguments. When someone is wrong—on the Internet or in the coffee shop—the temptation to engage can be strong, even though it often seems futile. While it can be satisfying and illuminating to argue with friends and some other people with whom
- [Community Iftar](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2026/04/community-iftar/) - Blog post by professor Roger Crisp On 12th March, I was delighted to be invited to attend the 4th Ramadan Community Iftar organized by the Dialogue Society in partnership with The Oxford Academy. The event involved a wonderfully diverse group of participants, including civic leaders, community and faith representatives, charity members, students, academics, parents, and
- [Some reflections on Elena Conis’ lecture “Contextualising the Modern Era of Vaccination”](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2026/04/some-reflections-on-elena-conis-lecture-contextualising-the-modern-era-of-vaccination/) - By Alberto Giubilini (Cross-posted from the TORCH Medical Humanities blogpost) It was a pleasure to host Professor Elena Conis (UC Berkeley) to deliver the inaugural lecture of the Medical Humanities program “Immunity and the Humanities”, supported by the Uehiro Oxford Institute. Elena Conis is one of the most prominent historians of medicine and the author, among other things, of Vaccine Nation.
- [Can Pornography be Feminist in a Mass Market Economy?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2026/03/can-pornography-be-feminist-in-a-mass-market-economy/) - Undergraduate Highly Commended paper in the 2026 National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics. By Leela Kainth. Mainstream pornography refers to conventional, mass-marketed, sexually explicit material produced at commercial scale, typically for consumers to masturbate to. This is distinct from so-called ‘feminist pornography’, which self-consciously aims to resist these norms through alternative representations and
- [Is Prostitution Just a Job?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2026/03/is-prostitution-just-a-job/) - Undergraduate Finalist paper in the 2026 National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics. By Ethan Beri. Introduction Despite being the “oldest profession”, prostitution is still hotly debated, both in the academy and in public discourse. Prostitution is often considered worse than other jobs, in part because it wrongs the prostitute: a woman who sells
- [‘It’s Physical, Not Intellectual’: The Ethics of Correcting Assumptions About Disability](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2026/02/its-physical-not-intellectual-the-ethics-of-correcting-assumptions-about-disability/) - Graduate Highly Commended paper in the 2026 National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics. By James Forsdyke. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2446-4586 In this paper, I will discuss ethical considerations when it comes to correcting assumptions about people with physical disabilities. In particular, I will discuss the assumption some individuals make that physical disabilities are necessarily accompanied
- [Rethinking the Ethics and Politics of the Global Campaign Against Female Genital Cutting](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2026/02/rethinking-the-ethics-and-politics-of-the-global-campaign-against-female-genital-cutting/) - Reflections on a recent Antitheses Project conversation In a recent ANTITHESES Project podcast, Dominic Wilkinson (Uehiro Oxford Institute), Brian D. Earp (National University of Singapore), and Zainab Nur (Hidden Voices UK) discuss an extended essay published in the Journal of Medical Ethics (2025) examining the unintended harms of the dominant global campaign against female genital
- [New Book: Protecting Minds - The Right Against Mental Interference](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2026/02/protecting-minds/) - If your doctor injects you with a vaccine without your consent, or a stranger strokes the back of your neck on a packed train, we would think that they have wronged you, morally speaking. And we might capture this wrong by saying that they have trespassed on your body or infringed your right against bodily
- [Mental Health Chatbots: on Truth and Bullshit](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2026/02/mental-health-chatbots-on-truth-and-bullshit/) - By Dr Jeremy Gauntlett-Gilbert; Consultant Psychologist and student, MSt Practical Ethics Chatbots are increasingly being used to deliver an AI version of psychological therapy. Internationally, there is pressure on mental health services and a shortage of human therapists. Mental health providers have a keen interest in such AI technological solutions that might offer treatment “at
- [A Visit to the Bentham Project at University College London (UCL)](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2026/02/a-visit-to-the-bentham-project-at-university-college-london-ucl/) - By Taka Kurogi, Bruno dos Santos Queiroz We were pleased to be welcomed at the Bentham Project by Drs. Isra Black and Tim Causer of UCL’s Faculty of Laws. It was deeply inspiring to learn more about the Project’s ongoing work and its central role in preserving, studying, and, most importantly, making publicly accessible the
- [Helping Museums Think About The Ethics of Cultural Restitution: Introducing The Decision Aid for the Restitution of Cultural Artefacts (DARCA)](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2026/01/darca1/) - In recent years, museums and other cultural institutions are increasingly being asked whether they have a moral responsibility to return objects in their collections to countries, communities, families, or individuals who claim a connection to them. These debates about cultural restitution and repatriation have become increasingly visible, involving discussion of artefacts with complex histories. High-profile
- [The MSt in Practical Ethics at Oxford University – Apply Before January 28!](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2026/01/the-mst-in-practical-ethics-at-oxford-university-apply-before-january-28/) - Join this year's cohort of MSt in Practical Ethics students – apply by 28th January to take advantage of funding opportunities. The MSt in Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford is designed for those who want to think carefully and rigorously about important ethical questions, while remaining firmly engaged with the real world. Ethics,
- [Celebrating Women in Ethics #WiE](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/12/celebrating-women-in-ethics-wie/) - The academic study of ethics is full of ideas that shape how we think about the world, and many of them come from women whose work deserves to be better known. Women writers, thinkers and ethicists have contributed for millennia alongside their male counterparts, yet their work has been often forgotten or side-lined. In our
- [National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/12/national-uehiro-oxford-essay-prize-in-practical-ethics-2/) - The National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics is an annual competition held in the autumn/spring each year. It is open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in UK universities, and the 2025/6 competition is now open for entries. Students are invited to enter by submitting an essay of up to 2000 words
- [Equity in Global Health: reflections from the Humanities](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/11/equity-in-global-health-reflections-from-the-humanities/) - Authors: Alberto Giubilini (philosophy), Caesar Atuire (philosophy), Sloan Mahone (history), Ann Kelly (anthropology), Tolulope Osayomi (medical geography) Report of the Medical Humanities workshop held on 7th November 2025 at the University of Oxford This interdisciplinary workshop wanted to explore the contribution that the humanities can make to global health, and indeed emphasize their necessary role
- ['Happy Birthday to E-Uni-Well'](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/11/happy-birthday-to-e-uni-well/) - Blog post by Prof Roger Crisp (Professor of Moral Philosophy/ Director of the Uehiro Oxford Institute) At the invitation of Professor Beatrix Busse, I was recently lucky enough to be asked to participate in the fifth anniversary celebrations of the European University of Well-being (E-Uni-Well), held in Cologne. EUniWell – the European University for Well-Being –
- [When Slowing Down Creates Value](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/10/when-slowing-down-creates-value/) - EACME Conference 2025 Healthcare innovation and research often prioritise acceleration and efficiency. This keynote (12th September 2025) challenged this paradigm by drawing on preliminary findings from Project Lazy, which explores judgements about laziness through research and community engagement. The talk had four parts: an introduction to Project Lazy, findings from the philosophical part, findings from
- [UOI’s First Anniversary!](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/10/uois-first-anniversary/) - Time has flown since the Uehiro Oxford Institute came into existence on 1 October 2024! We continue to seek to improve the world through engagement with others – what we call ‘Thought into Action’ – and have made great progress in fulfilling our mission to work philosophically across many disciplines, including medicine, history, law, computer
- [Practically prompted #4: Carnival, Cameras, and Consent: The Ethics of Live Facial Recognition at Notting Hill](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/08/practically-prompted-4-carnival-cameras-and-consent-the-ethics-of-live-facial-recognition-at-notting-hill/) - This is the fourth in a trial blog series called “Practically Prompted” – an experiment in using large language models to independently select a recent, ethically rich news story and then write a Practical Ethics blog-style post about it. The text below is the model’s work, followed by some light human commentary. See this post for the
- [Practically Prompted #3: VPNs Top the App Charts After UK Age-Checks Kick In: What Does “Protecting Children” Justify?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/07/practically-prompted-3-vpns-top-the-app-charts-after-uk-age-checks-kick-in-what-does-protecting-children-justify/) - This is the third in a trial blog series called “Practically Prompted” – an experiment in using large language models to independently select a recent, ethically rich news story and then write a Practical Ethics blog-style post about it. The text below is the model’s work, followed by some light human commentary. See this post for the
- [2025 Parfit Memorial Lecture - a summary](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/07/2025-parfit-memorial-lecture-a-summary/) - By Paul Heller (DPhil Student at the Uehiro Oxford Institute) On Friday 16th June, Jacob Nebel, Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University, gave the 2025 Parfit Memorial Lecture. Professor Nebel’s lecture was entitled: “The Procreation Asymmetry: Some Puzzles.” This year’s lecture was jointly hosted by the Uehiro Oxford Institute and the Global Priorities Institute at
- [Practically Prompted #2 - Regulating the Regulators: Europe’s New AI ‘Code of Practice’ and the Ethics of Voluntary Compliance](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/07/practically-prompted-2-regulating-the-regulators-europes-new-ai-code-of-practice-and-the-ethics-of-voluntary-compliance/) - This is the second in a trial blog series called “Practically Prompted” – an experiment in using large language models to independently select a recent, ethically rich news story and then write a Practical Ethics blog-style post about it. The text below is the model’s work, followed by some light human commentary. See this post for the
- [Congratulations to 'IDEA' in Leeds!](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/07/congratulations-to-idea-in-leeds/) - I am just back from a celebration of the 20th anniversary of IDEA: the Ethics Centre, at the University of Leeds. (IDEA stands for ‘Inter-disciplinary Ethics Applied’.) IDEA was founded by Chris Megone, an old friend from my graduate days, and is now directed by Simon Kirchin. The centre has achieved a huge amount in
- [Practically Prompted: Introducing an experiment in LLM-generated blog posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/06/practically-prompted-introducing-an-experiment-in-llm-generated-blog-posts/) - This post introduces a trial blog series called “Practically Prompted” – an experiment in using large language models (LLMs) to write a Practical Ethics blog-style post, with some light human commentary about the output. So, why try this? The experiment is driven by several key motivations: To Test a New Tool: We want to see
- [Practically Prompted #1: Should We Screen the Womb? Ethical Questions Raised by the New Miscarriage-Risk Test](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/06/practically-prompted-1-should-we-screen-the-womb-ethical-questions-raised-by-the-new-miscarriage-risk-test/) - This is the first in a trial blog series called “Practically Prompted” – an experiment in using large language models to independently select a recent, ethically rich news story and then write a Practical Ethics blog-style post about it. The text below is the model's work, followed by some light human commentary. See this post
- [Press Replay on Ethics: How AI Debate Panels Surface Hidden Value-Trade-Offs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/06/press-replay-on-ethics-how-ai-debate-panels-surface-hidden-value-trade-offs/) - TL;DR ADEPT turns large language models into a transparent ethics panel—every prompt, rebuttal, and vote is logged so anyone can replay the debate. Who’s in the (virtual) room changes everything: swapping just two personas reshapes the arguments and alliances, even when the final policy choice stays the same. Practical payoff: committees, hospital boards, and policy
- [Ethics in the Age of AI](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/06/ethics-in-the-age-of-ai/) - A free, online summer programme open to all. This 9-week programme, part of the UOI's Bitesize Ethics series, provides a short introduction to ethical issues directly related to Artificial Intelligence, beginning with a general introduction to AI ethics led by UOI scholar Hazem Zohny. The series continues each Wednesday, addressing themes of AI and human
- [On plans to extend use of chemical castration for sex offenders in England](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/06/on-plans-to-extend-use-of-chemical-castration-for-sex-offenders-in-england/) - Secretary of State for Justice Shabana Mahmood is reportedly looking into a potential ‘national rollout of voluntary chemical castration for sex offenders’. The proposal is one of the recommendations outlined in the recently published Independent Sentencing Review led by former Lord Chancellor David Gauke, commissioned to investigate ‘the prison overcrowding crisis and to consider alternative
- [Profiting from Misery: Is There Something Different About Healthcare Data?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/05/profiting-from-misery-is-there-something-different-about-healthcare-data/) - By Dr Jeremy Gauntlett-Gilbert – student on the MSt Practical Ethics programme The advent of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence has opened up new possibilities for health research. Specifically, these techniques could be let loose on ‘big data’, such as the collective data of healthcare organisations (including the NHS), and would likely reveal new insights
- [Medical assistance in dying: what are we talking about?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/01/medical-assistance-in-dying-what-are-we-talking-about/) - Alberto Giubilini Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics Medical assistance in dying - or “MAiD”, to use the somehow infelicitous acronym - is likely to be a central topic in bioethics this year. That might not be true of bioethics as an academic field, where MAiD has been widely discussed over the past 40 years.
- [The "Terminally Ill Adults Bill" in England and Wales: Which questions are relevant, and which ones are not?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/11/the-terminally-ill-adults-bill-in-england-and-wales-which-questions-are-relevant-and-which-ones-are-not/) - The Terminally Illl Adults (End of Life) Bill is really about the nature and role of the healthcare profession
- [Dire Wolves and Deep Prompts: Language Models in Applied Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/04/dire-wolves-and-deep-prompts-language-models-in-applied-ethics/) - You might have seen the headlines: Colossal Biosciences claims to have brought back the dire wolf. Except, it's not quite a direct resurrection. What Colossal actually created are genetically engineered proxies: grey wolves modified to have some dire wolf traits. I wondered if the news might renew interest in the ethics of “de-extinction” and perhaps
- [Uterus Transplants – Ethical and Legal Challenges in the Mexican Context](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/04/uterus-transplants-ethical-and-legal-challenges-in-the-mexican-context/) - Author: Dr César Palacios-Gonzalez Discussions about maternal health and rights in Mexico tend to focus on health outcomes and access to healthcare. Academics and activists have long campaigned for the government to invest more resources in maternal health. Unfortunately, healthcare provision for women who want to have a child and are struggling to conceive hasn’t received enough
- [Practical Ethics Schools Day 2025](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/04/practical-ethics-schools-day-2025/) - This year, we hosted the sixth edition of our annual Practical Ethics and Responsibility Competition (PERC). We received 42 entries to the video competition, and though we had many great entries, four finalists emerged as our winning teams, and travelled to Oxford for a day of ethics and debate, supported by their teachers. Our four teams were
- [‘Global health’: a problematic concept?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/04/global-health-a-problematic-concept/) - What makes health ‘global’? This is the question I have addressed in a recent article in the journal Developing World Bioethics. I am afraid, however, that I don’t have an answer. Nor was answering the aim of the article. After all, many definitions of ‘global health’ exist in the literature and most of them are
- [Justifying Exclusion From Public Sport](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/04/justifying-exclusion-from-public-sport/) - Graduate Highly Commended paper in the 2025 National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics. By Edward Lamb. During the 2024 Paris Olympics, the inclusion of Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde generated serious controversy. Van de Velde had previously been sentenced to four years in British jail, convicted of child rape.[1] After
- [Bridging the Gaps: How Language Models Can Connect Ethics, Science, and Policy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/03/bridging-the-gaps-how-language-models-can-connect-ethics-science-and-policy/) - What this post explores: The disconnect between philosophy, empirical research, and policy in practical ethics Initial experiments using language models to bridge these gaps Case study: Using Claude to extract empirical claims and policy implications from my own co-authored paper Limitations of this approach and questions for further exploration At its best, practical ethics addresses
- [Bring Back Shame: Does the Ethical Value of Shame Justify Shaming?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/03/bring-back-shame-does-the-ethical-value-of-shame-justify-shaming/) - Undergraduate Highly Commended paper in the 2025 National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics. By Nicole Chinenyenwa Oboko. I have always been told that if a person has nothing nice to say, they should say nothing at all. For most of my life, I’ve upheld this belief. A decent person, as part of a decent
- [The Duty to Have Courage: Developing the Theory of Epistemic Injustice](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/03/the-duty-to-have-courage-developing-the-theory-of-epistemic-injustice/) - Undergraduate Highly Commended paper in the 2025 National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics. By Artur Littner, University of Lancaster.
- [Silencing Queer Signals: How Cultural Misuse Prevents the Expression of Queerness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/03/silencing-queer-signals-how-cultural-misuse-prevents-the-expression-of-queerness/) - Undergraduate Finalist paper in the 2025 National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics. By Elizabeth McCabe, University of Oxford.
- [The Doctor Will Speak as You Prefer? How AI Could Personalize Medical Communication](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/03/the-doctor-will-speak-as-you-prefer-how-ai-could-personalize-medical-communication/) - (This blog post was originally published in the JME Forum) By Hazem Zohny, Jemima Winfried Allen, Dominic Wilkinson, and Julian Savulescu. When you go to the doctor, there’s little telling what kind of communicator you’ll get. Some doctors are on the paternalistic side, telling you what you should do without much discussion. Others just give
- [Promises and Consent: The Moral Permissibility of Accepting a Promise to Perform an Act That Requires Contemporaneous Consent](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/03/promises-and-consent-the-moral-permissibility-of-accepting-a-promise-to-perform-an-act-that-requires-contemporaneous-consent/) - Graduate Finalist paper in the 2025 National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics.
- [How Does Social Media Pose a Threat to Autonomy?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/03/how-does-social-media-pose-a-threat-to-autonomy/) - Undergraduate Finalist paper in the 2025 National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics. By Rahul Lakhanpaul, University of Edinburgh.
- [National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/03/national-uehiro-oxford-essay-prize-in-practical-ethics/) - The National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics is an annual competition held in the spring. It is open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in UK universities and students are invited to enter by submitting an essay of up to 2000 words on any topic relevant to practical ethics. The 2025 Essay
- [Banning first cousin marriage would be eugenic and ineffective](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/03/banning-first-cousin-marriage-would-be-eugenic-and-ineffective/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford A bill that proposes to ban first-cousin marriage in the UK will receive its second reading in the House of Commons on March 7. The bill, proposed by Conservative former minister Richard Holden, follows the introduction of a ban on cousin marriages that came into effect in Norway in 2023
- [MSt in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/10/mst-in-practical-ethics-applications-open/) - The MSt in Practical Ethics is now open for applications for 2025. The MSt offers high-quality training in practical ethics, drawing on the internationally recognised expertise of Oxford’s Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, the Ethox Centre and the Faculty of Philosophy. Application Deadlines: Wednesday 29th January 2025, 12:00 noon UK time, (Latest deadline for most Oxford scholarships) *Applications may remain
- [Legislating for Influence: The Case of Abortion Safe Zones](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/02/legislating-for-influence-the-case-of-abortion-safe-zones/) - by Thomas Mitchell In September last year, the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Act 2024 came into effect. This Act establishes safe zones of 200 metres in all directions around clinics offering abortion services, within which special protections apply to patients and staff accessing the clinic. The purpose is to prevent anyone from stopping women
- [Iatrogenic to AI-trogenic Harm: Nonmaleficence in AI healthcare](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/02/guest-post-iatrogenic-to-ai-trogenic-harm-nonmaleficence-in-ai-healthcare/) - By S. Tom de Kok Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare promises to revolutionize diagnostics, treatments, and efficiency, but it is not infallible. What happens when these promises are accompanied by harms that are difficult to define, attribute, or address? The term AI-trogenic harm—a novel term for the unintentional harm caused by artificial intelligence (AI) in
- [Stop asking if remote workers are lazy – Focus on Directing Effort Effectively](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/01/stop-asking-if-remote-workers-are-lazy/) - I believe that the debate about remote work reveals fundamental misconceptions about what laziness really means. When we label someone as lazy—a criticism that can have severe consequences for an individual’s career and wellbeing—we should at least be clear about what we mean.
- [Collective Responsibility and collective meeting of needs, and the question of Land redistribution in Zimbabwe](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2025/01/collective-responsibility-and-collective-meeting-of-needs-and-the-question-of-land-redistribution-in-zimbabwe/) - Written by Dr Dennis Masaka, Great Zimbabwe University and AfOx Fellow at the Uehiro Oxford Institute https://www.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-dennis-masaka In my proposed work as an AfOx Fellow at Oxford, I seek to initiate a conversation around the way land redistribution has so far taken place in Zimbabwe. I will use the frameworks of collective responsibility and collective
- [Assisted dying: what we might learn from experience of other controversial decisions in medicine](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/12/assisted-dying-what-we-might-learn-from-experience-of-other-controversial-decisions-in-medicine/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford Following the second reading (and parliamentary support) of Labour MP Kim Leadbetter’s terminally ill adults (end of life) bill on November 29, much of the public debate in England and Wales will now shift to questions around safeguards. If the safeguards aren’t considered adequate, the bill is unlikely to pass
- [Friend AI: Personal Enhancement or Uninvited Company?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/10/friend-ai-personal-enhancement-or-uninvited-company/) - written by Christopher Register You can now pre-order a friend—or, a Friend, which is designed to be an AI friend. The small, round device contains AI-powered software and a microphone, and it’s designed to be worn on a lanyard around the neck at virtually any time. The austere product website says of Friend that, “When
- [Cross-post: Roundtable discussion “From Covid-19 to MPox: Lessons from The Humanities?”](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/12/cross-post-roundtable-discussion-from-covid-19-to-mpox-lessons-from-the-humanities/) - by Tolulope Osayomi and Mofeyisara Omobowale / first published 25th November on Torch News The roundtable discussion “From Covid-19 to MPox: Lessons from The Humanities? “, organized by Medical Humanities Hub at TORCH and the Uehiro Oxford Institute, featured four panelists with diverse disciplinary approaches to public health crises. Two of the panelists were Oxford-based scholars in
- [Court rules that patients have a right to disbelieve doctors](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/11/court-rules-that-patients-have-a-right-to-disbelieve-doctors/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford; Bryanna Moore, University of Rochester, and Johnna Wellesley, The University of Texas Medical Branch There is a clear ethical and legal principle that adults have a right to make decisions about their health. This is sometimes called the principle of patient autonomy. That is, of course, why doctors need patients’
- [Is it ever OK for scientists to experiment on themselves?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/11/is-it-ever-ok-for-scientists-to-experiment-on-themselves/) - Jonathan Pugh, University of Oxford; Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford, and Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. A virologist named Beata Halassy recently made headlines after publishing a report of successfully treating her own breast cancer by self-administering an experimental
- [What are the Ethics of Sending a Person to a Country They are not From?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/11/what-are-the-ethics-of-sending-a-person-to-a-country-they-are-not-from/) - Article written by a practical ethics student at the University of Oxford zooms in on the Italian-Albanian deal from 2023.
- [(Bio)technology and what makes us human](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/10/biotechnology-and-what-makes-us-human/) - Andrew Moeller, Faculty of History Alberto Giubilini, Uehiro Oxford Institute Themes from the conference “Biotechnology, Artificial Intelligence, and Human Identity” (Medical Humanities Programme) Crossposted from TORCH Medical Humanities The conference “Biotechnologies, Artificial Intelligence, and Human Identity” brought together a crowded room to hear 12 speakers engage in lively discussion on whether and how technologies such
- [Declaration of Helsinki turns 60 – how this foundational document of medical ethics has stood the test of time](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/10/declaration-of-helsinki-turns-60-how-this-foundational-document-of-medical-ethics-has-stood-the-test-of-time/) - The declaration of Helsinki recently turned 60, but don’t feel bad if you missed the celebrations. It probably passed unnoticed by most people not working in the medical field – and possibly even a good few in the field. If you’re not familiar with the declaration – adopted by the World Medical Association on October
- [Guest Post: Must Antinatalists Be Pessimists?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/10/guest-post-must-antinatalists-be-pessimists/) - Written by Dr Matti Häyry, PhD, Professor of Philosophy of Management, Aalto University School of Business (Academic Visitor at the Oxford Uehiro Centre, University of Oxford, 2007–2008) Antinatalism is being against reproduction, typically on altruistic grounds. Applied to humans, this means not having children in the trepidation that their lives could be miserable. A prominent
- [Launch of the Uehiro Oxford Institute](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/10/launch-of-the-uehiro-oxford-institute/) - Today we’re launching the Uehiro Oxford Institute – a new interdisciplinary research institute at the University of Oxford. We look forward to new collaborations, research and engagement in helping us to achieve our new mission, responding to the ethical question of how we should act and live in light of the great challenges faced by
- [Are psychedelic Experiences Intrinsically Valuable?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/09/are-psychedelic-experiences-intrinsically-valuable/) - By Katherine Cheung, David B. Yaden, and Brian D. Earp Classic psychedelics, such as psilocybin and LSD, are currently being studied for their potential therapeutic impact -- primarily in conjunction with some form of psychotherapy -- on a variety of conditions. Within such a clinical frame, the potential value of psychedelic-assisted therapy is largely assumed
- [NEW PUBLICATION: AI Morality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/08/new-publication-ai-morality/) - Edited by David Edmonds, Distinguished Research Fellow at the Oxford Uehiro Centre, this collection of lively and accessible essays covers topics such as healthcare, employment, autonomous weapons, online advertising and much more. A philosophical task force explores how AI is revolutionizing our lives - and what moral problems it might bring, showing us what to
- [Paternalistic AI: The Case of Aged Care](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/08/paternalistic-ai-the-case-of-aged-care/) - Imagine you are thirty, and you return home after a stressful day at work, wishing for a long bath to relax. After soaking in the tub for half an hour, the alarms suddenly go off, and your phone starts ringing. Your family members have been alerted by sensors in your home that you have been
- [Humanising the Global Response to MPox: Lessons from COVID-19 and the Humanities?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/09/humanising-the-global-response-to-mpox-lessons-from-covid-19-and-the-humanities/) - Utsa Bose (Faculty of History, University of Oxford); Alberto Giubilini (Uehiro Oxford Institute, University of Oxford) Tolulope Osayomi (Department of Geography, University of Ibadan; AfOx-TORCH Visiting Fellow, University of Oxford) Crossposted from TORCH Medical Humanities Blog. This post is also the basis of a workshop on 21 November 2024, to be held at the University of
- [Trampolining Whilst Pregnant And Women's Autonomy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/09/trampolining-whilst-pregnant-and-womens-autonomy/) - Written by Rebecca Brown There has been plenty of debate about women’s right to choose how they give birth. Some of it stems from the negative experiences of women who have felt unable to have the birth they want, instead being pressured or even coerced into delivering their child according to health professionals’ preferences. At
- [PRESS RELEASE: Oxford-led Study Calls for End to "Medically Unnecessary" Intersex Surgeries](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/08/press-release-oxford-led-study-calls-for-end-to-medically-unnecessary-intersex-surgeries/) - New International Consensus Calls for Healthcare Providers to Stop Performing Medically Unnecessary Genital Surgeries in Prepubertal Children and Infants, Regardless of Sex or Gender A new study led by researchers at the University of Oxford’s Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics published today in the American Journal of Bioethics argues that all children (defined in the study as prepubertal minors)
- [Reducing the Power of Childless Cat Ladies?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/07/reducing-the-power-of-childless-cat-ladies/) - JD Vance’s 2021 comments on how the Democrats are run by “childless cat ladies” are obviously – and probably deliberately – offensive, but the broader point of his remarks is one that’s worth considering. Vance’s broader point was that people without children “don't really have a direct stake” in the country. He means, of course,
- [Humanizing Chatbots Is Hard To Resist — But Why?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/08/humanizing-chatbots-is-hard-to-resist-but-why/) - Why is it so easy to humanize chatbots? Did millions of years of human evolution set us up to see a "mind in the machine"?
- [Should Evangelicals Support IVF?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/07/should-evangelicals-support-ivf/) - written by Christopher Register Evangelicals and other pro-life advocates have underappreciated reasons to support in vitro fertilization (IVF) and funding for maternal health and reproductive technologies in general. These reasons stem from the surprisingly high rate of natural miscarriage. I suggest that advances in IVF technology may ultimately lead to fewer total embryos being miscarried
- [Can We Make Life Choices Rationally?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/07/can-we-make-life-choices-rationally/) - Written by Daniel Villiger Do I want to have children? This is one of the big life decisions. If I choose to have a child and am successful, I will become a parent and will experience the ups and downs, the advantages and disadvantages of being a parent. On the other hand, if I choose
- [Building A World People Can Use](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/07/building-a-world-people-can-use/) - Written by Rebecca Brown Imagine going to a cafe for a drink and snack. At some point you need the loo – you go to the bathroom but discover the toilet seat is higher than your waist! Somehow you manage to clamber up, unfortunately touching parts of a toilet you would prefer you didn’t have
- [Should There be Total Divestment From All Arms Companies?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/07/should-there-be-total-divestment-from-all-arms-companies/) - Written by MSt student Mahdi Ghuloom Reports this year from May indicate that the college council of Trinity College Cambridge, has voted to divest from all arms companies (Mulla, 2024). Pressure has been rising from students on universities to conduct similar actions, often in a non-discriminatory set of demands. Some of course, have been focusing
- [Caution With Chatbots? Generative AI in Healthcare](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/07/caution-with-chatbots-generative-ai-in-healthcare/) - Written by MSt in Practical Ethics student Dr Jeremy Gauntlett-Gilbert Human beings, as a species, love to tell stories and to imagine that there are person-like agents behind events. The Ancient Greeks saw the rivers and the winds as personalised deities, placating them if they appeared ‘angry’. Psychologists in classic 1940s experiments were impressed at
- [Guest Post: AI Alignment or Human Alignment?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/07/guest-post-ai-alignment-or-human-alignment/) - Written by Professor Cinara Nahra One of the most important issues that arises in relation to artificial intelligence is how to handle it, that is, how to make AI something that can be developed for the good of humanity and not to promote its destruction. This is directly linked to the problem of aligning artificial
- [Consenting to or Requesting Medical Care?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/07/consenting-to-or-requesting-medical-care/) - Written by Joseph Moore Earlier this year, Alex Ruck Keene KC (Hon) delivered a Practical Ethics and Law Lecture at the Uehiro Centre on the topic of consent and autonomy-based arguments in medical ethics and law, to which the Centre’s Esther Braun responded. In the course of this enlightening discussion (and in private conversation since),
- [Philosophy in Prison](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/06/philosophy-in-prison/) - A new branch of outreach from the Uehiro Centre By Joanna Demaree-Cotton From this summer, a number of our academics and graduate students will be swapping their offices and lecture halls to teach in a different kind of venue: UK prisons. Philosophy In Prison is a wonderful, small, UK-based charity. Run by philosophers, they organise | Joanna Demaree-Cotton Philosophy in Prison July 20, 2026
- [The Fruits of Moral Disagreement: Conversations and Questions from the Inaugural Ethox-Uehiro Workshop on Moral Disagreement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/06/the-fruits-of-moral-disagreement-conversations-and-questions-from-the-inaugural-ethox-uehiro-workshop-on-moral-disagreement/) - By Tess Johnson (Ethox Centre) and Alberto Giubilini (Uehiro Oxford Institute) On the 11th of June, 2024, members of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics (soon to become Uehiro Oxford Institute) and the Ethox gathered at St. Anne’s College for an afternoon discussion on the nature, value, and disvalue of moral disagreement, as part
- [Event Summary: Peter Singer on Disagreement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/06/event-summary-peter-singer-on-disagreement/) - On 11 June, Professor Peter Singer presented the very first Ethox-Uehiro lecture, entitled ‘Disagreeing on Ethical Questions, Fruitfully and Otherwise’, at St Cross College, Oxford. The lecture room was full, and well over 100 people watched the livestream, which is now available here. …………………………………………………………………………………………………… Singer’s lecture was about not the more abstract or a priori
- [Dreaming of the End of the World](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/06/dreaming-of-the-end-of-the-world/) - by Neil Levy Doomsayers have always been with us. Equally, predictions of doom have always failed to materialise. Apocalyptic cults have been a recurrent feature of American society, in particular. Some have given specific dates for the destruction of the world, which the faithful would survive through preparation and prayer. The failures of the prophesied
- [Communication, Narratives and Antimicrobial Resistance](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/05/communication-narratives-and-antimicrobial-resistance/) - by Alberto Giubilini, Sally Frampton, Tess Johnson, Will Matlock Originally published one the TORCH Medical Humanities website The conference Communication, Narratives and Antimicrobial Resistance took place on the 16th of May at Merton College, Oxford, as part of the TORCH Medical Humanities programme and with the generous contribution of the John Fell Fund and the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical
- [2024 Annual Uehiro Lectures: Professor Elizabeth Harman](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/05/2024-annual-uehiro-lectures-professor-elizabeth-harman/) - We were honoured to welcome Professor Elizabeth Harman, Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Philosophy and Human Values at Princeton University, to Oxford to deliver the 2024 Annual Uehiro Lectures in Practical Ethics. The three-part lecture series, entitled "Love and Abortion", took place in the H B Allen Centre, Keble College, on 25 April, 2 and 9
- [Practical Ethics Schools Day 2024](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/05/practical-ethics-schools-day-2024/) - In March, we held our annual Schools Day for the Practical Ethics and Responsibility Competition (PERC) - written by Joanna Demaree-Cotton
- [Moral AI And How We Get There with Prof Walter Sinnott-Armstrong](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/05/moral-ai-and-how-we-get-there-with-prof-walter-sinnott-armstrong/) - Can we build and use AI ethically? Walter Sinnott-Armstrong discusses how this can be achieved in his new book 'Moral AI and How We Get There' co-authored with Jana Schaich Borg & Vincent Conitzer. Edmond Awad talks through the ethical implications for AI use with Walter in this short video. With thanks to the Atlantic
- [Book Launch: Responsibility and Healthcare](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/05/book-launch-responsibility-and-healthcare/) - written by Ben Davies and Gabriel De Marco Many illnesses that risk death or serious harm are at least partly due to behaviours such as smoking, lack of exercise, or extreme sports. The WHO notes that the global prevalence of preventable, noncommunicable diseases is rising, and accounts for a large proportion of deaths worldwide. Some
- [Would You Survive Brain Twinning?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/05/would-you-survive-brain-twinning/) - Imagine the following case: A few years in the future, neuroscience has advanced considerably to the point where it is able to artificially support conscious activity that is just like the conscious activity in a human brain. After diagnosis of an untreatable illness, a patient, C, has transferred (uploaded) his consciousness to the artificial substrate
- [(Bio)technologies, human identity, and the Medical Humanities](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/05/biotechnologies-human-identity-and-the-medical-humanities/) - Introducing two journal special issues and a conference Written by Alberto Giubilini Two special issues of the journals Bioethics and Monash Bioethics Review will be devoted to, respectively, “New (Bio)technology and Human Identity” and “Medical Humanities in the 21st Century” (academic readers, please consider submitting an article). Here I would like to briefly explain why
- [Do We Need To Measure Well-Being?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/04/do-we-need-to-measure-well-being/) - Written by Joseph Moore Gus O’Donnell, once the highest official in the British Civil Service and now a member of the House of Lords, has said, on the topic of well-being, ‘If you treasure it, measure it’.[1],[2] I’ve heard this slogan repeated by empirically-minded researchers of happiness, well-being and flourishing. And to anyone with a
- [Quasi-Refusal and Teens](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/04/quasi-refusal-and-teens/) - by Dominic Wilkinson In an interesting legal case earlier this year, the court held an emergency hearing about the medical care of a 16 year old, recently diagnosed with acute leukaemia. The hearing, conducted remotely in the middle of the night, was to decide whether she should have medical treatment imposed against her wishes. Should an “intelligent
- [Truthful Misinformation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/03/truthful-misinformation/) - written by Neil Levy and Keith Raymond Harris There’s a lot of debate over the harms of misinformation today: whether it is more prevalent now than in the past, how often it misleads people, whether people act on misleading misinformation, and on whether the costs of content moderation or algorithmic depriorisation mightn’t be higher than
- [Social Media Platforms as Digital Slot Machines](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/03/social-media-platforms-as-digital-slot-machines/) - In a recent paper I published with my colleagues Lavinia Marin (TU Delft) and Constantin Vica (University of Bucharest), titled "Digital Slot Machines: Social Media Platforms as Attentional Scaffolds" we take a step back from AI and return to an older problem in digital ethics, that despite its urgency, is often overlooked: the impact of
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: The Moral Importance of Low Welfare Species](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-the-moral-importance-of-low-welfare-species/) - This essay was the winner of the Graduate category of the 10th National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2024. Written by Jakob Lohmar. Many people believe that we sometimes ought to produce one larger benefit rather than any number of smaller benefits. For example, many believe that in a choice between saving a human
- [Event Summary: Thomas Hurka’s 2023 Uehiro Lectures](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/03/event-summary-thomas-hurkas-2023-uehiro-lectures/) - Written by Joseph Moore Last week, 4-8 March 2024, Professor Thomas Hurka, the Chancellor Henry N. R. Jackman Distinguished Professor of Philosophical Studies at the University of Toronto, delivered the 2023 Annual Uehiro Lectures in Practical Ethics, entitled ‘Knowledge and Achievement: Their Value, Nature, and Public Policy Role’. The lecture series was rescheduled from the
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Feminist in the Streets, Sadomasochist in the Sheets: Are You Morally Aligning Yourself With Women’s Subordination if You Engage in Consensually Inegalitarian Sexual Relationships?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-feminist-in-the-streets-sadomasochist-in-the-sheets-are-you-morally-aligning-yourself-with-womens-subordination-if-you-engage-in-consensually-inegal/) - This article was the runner up in the undergraduate category of the 10th National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics. Written by Ayesha Chakravarti. I. Introduction Most feminists argue that “The personal is the political.” Is this true of people’s sex lives? In this essay, I will discuss the implications of having consensually inegalitarian sexual
- [National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: When Eating Meat is OK: A Defence of Benign Carnivorism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/03/national-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-when-eating-meat-is-ok-a-defence-of-benign-carnivorism/) - This article received an Honourable Mention in the undergraduate category of the 10th National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics. Written by David Logan. Benign Carnivorism (BC) is a practice where a farmer (i) creates animals with pleasurable lives worth living, (ii) painlessly kills them after a significant proportion of their natural lifespan, and (iii)
- [Announcing the Winners and Runners Up in the 10th Annual National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/03/announcing-the-winners-and-runners-up-in-the-10th-annual-national-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics/) - Please join us in congratulating all four of the finalists in the National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2024, and in particular our winners, Wyatt Radzin and Jakob Lohmar. We would also like to thank our judges, Prof Roger Crisp, Prof Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and Dr Cristina Voinea. This, the final of the 10th Annual National Oxford Uehiro
- ["Fifty Shades of Grey" - A Philosophical Review](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/02/fifty-shades-of-grey-a-philosophical-review/) - Fifty Shades of Grey has sparked a lot of debate. Some like the fact that a popular movie now breaks the taboo on BDSM and seeks to challenge common stereotypes. Others condemn the movie for romanticizing violence. So far, however, no philosophers seem to have joined the debate. That’s unfortunate, for how we should assess
- [National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: To What Extent Has Aristotle’s Conception of a Virtuous Character Remained Relevant in the Face of Situationist Criticism?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/03/national-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-to-what-extent-has-aristotles-conception-of-a-virtuous-character-remained-relevant-in-the-face-of-situationist-criticism/) - This article received an honourable mention in the undergraduate category of the 2024 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics. Written by Gabriel McWilliams. The concept of a virtuous character is a foundational tenet of the broader virtue ethics doctrine. It has, though, been subject to noteworthy objection. One such objection arises from the theory of
- [National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Undisclosed Conversational AIs: A Threat to Users' Autonomy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/03/national-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-undisclosed-conversational-ais-a-threat-to-users-autonomy/) - This article received an honourable mention in the graduate category of the 2024 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics. Written by Beatrice Marchegiani. Introduction Recent advancements in Large Language Models have enabled AI systems to engage in conversations with users that are virtually indistinguishable from human interactions. The proliferation of advanced Conversational AIs (CAIs)1
- [Announcement of the Finalists of the 10th Annual National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/03/announcement-of-the-finalists-of-the-10th-annual-national-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics/) - The 10th Annual National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Final Presentation and Reception HT24 Week 9, Tuesday 12th March, 5:30pm – 7:45pm. We are pleased to announce the four finalists of the 10th National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics and to invite you to attend the final where they will present their entries.
- [Why a US State Court Ruling on the Rights of Children Before Birth is Unjust](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/03/why-a-us-state-court-ruling-on-the-rights-of-children-before-birth-is-unjust/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford. In 2020, in a medical facility in one of the southern states of the US, a patient wandered into an unsecured nursery for extremely premature children. Unfortunately, the patient managed to accidentally disconnect multiple babies from their life support. Worried that they would get in trouble, they fled the scene.
- [Cross Post: What’s wrong with lying to a chatbot?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/02/cross-post-you-could-lie-to-a-health-chatbot-but-it-might-change-how-you-perceive-yourself/) - Written by Dominic Wilkinson, Consultant Neonatologist and Professor of Ethics, University of Oxford This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Imagine that you are on the waiting list for a non-urgent operation. You were seen in the clinic some months ago, but still don’t have a
- [Objective Morality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/03/objective-morality/) - What could be better to relaunch our new blog than a picture of my favourite socks? “Socks!?’, I hear you cry. But these are no ordinary socks. They are Soc. Soc. Socks, presented to me after not so long ago I was invited to participate in a debate at the Socratic Society in Oxford on
- [AI Authorship: Responsibility is Not Required](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/01/ia-authorship-responsibility-is-not-required/) - This is the fifth in a series of blogposts by the members of the Expanding Autonomy project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. by Neil Levy AI is rapidly being adopted across all segments of academia (as it is across much of society). The landscape is rapidly changing, and we haven’t yet settled
- [Cross Post: Spectator TV  – Should the government ban smoking? With Kate Andrews and Dominic Wilkinson](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/02/cross-post-spectator-tv-should-the-government-ban-smoking-with-kate-andrews-and-dominic-wilkinson/) - Oxford Uehiro Centre's Professor Dominic Wilkinson discusses the government's proposal to ban smoking with The Spectator.
- [Political Campaigning, Microtargeting, and the Right to Information](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/01/political-campaigning-microtargeting-and-the-right-to-information/) - Written by Cristina Voinea 2024 is poised to be a challenging year, partly because of the important elections looming on the horizon – from the United States and various European countries to Russia (though, let us admit, surprises there might be few). As more than half of the global population is on social media,
- [Expertise and Autonomy in Medical Decision Making](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/01/expertise-and-autonomy-in-medical-decision-making/) - Written by Rebecca Brown. This is the fourth in a series of blogposts by the members of the Expanding Autonomy project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. This blog is based on a paper forthcoming in Episteme. The full text is available here. Imagine you are sick with severe headaches, dizziness and a nasty
- [Cross Post: Should A Health Professional Be Disciplined For Reporting An Illegal Abortion?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/01/cross-post-should-a-health-professional-be-disciplined-for-reporting-an-illegal-abortion/) - Written by: Prof Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. In response to this, the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has issued guidance that seeks to clarify the legal obligations of healthcare professionals. The full guideline has not yet
- [Is There a Duty to Vote?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/01/is-there-a-duty-to-vote/) - Written by Joseph Moore This new year is a presidential election year in my home country of the United States. And so, there is likely to be no shortage of U.S. political news and commentary surrounding candidates’ pasts, their present comments and their campaign promises. It is also likely that many U.S. citizens (and probably
- [Cross Post: Nudging for Better Beliefs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2024/01/cross-post-nudging-for-better-beliefs/) - This is the third in a series of blogposts by the members of the Expanding Autonomy project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Written By: Oscar A. Piedrahita & Matthew Vermaire, COGITO, University of Glasgow. Don’t you find that other people’s beliefs are always getting in the way of progress? They seem
- [Outsourcing Without Fear?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/12/outsourcing-without-fear/) - This is the second in a series of blogposts by the members of the Expanding Autonomy project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. by Neil Levy As Adam Carter emphasises in the first post in this series, offloading cognitive capacities comes at a cost: the more we depend on external scaffolding and supports to perform
- [Cross Post: Brainpower: Use it or Lose it?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/12/cross-post-brainpower-use-it-or-lose-it/) - This is the first in a series of blogposts by the members of the Expanding Autonomy project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Written By: J Adam Carter, COGITO, University of Glasgow E-mail: adam.carter@glasgow.ac.uk What are things going to be like in 100 years? Here’s one possible future, described in Michael P.
- [Event Summary: Morality and Personality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/12/morality-and-personality/) - by Roger Crisp On 2 November 2023, at one of the most well-attended (in-person and remotely) New St Cross Ethics seminars to date, Professor Predrag Cicovacki, Professor Emeritus in Philosophy at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA, USA presented a fascinating lecture on ‘Morality and Personality’. To clarify the tension that exists between
- [Event Summary: New St Cross Special Ethics Seminar:  Should people have indefinite lifespans? Ethical and social considerations in life-extension, Professor João Pedro de Magalhães](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/11/event-summary-new-st-cross-special-ethics-seminar-should-people-have-indefinite-lifespans-ethical-and-social-considerations-in-life-extension-professor-joao-pedro-de-magalhaes/) - Written by: Dr Amna Whiston On Thursday, 16th November 2023, Professor João Pedro de Magalhães, a prominent microbiologist specialising in ageing and longevity research, gave an engaging and personable New St Cross Ethics Seminar entitled: ‘Should people have indefinite lifespans? Ethical and social considerations in life-extension?’ Following a brief introduction to the biology of
- [On Grief and Griefbots](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/11/on-grief-and-griefbots/) - Griefbots are chatbots designed to assist individuals in coping with the loss of a loved one by offering a digital replica of the departed. Do griefbots aid in the grieving process, or do they unintentionally, or not, complicate it?
- [Climate Change, Planetary Health and the Deep Significance of the Anthropocene](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/09/climate-change-planetary-health-and-the-deep-significance-of-the-anthropocene/) - Written by Joseph Moore Preventing global climate change is currently the main item on our collective environmental agenda. I am certainly convinced of the need to reduce carbon emissions, restore carbon-sequestering ecosystems, generate renewable energy and develop more sustainable economic practices. Yet as I reflect on the nature of life and the history of the
- [Is Animal Liberation Speciesist?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/11/is-animal-liberation-speciesist/) - Written by Joseph Moore This year, Peter Singer published Animal Liberation Now, a significantly updated version of his 1975 animal rights classic. Both the original and revised text argue that humans should refrain from inflicting unnecessary suffering on non-human animals, especially the cruel practices still commonly employed in factory farming and animal experimentation. And as
- [Cross-post: Fairness and Freedom in Public Health Policy - On the need for a Humanities-based approach to public health policy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/10/cross-post-fairness-and-freedom-in-public-health-policy-on-the-need-for-a-humanities-based-approach-to-public-health-policy/) - by Alberto Giubilini Originally posted on the Oxford Medical Humanities website Multidisciplinary Conference, Oxford, 23 and 24 Oct 2023 This conference explored two distinct but related issues in public health. One is the extent to which individual freedom could be restricted in the pursuit of public health goals. The other is whose freedom could be
- [Playing the Game of Faces with AI](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/10/playing-the-game-of-faces-with-ai/) - Written by Edmond Awad In the popular series "Game of Thrones" (and the corresponding “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels), the “Game of Faces” is a training method used by the Faceless Men, an enigmatic guild of assassins. This method teaches trainees to convincingly adopt the face of others for their covert missions.
- [Guest Post: Oppenheimer – Not The Morality Of The bomb](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/10/guest-post-oppenheimer-not-the-morality-of-the-bomb/) - Written by Martin Sand & Karin Jongsma The recently released Christopher Nolan movie “Oppenheimer” proves to be a phenomenal movie that deserves being watched on screen. Despite its 3 hours length, “Oppenheimer” is an intriguing portrayal of a genius, albeit somewhat narcissistic character, who – in the second half of the movie – seemingly regrets
- [The Language of Freedom in Public Health: the Case of the Smoking Ban](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/10/the-language-of-freedom-in-public-health-the-case-of-the-smoking-ban/) - Alberto Giubilini “Enough manipulation of the definition of man, and freedom can be made to mean whatever the manipulator wishes” (Isaiah Berlin, Two Concepts of Liberty, 1958) The UK Prime Minister has announced his plan to ban the sale of tobacco products to young generations in England. Smoking will be phased out by
- [Stoicism as a Foundational Component of Ethics and Existentialism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/01/stoicism-as-a-foundational-component-of-ethics-and-existentialism/) - Provided my eyes are not withdrawn from that spectacle, of which they never tire; provided I may look upon the sun and the moon and gaze at the other planets; provided I may trace their risings and settings, their periods and the causes of their travelling faster or slower; provided I may behold all the
- [Perceptual Diversity and Philosophical Belief](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/05/perceptual-diversity-and-philosophical-belief/) - Reading up on Derek Parfit’s theory of personal identity as part of my research on non-essential accounts of self in literature, philosophy and neuroscience, I was astounded to come across a New Yorker feature on the philosopher which describes his inability to visualise imagery as an anomaly: "He has few memories of his past, and
- [More Demoralizing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/10/more-demoralizing/) - Readers of this blog may remember a contribution by me on ‘Demoralizing Ethics’ earlier this year. It set out some arguments (from a paper on religious pluralism) for, at least initially, avoiding moral concepts and language in ethics. These arguments were based on parsimony and on avoiding emotional distortion, and outlined a demoralized ethical approach
- [Banning Cigarettes, Paternalism, Liberty and Harm: Clearing the Smoke](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/10/banning-cigarettes-paternalism-liberty-and-harm-clearing-the-smoke/) - Media headlines in the UK are widely reporting Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a proposal to ban smoking for younger generations. Under the proposal, the legal age of smoking would increase by one year every year so that, eventually, no-one would be able to buy tobacco. The proposal has proved to be controversial, and it has
- [Why I Don’t Have Pronouns In My Bio.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/10/why-i-dont-have-pronouns-in-my-bio/) - Written by Neil Levy It’s now pretty standard for academics to put their pronouns in their bio – in email signatures, Twitter profiles, on Zoom and so on. There are two sorts of reasons to do this. The first is because you have a preference about your pronouns and there’s a reasonable chance that if
- [Guest Post: Nothing if not family?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/09/guest-post-nothing-if-not-family/) - Written by Daniela Cutas Lund University What are genetic relatives to each other if they are not de facto relatives? Is there no relation between a donor-conceived person and their gamete donor? Between the donor-conceived person and the donor´s other offspring or parents or aunts and uncles? Should parents facilitate acquaintance between their children and their
- [Finding Meaning in the Age of Neurocentrism – and in a Transhuman Future](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/08/finding-meaning-in-the-age-of-neurocentrism-and-in-a-transhuman-future/) - Written by Mette Leonard Høeg Through the ordinary state of being, we’re already creators in the most profound way, creating our experience of reality and composing the world we perceive. Rick Rubin, The Creative Act Phenomenal consciousness is still a highly mysterious phenomenon – mainly subjectively accessible, and there is far
- [Well-being at Work](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/08/well-being-at-work/) - The University of Oxford, partly as a result of the pandemic, has recently begun to develop a new strategy and programme to support staff well-being. Last term, Frances Parkes, the Wellbeing Programme Manager, gave a fascinating presentation at the Oxford Uehiro Centre on well-being at work, and the resources available to staff to assist in
- [The unbearable asymmetry of bullshit](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/the-unbearable-asymmetry-of-bullshit/) - It is a lot harder to refute bullshit than it is to create it -- what are the implications for science and medicine?
- [AI As A Writing Tool: Great Benefits, Major Pitfalls.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/07/ai-as-a-writing-tool-great-benefits-major-pitfalls/) - Written by Neil Levy Large language models look set to transform every aspect of life over the coming decades. Some of these changes will be dramatic. I'm pretty unconcerned by the apocalyptic scenarios that preoccupy some people, but much more worried about the elimination of jobs (interestingly, the jobs that seem likeliest to be eliminated are
- [Stay Clear of the Door](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/06/stay-clear-of-the-door/) - The Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics is located in an old carpet warehouse on an ordinary side street in Oxford. As you are granted access to the building – be it via buzzer or key card – a dry, somewhat sad, voice states “stay clear of the door” before the door slowly swings open.
- [Resisting Nudges](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/06/resisting-nudges/) - By Gabriel De Marco Consider the following case: Classic Food Placement (FP): In order to encourage healthy eating, cafeteria staff place healthy food options at eye-level, whereas unhealthy options are placed lower down. Diners are more likely to pick healthy foods and less likely to pick unhealthy foods than they would have been otherwise. This
- [Video Interview: Introducing Academic Visitor Prof Antonio Diéguez Lucena](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/06/video-interview-introducing-academic-visitor-prof-antonio-dieguez-lucena/) - An interview with Prof Antonio Diéguez Lucena, professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science at the University of Málaga, Spain. Here he speaks of his research into the philosophy of biology and technology. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxUvgz2_Ays
- [Horror, Fear and Trust in a Neonatal Unit](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/06/horror-fear-and-trust-in-a-neonatal-unit/) - by Dominic Wilkinson This week, closing evidence was presented in the long-running trial of Lucy Letby, a nurse who is accused of murdering seven newborn infants (and attempting to murder 10 more) in a neonatal intensive care unit in Chester between 2015 and 2016. In the coming weeks, the jury will consider and then return
- [‘Naming and Shaming: Responding to Lookism’](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/06/naming-and-shaming-responding-to-lookism/) - On the evening of Friday 9 June, Prof. Heather Widdows presented the inaugural Michael Lockwood Memorial Lecture, as part of a weekend of events to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and the fifth of the MSt. in Practical Ethics, based in the Centre. The title of Prof. Widdows’
- [Guest Post: High Risk, Low Reward: A Challenge to the Astronomical Value of Existential Risk Mitigation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/06/guest-post-high-risk-low-reward-a-challenge-to-the-astronomical-value-of-existential-risk-mitigation/) - Written by David Thorstad , Global Priorities Institute, Junior Research Fellow, Kellogg College This post is based on my paper “High risk, low reward: A challenge to the astronomical value of existential risk mitigation,” forthcoming in Philosophy and Public Affairs. The full paper is available here and I have also written a blog series about this paper
- [The Daft Discussion of Dangerous Dogs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/06/the-daft-discussion-of-dangerous-dogs/) - Written by Rebecca Brown Breed Specific Legislation The UK currently imposes what’s called ‘Breed Specific Legislation’ in an effort to limit serious injuries due to dog attacks. The legislation was introduced in 1991 and made it illegal to own, sell, abandon, give away or breed dogs deemed to belong to one of four banned breeds.
- [From Experience to Insight – the Personal Dimension of Philosophy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/05/from-experience-to-insight-the-personal-dimension-of-philosophy/) - Muriel Leuenberger discusses the personal dimension of philosophy and how trends and topics in philosophy are influenced by who is doing philosophy.
- [Video Interview: Introducing Academic Visitor Dr María de Jesús Medina Arellano](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/05/video-interview-introducing-academic-visitor-dr-maria-de-jesus-medina-arellano/) - An interview with academic visitor Dr María de Jesús Medina Arellano, Professor and Researcher at the Institute of Legal Research at the National Autonomous University (UNAM), on her research focusing on the ethics and regulation of biotechnologies in developing countries, such as stem cell science, human genome editing and reproductive technologies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61_bbnViwLw
- [Book Launch: Pandemic Ethics: From Covid-19 to Disease X](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/05/book-launch-pandemic-ethics-from-covid-19-to-disease-x/) - Press release and an interview with Prof Dominic Wilkinson on the new book, Pandemic Ethics: From Covid-19 to Disease X, which he has co-authored with Prof Julian Savulescu. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d__B0Dwjks4 Press Release: Are we ethically prepared for Disease X? 1 May 2023 According to some estimates, there is more than a one in four chance in
- [In Praise of Unthinking National Religion](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/04/in-praise-of-unthinking-national-religion/) - By Charles Foster Image: Easter on Santorini: Georgios Michos, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons: Link to image here. I spent Orthodox Easter in Greece. Then, and for the week afterwards, the neon displays over the main roads announced 'Christ is Risen', and the shopkeepers wished me a 'Good Resurrection'. This piety isn't reserved
- [Cross Post: Dutch Government to Expand Euthanasia Law to Include Children Aged One to 12 – An Ethicist’s View](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/04/cross-post-dutch-government-to-expand-euthanasia-law-to-include-children-aged-one-to-12-an-ethicists-view/) - Written by Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford Ernst Kuipers, the Dutch health minister, recently announced that regulations were being modified to allow doctors to actively end the lives of children aged one to 12 years who were terminally ill and suffering unbearably. Previously, assisted dying was an option in the Netherlands in rare cases in
- [ChatGPT Has a Sexual Harassment Problem](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/04/chatgpt-has-a-sexual-harassment-problem/) - written by César Palacios-González @CPalaciosG If I were to post online that you have been accused of sexually harassing someone, you could rightly maintain that this is libellous. This is a false statement that damages your reputation. You could demand that I correct it and that I do so as soon as possible. The legal
- [Should the NHS pay for homeopathic remedies?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2010/03/should-the-nhs-pay-for-homeopathic-remedies/) - Homeopathy is form of alternative medicine which was first developed in the late 18th Century and has been hovering on the fringes of medicine ever since. Homeopathic remedies are prepared by a process of extreme dilution of a harmful substance and it is claimed by homeopaths that a substance taken in very small
- [It is not about AI, it is about humans](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/04/it-is-not-about-ai-it-is-about-humans/) - Written by Alberto Giubilini We might be forgiven for asking so frequently these days whether we should trust artificial intelligence. Too much has been written about the promises and perils of ChatGPT to escape the question. Upon reading both enthusiastic and concerned accounts of it, there seems to be very little the software cannot do.
- [How Brain-to-Brain Interfaces Will Make Things Difficult for Us](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/how-brain-to-brain-interfaces-will-make-things-difficult-for-us/) - Written by David Lyreskog A growing number of technologies are currently being developed to improve and distribute thinking and decision-making. Rapid progress in brain-to-brain interfacing, and hybrid and artificial intelligence, promises to transform how we think about collective and collaborative cognitive tasks. With implementations ranging from research to entertainment, and from therapeutics to military
- [Video Interview: Introducing Dr Emma Dore Horgan](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/video-interview-introducing-dr-emma-dore-horgan/) - An interview with OUC academic visitor and former Oxford Uehiro Centre DPhil student Dr Emma Dore Horgan on her research into the ethics of neuro-interventions for offenders. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6sM-cRXsGI
- [Prof Matthias Braun discussing the value of academic collaboration](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/prof-matthias-braun-discussing-the-value-of-academic-collaboration/) - In a new short video academic visitor Matthias Braun discusses the value of academic collaboration with the Uehiro Centre's Rebecca Brown.
- [Video Interview: Introducing Oxford Uehiro Centre's Academic Visitor, Prof Dr Matthias Braun](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/video-interview-introducing-oxford-uehiro-centres-academic-visitor-prof-dr-matthias-braun/) - In the first of a new series of short videos produced by the OUC introducing the academic visitors at the Oxford Uehiro Centre and the practical ethics research that they are involved in. https://youtu.be/ruguSLjzQsU
- [Nudge Drugs: should the social side-effects of medications weigh into public health?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2012/03/nudge-drugs-should-the-social-side-effects-of-medications-weigh-into-public-health/) - You are a public health official responsible for the purchasing of medications for the hospitals within your catchment area in the NHS. Your policies significantly affect which, out of the serpentine lists of heart disease medications, for example, are available to your patients. Today, you must choose between purchasing one of three heart disease medications:
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Turning up the Hedonic Treadmill: Is It Morally Impermissible for Parents to Give Their Children a Luxurious Standard of Living?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-turning-up-the-hedonic-treadmill-is-it-morally-impermissible-for-parents-to-give-their-children-a-luxurious-standard-of-living/) - This essay was the overall winner in the Undergraduate Category of the 2023 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by University of Oxford student, Lukas Joosten Most parents think they are helping their children when they give them a very high standard of life. This essay argues that giving luxuries to your children
- [Why Actions Matter: The Case for Fluid Moral Status](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/why-actions-matter-the-case-for-fluid-moral-status/) - This article received an honourable mention in the graduate category of the 2023 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by Lucy Simpson, Nottingham Trent University student Throughout the catalogue of work produced by Jeff McMahan, he has discussed what constitutes a being’s moral status, and has advocated the theories of moral individualism and reflective
- [Do we have an Obligation to Diversify our Media Consumption ?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/do-we-have-an-obligation-to-diversify-our-media-consumption/) - This article received an honourable mention in the graduate category of the 2023 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by James Shearer, University of St Andrews student Introduction In an increasingly politicised society, previously mundane decisions about our daily lives can take on normative qualities. One such question is “what news media should we consume?”.
- [Announcing the Winners and Runners Up in the 9th Annual National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/announcing-the-winners-and-runners-up-in-the-9th-annual-national-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics/) - Please join us in congratulating all four of the finalists in the National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2023, and in particular our winners, Lukas Joosten and Avital Fried. We would also like to thank our judges, Prof Roger Crisp, Prof Edward Harcourt and Dr Sarah Raskoff. This, the final of the 9th Annual
- [Why Preventing Predation Can Be a Morally Right Cause for Effective Altruism?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/why-preventing-predation-can-be-a-morally-right-cause-for-effective-altruism/) - This article received an honourable mention in the graduate category of the 2023 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by University of Oxford student Pablo Neira If the interests of sentient animals matter, then there are (at least pro tanto) reasons to prevent the harms they suffer. There are many different natural harms
- [Eth­i­cal Bi­o­log­i­cal Nat­u­ral­ism and the Case Against Moral Sta­tus for AIs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/eth­i­cal-bi­o­log­i­cal-nat­u­ral­ism-and-the-case-against-moral-sta­tus-for-ais/) - This article received an honourable mention in the graduate category of the 2023 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by University of Oxford student Samuel Iglesias In­tro­duc­tion 6.522. "There are, in­deed, things that can­not be put into words. They make them­selves man­i­fest. They are what is mys­ti­cal". —Lud­wig Wittgen­stein, Trac­ta­tus Logi­co Philo­soph­icus. What
- [How Confucian Harmony Can Help Us Deal with Echo Chambers](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/how-confucian-harmony-can-help-us-deal-with-echo-chambers/) - This article received an honourable mention in the graduate category of the 2023 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by Kyle van Oosterum, University of Oxford student Section 1 - Introduction Many of us are part of or aware of the existence of widespread echo chambers on social media. Echo chambers seem concerning
- [Should Social Media Companies Use Artificial Intelligence to Automate Content Moderation on their Platforms and, if so, Under What Conditions?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/should-social-media-companies-use-artificial-intelligence-to-automate-content-moderation-on-their-platforms-and-if-so-under-what-conditions/) - This article received an honourable mention in the graduate category of the 2023 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by University of Oxford student Trenton Andrew Sewell Social Media Companies (SMCs) should use artificial intelligence (‘AI’) to automate content moderation (‘CM’) presuming they meet two kinds of conditions. Firstly, ‘End Conditions’ (‘ECs’) which restrict
- [Cross Post: Why Government Budgets are Exercises in Distributing Life and Death as Much as Fiscal Calculations](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/cross-post-why-government-budgets-are-exercises-in-distributing-life-and-death-as-much-as-fiscal-calculations/) - Written by Hazem Zohny, University of Oxford Sacrificial dilemmas are popular among philosophers. Should you divert a train from five people strapped to the tracks to a side-track with only one person strapped to it? What if that one person were a renowned cancer researcher? What if there were only a 70% chance the five
- [Healthcare Allocation for Limited Budgets](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/healthcare-allocation-for-limited-budgets/) - By Joshua Parker and Ben Davies Like many public services, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is under increasing resource pressure across the service. Acute services are under strain, with every stage between dialling 999 and getting into a hospital bed taking longer. Waiting times are also up for non-urgent care: 7 million people are
- [Healthcare Ethics Has a Gap…](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/06/healthcare-ethics-has-a-gap/) - By Ben Davies Last month, the UK’s Guardian newspaper reported on a healthcare crisis in the country. If you live in the UK, you may have already had an inkling of this crisis from personal experience. But if you don’t live here, and particularly if you are professionally involved in philosophical ethics, see if you
- [Honesty and Public Health Communication: Part 2](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/honesty-and-public-health-communication-part-2/) - Written by Rebecca Brown This post is based on two recently accepted articles: Brown and de Barra ‘A Taxonomy of Non-Honesty in Public Health Communication’, and de Barra and Brown ‘Public Health Communication Should be More Transparent’. In a previous post, I discussed some of the requirements for public health institutions to count as ‘honest’.
- [National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: The Ambiguous Ethicality of Applause: Ethnography’s Uncomfortable Challenge to the Ethical Subject](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/national-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-the-ambiguous-ethicality-of-applause-ethnographys-uncomfortable-challenge-to-the-ethical-subject/) - This article received an honourable mention in the graduate category of the 2023 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by University of Manchester student Thomas Long Abstract This essay presents, first and foremost, the recollections of a doctoral anthropologist as they attempt to make sense of a moment of embodied, ethical dissonance: a moment
- [National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Why the Responsibility Gap is Not a Compelling Objection to Lethal Autonomous Weapons](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/national-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-why-the-responsibility-gap-is-not-a-compelling-objection-to-lethal-autonomous-weapons/) - This article received an honourable mention in the undergraduate category of the 2023 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by Tanae Rao, University of Oxford student There are some crimes, such as killing non-combatants and mutilating corpses, so vile that they are clearly impermissible even in the brutal chaos of war. Upholding human
- [National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: What is Wrong With Stating Slurs?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/national-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-what-is-wrong-with-stating-slurs/) - This article received an honourable mention in the undergraduate category of the 2023 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by Leah O'Grady, University of Oxford This essay will argue that it is wrong to use slurs in a non-derogatory context due to the phenomena of constitutive prohibition, put forward by Alexandre and
- [Announcement: Finalists of the 9th Annual National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics and Final Presentation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/02/announcement-finalists-of-the-9th-annual-national-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-and-final-presentation/) - We are pleased to announce the four finalists for the National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2023 and to invite you to attend the final where they will present their entries. Two finalists have been selected from each category to present their ideas to an audience and respond to a short Q&A as the
- [Who Gets to Be a Person?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/02/who-gets-to-be-a-person/) - In this blogpost, Muriel Leuenberger explores how we define who gets to be a person and why this is particularly difficult for thick concepts like personhood or self.
- [Demoralizing Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/02/demoralizing-ethics/) - by Roger Crisp This may be an odd thing for a moral philosopher to say, but I think that morality is not fundamentally important. In fact, I think it would be helpful if we stopped using, or at least drastically cut the use of, moral language in philosophical ethics, unless we are engaged in some
- [Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization and doctors’ conscientious commitment to provide abortion](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/02/dobbs-v-jackson-womens-health-organization-and-doctors-conscientious-commitment-to-provide-abortion/) - Alberto Giubilini, University of Oxford Udo Schuklenk, Queen's University Francesca Minerva, University of Milan Julian Savulescu, National University of Singapore and University of Oxford (reposted from the Journal of Medical Ethics Blog ) The reversal of the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling by the US Supreme Court in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization removed the Constitutional protection of
- [Is Authenticity Coherent?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/02/is-authenticity-coherent/) - By Neil Levy Authenticity is a widely espoused ideal; often under that name but also under other labels. People take pride in being individuals, set apart from the crowd, in not following the herd, in thinking for themselves. To be accused of conformism stings. But let’s think about a very standard example of inauthenticity: the
- [The Authentic Liar](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/02/the-authentic-liar/) - This blogpost considers the question whether someone can be an authentic liar, given that notorious liars like Boris Johnson and Donald Trump have built up an image as being particularly authentic.
- [Guest Cross Post: Extremism And The Sensible Centre](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/02/guest-cross-post-extremism-and-the-sensible-centre/) - Written by Tony Coady , Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Melbourne and Honorary Professor at the Australian Catholic University, Honorary Fellow in the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics in Oxford. There are a plethora of terms in widespread political and social use that often obfuscate more than they elucidate. One of those
- [Mummification and Moral Blindness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/01/mummification-and-moral-blindness/) - By Charles Foster Image: The Great Sphinx and Pyramids of Gizeh (Giza), 17 July 1839, by David Roberts: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons Words are powerful. When a word is outlawed, the prohibition tends to chill or shut down debate in a wide area surrounding that word. That tendency is much discussed, but it's not
- [Can the religious beliefs of parents justify the nonconsensual cutting of their child’s genitals?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2012/06/religion-is-no-excuse-for-mutilating-your-babys-penis/) - Circumcising minors on religious grounds amounts to grievous bodily harm according to a German court ruling issued on Tuesday. Is this a case of anti-Semitism?
- [Guest Post: Body Shaming is Unacceptable, Even if Directed at Vile People. An Intersex Critique of “Small Dick Energy” ](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/01/guest-post-body-shaming-is-unacceptable-even-if-directed-at-vile-people-an-intersex-critique-of-small-dick-energy/) - Guest post by Morgan Carpenter, bioethicist; co-founder and executive director, Intersex Human Rights Australia; Magda Rakita co-founder and executive director, Fundacja Interakcja (Poland), and co-chair, OII Europe; and Bo Laurent, founder, Intersex Society of North America We love Greta Thunberg. But we were hurt and disappointed that she chose “small dick energy” as a pejorative
- [The New Relevance of Rationing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2023/01/the-new-relevance-of-rationing/) - By Ben Davies Decisions about how to allocate healthcare resources can be divided, somewhat crudely, into macro- and micro-level choices. Roughly speaking, macro-choices are policy choices, often made outside any clinical setting, e.g., by government. For instance, it is a macro-level choice which treatments to fund to what degree, and how large the health budget
- [Moral Psychology at the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/12/moral-psychology-at-the-uehiro-centre-for-practical-ethics/) - The BioXPhi lab at the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics uses methods of experimental moral psychology to investigate the psychological processes that shape moral intuitions, judgments and reasoning and concepts. But why should ethics and moral philosophy care about psychology?
- [Is the non-therapeutic circumcision of infant boys morally permissible?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2011/08/circumcision-is-immoral-should-be-banned/) - Routine neonatal circumcision in boys is cruel and immoral, deeply and disturbingly so; and it should be illegal as well. This is not a complicated issue, as I will show. Yet lawmakers in California...
- [Guest Post: It has become possible to use cutting-edge AI language models to generate convincing high school and undergraduate essays. Here’s why that matters](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/12/guest-post-it-has-become-possible-to-use-cutting-edge-ai-language-models-to-generate-convincing-high-school-and-undergraduate-essays-heres-why-that-matters/) - Written by: Julian Koplin & Joshua Hatherley, Monash University ChatGPT is a variant of the GPT-3 language model developed by OpenAI. It is designed to generate human-like text in response to prompts given by users. As with any language model, ChatGPT is a tool that can be used for a variety of purposes, including academic research
- [Crosspost: Impostor syndrome and pretense](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/12/crosspost-impostor-syndrome-and-pretense/) - Written by Neil Levy The original version of this article was published at New Work in Philosophy. It’s hard to get any sort of reliable estimates of its prevalence, but impostor syndrome seems to be very widespread. Lots of people report feeling it, at least on occasion, and we might well suspect those who
- [Cross Post: Halving Subsidised Psychology Appoints is a Grave Mistake—Young Australians Will Bear a Significant Burden ](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/12/cross-post-halving-subsidised-psychology-appoints-is-a-grave-mistake-young-australians-will-bear-a-significant-burden/) - Written by Dr Daniel D’Hotman, DPhil student studying mental health and ethics at the Oxford Uehiro Centre The original version of this article was published in the Sydney Morning Herald Unprecedented times called for unprecedented measures. COVID-19 was the most significant health crisis many of us had ever faced. While the physical effects were much
- [There Is No Such Thing As A Purely Logical Argument](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/12/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-purely-logical-argument/) - Written By Mette Leonard Høeg This blogpost is a prepublication draft of an article forthcoming in THINK. It is well-known that rational insight and understanding of scientific facts do not necessarily lead to psychological change and shifts in intuitions. In his paper “Grief and the inconsolation of philosophy” (unpublished manuscript), Dominic Wilkinson sheds light on
- [Abortion in Wonderland](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/12/abortion-in-wonderland/) - By Charles Foster Image: Heidi Crowter: Copyright Don't Screen Us Out Scene: A pub in central London John: They did something worthwhile there today, for once, didn't they? [He motions towards the Houses of Parliament] Jane: What was that? John: Didn't you hear? They've passed a law saying that a woman can abort
- [Simulate Your True Self](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/12/simulate-your-true-self/) - Through the example of the movie Don't Worry Darling, I explore whether living in a simulation, with a simulated and potentially altered body and mind, would entail giving up your true self or if you could come closer to it by freeing yourself from the constraints of reality.
- [Nudges and Incomplete Preferences](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/11/nudges-and-incomplete-preferences/) - Written by Sarah Raskoff (Post is based on my recently published paper in Bioethics) Nudges are small changes in the presentation of options that make a predictable impact on people's decisions. Proponents of nudges often claim that they are justified as paternalistic interventions that respect autonomy: they lead people to make better choices, while still
- [The Non-Rationality of Radical Human Enhancement and Transhumanism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/12/the-non-rationality-of-radical-human-enhancement-and-transhumanism/) - Written by David Lyreskog The human enhancement debate has over the last few decades been concerned with ethical issues in methods for improving the physical, cognitive, or emotive states of individual people, and of the human species as a whole. Arguments in favour of enhancement, particularly from transhumanists, typically defend it as a paradigm of
- [The Football World Cup in Qatar](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/11/the-football-world-cup-in-qatar/) - By Alberto Giubilini The forthcoming World Cup in Qatar is perhaps the most controversial in football history. Qatari social, religious, and legal norms clash with values that many people from other parts of the world hold dear. For example, things like extramarital sex, same-sex behaviour, and importation of religious books are illegal in
- [Guest Post: Could Laboratory Created Brains in the Future have Moral Status?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/11/guest-post-could-laboratory-created-brains-in-the-future-have-moral-status/) - Written by Dominic McGuire, DPhil Student, Queen's College Oxford Jonathan Pugh’s interesting Practical Ethics blog of October 14th, 2022, https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/10/brain-cells-slime-mold-and-sentience-semantics/, prompted several additional thoughts. Pugh’s blog considered some of the implications from recent media reports about laboratory grown brains, also called minibrains, which can play the video game of Pong. Pong is a simple representation
- [Cross Post: When Can You Refuse to Rescue?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/11/cross-post-when-can-you-refuse-to-rescue/) - Written by Theron Pummer This article originally appeared in the OUPBlog You can save a stranger’s life. Right now, you can open a new tab in your internet browser and donate to a charity that reliably saves the lives of people living in extreme poverty. Don’t have the money? Don’t worry—you can give your time
- [One year of DefaultVeg at the Uehiro Centre](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/11/one-year-of-defaultveg-at-the-uehiro-centre/) - Today (1 November) is ‘world vegan day’. This is a good moment to reflect on a decision that the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics took almost exactly a year ago. In October 2021, we chose to firmly commit to a DefaultVeg approach to help reduce meat and dairy consumption. Such reduction will help transform
- [Does Moral Ignorance Excuse?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/10/does-moral-ignorance-excuse/) - Written by Neil Levy Everyone agrees that ignorance of fact can excuse. If I take your suitcase thinking it was mine, and my belief that it was mine was faultless (perhaps the coach driver handed it to me, saying “this is yours”, and it looked exactly like mine), I seem excused of blame for taking
- [Brain Cells, Slime Mould, and Sentience Semantics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/10/brain-cells-slime-mold-and-sentience-semantics/) - Recent media reports have highlighted a study suggesting that so-called “lab grown brain cells” can “play the video game ‘Pong’”. Whilst the researchers have described the system as ‘sentient’, others have maintained that we should use the term ''thinking system” to describe the system that the researchers created. Does it matter whether we describe this
- [Announcement: National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Now Open For Entries](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/10/announcement-national-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-now-open-for-entries/) - NATIONAL OXFORD UEHIRO PRIZE IN PRACTICAL ETHICS 2023 • All graduate and undergraduate students (full and part-time) currently enrolled at any UK university, in any subject, are invited to enter the National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics by submitting an essay of up to 2000 words on any topic relevant to practical ethics. •
- [What is the Most Important Question in Ethics?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/10/what-is-the-most-important-question-in-ethics/) - by Roger Crisp It’s often been said (including by Socrates) that the most important, ultimate, or fundamental question in ethics is: ‘How should one live?’. That is usually understood as equivalent to: ‘How should I live?’. If so, then I’m not sure that this is the most important ethical question. Consider the following case from
- [New issue of the Journal of Practical Ethics - Volume 10 Issue 1](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/10/new-issue-of-the-journal-of-practical-ethics-volume-10-issue-1/) - We are pleased to announce the publication of Volume 10 Issue 1 of the Journal of Practical Ethics, our open access journal on moral and political philosophy. You can read our complete open access archive online and hard copies will be available to be purchased at cost price shortly. Anderson, E. S., (2022) “Can We
- [Are We Heading Towards a Post-Responsibility Era?  Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Morality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/09/are-we-heading-towards-a-post-responsibility-era-artificial-intelligence-and-the-future-of-morality/) - By Maximilian Kiener. First published on the Public Ethics Blog AI, Today and Tomorrow 77% of our electronic devices already use artificial intelligence (AI). By 2025, the global market of AI is estimated to grow to 60 billion US dollars. By 2030, AI may even boost global GDP by 15.7 trillion US dollars. And, at
- [Fracking and the Precautionary Principle](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/09/fracking-and-the-precautionary-principle/) - By Charles Foster Image> Leolynn11, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons The UK Government has lifted the prohibition on fracking. The risks associated with fracking have been much discussed. There is widespread agreement that earthquakes cannot be excluded. The precautionary principle springs immediately to mind. There are many iterations of this principle. The gist
- [Protecting Children or Policing Gender?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/09/protecting-children-or-policing-gender/) - Laws on genital mutilation, gender affirmation and cosmetic genital surgery are at odds. The key criteria should be medical necessity and consent.
- [Guest Post: Dear Robots, We Are Sorry](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/09/guest-post-dear-robots-we-are-sorry/) - Written by Stephen Milford, PhD Institute for Biomedical Ethics, Basel University The rise of AI presents humanity with an interesting prospect: a companion species. Ever since our last hominid cousins went extinct from the island of Flores almost 12,000 years ago, homo Sapiens have been alone in the world.[i] AI, true AI, offers us the
- [Reflective Equilibrium in a Turbulent Lake: AI Generated Art and The Future of Artists](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/09/reflective-equilibrium-in-a-turbulent-lake-ai-generated-art-and-the-future-of-artists/) - by Anders Sandberg - Future of Humanity Institute, University of Oxford Is there a future for humans in art? Over the last few weeks the question has been loudly debated online, as machine learning did a surprise charge into making pictures. One image won a state art fair. But artists complain that the AI art
- [Does Female Genital Mutilation Have Health Benefits? The Problem with Medicalizing Morality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/08/does-female-genital-mutilation-have-health-benefits-the-problem-with-medicalizing-morality/) - Does Female Genital Mutilation Have Health Benefits? The Problem with Medicalizing Morality By Brian D. Earp (@briandavidearp) Four members of the Dawoodi Bohra sect of Islam living in Detroit, Michigan have recently been indicted on charges of female genital mutilation (FGM). This is the first time the US government has prosecuted an “FGM” case since a federal law was passed
- [Cross Post: In Defense of Offense](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/02/cross-post-in-defense-of-offense/) - Written by Michael Robillard In Defense of Offense “The urge to censor is greatest where debate is most disquieting and orthodoxy most entrenched…” –Chief Judge Alex Kozinski In September of last year, conservative speaker, Ben Shapiro, spoke at the UC Berkeley campus for approximately 90 minutes. The cost of security for the physical protection
- [Guest Post: The Ethics of the Insulted—Salman Rushdie’s Case](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/09/guest-post-the-ethics-of-the-insulted-salman-rushdies-case/) - Written by Hossein Dabbagh – Philosophy Tutor at Oxford University hossein.dabbagh@conted.ox.ac.uk We have the right, ceteris paribus, to ridicule a belief (its propositional content), i.e., harshly criticise it. If someone, despite all evidence, for instance, believes with certainty that no one can see him when he closes his eyes, we might be justified to
- [In Defense of Obfuscation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/09/in-defense-of-obfuscation/) - Written by Mette Leonard Høeg At the What’s the Point of Moral Philosophy congress held at the University of Oxford this summer, there was near-consensus among the gathered philosophers that clarity in moral philosophy and practical ethics is per definition good and obscurity necessarily bad. Michael J. Zimmerman explicitly praised clarity and accessibility in philosophical
- [We Need To Have A Conversation About "We Need To Have A Conversation"](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/08/we-need-to-have-a-conversation-about-we-need-to-have-a-conversation/) - By Ben Davies When new technologies emerge, ethical questions inevitably arise about their use. Scientists with relevant expertise will be invited to speak on radio, on television, and in newspapers (sometimes ethicists are asked, too, but this is rarer). In many such cases, a particular phrase gets used when the interview turns to potential ethical
- [The Moral Elephant in the Room – Patient Morality in Psychiatry](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/08/the-moral-elephant-in-the-room-patient-morality-in-psychiatry/) - Cross-post from the Journal of Medical Ethics Blog. By Doug McConnell, Matthew Broome, and Julian Savulescu. In our paper, “Making psychiatry moral again”, we aim to develop and justify a practical ethical guide for psychiatric involvement in patient moral growth. Ultimately we land on the view that psychiatrists should help patients express their own
- [The Weaponization of Bullshit](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/08/the-weaponization-of-bullshit/) - by Neil Levy It’s not often that philosophers come to broader public attention, but Harry Frankfurt managed it with his 2005 book On Bullshit. The book made the best-seller lists and led to a Daily Show appearance. On Bullshit had a more recent resurgence with the advent of the Trump presidency, as people sought to
- [Awareness of a Nudge is not Required for Resistance of a Nudge](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/08/awareness-of-a-nudge-is-not-required-for-resistance-of-a-nudge/) - Written by Gabriel De Marco and Thomas Douglas This blog post is based on our forthcoming paper: “Nudge Transparency is not Required for Nudge Resistibility,” Ergo. Consider the following cases: Food Placement. In order to encourage healthy eating, cafeteria staff place healthy food options at eye-level, whereas unhealthy options are placed lower down.
- [Video Interview: Prof Erica Charters on when does (or did) the Covid-19 pandemic end?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/08/video-interview-prof-erica-charters-on-when-does-or-did-the-covid-19-pandemic-end/) - In this 'Thinking Out Loud' episode, Katrien Devolder (philosophy, Oxford) interviews Erica Charters, Professor of the Global History of Medicine at the University of Oxford about how we know, or decide, when the covid-19 pandemic ends. Professor Charters explains why the end as well as the beginning of a pandemic are murky, and what past
- [We Should Regulate Politicians’ Public Statements Like Advertisements](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/08/we-should-regulate-politicians-public-statements-like-advertisements/) - Written by Hazem Zohny There are strict regulations in place to stop businesses falsely advertising their products or services -- why not the same for politicians? Lizz Truss and Rishi Sunak are currently trying to appeal to the Conservative party members who will determine the UK’s next prime minister in September – why can they
- [First synthetic embryos: the scientific breakthrough raises serious ethical questions](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/08/first-synthetic-embryos-the-scientific-breakthrough-raises-serious-ethical-questions/) - Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford; Christopher Gyngell, The University of Melbourne, and Tsutomu Sawai, Hiroshima University Children, even some who are too young for school, know you can’t make a baby without sperm and an egg. But a team of researchers in Israel have called into question the basics of what we teach children about
- [Video Interview: Prof Peter Railton, AI and moral obligations](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/08/video-interview-prof-peter-railton-ai-and-moral-obligations/) - In this Thinking Out Loud interview with Katrien Devolder, Philosophy Professor Peter Railton presents his take on how to understand, and interact with, AI. He talks about how AI can have moral obligations towards us, humans, and towards each other, and why we, humans, have moral obligations towards AI agents. He also stresses that the
- [Press release: Battersbee appeal at European Court declined](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/08/press-release-battersbee-appeal-at-european-court-declined/) - by Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics Tonight, the European Court responded to Archie’s parents' request for a final appeal against the decision by a series of UK courts to end the treatment keeping him alive. What happened in the European Court? The European Court provided a rapid answer to the application by Archie’s lawyers earlier
- [Sex and Punishment: How Old Do You Have to Be?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/08/sex-and-punishment-how-old-do-you-have-to-be/) - By Maximilian Kiener In March 2022, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte signed a bill that increased the minimum age for sexual consent from 12 to 16 years. This bill marked a significant change to a previous law that dated back to 1930.[1] International Organisations have advocated for a changed in the Philippines for a long time
- [Press release: Battersbee final* appeal rejected](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/08/press-release-battersbee-final-appeal-rejected/) - by Dominic Wilkinson In the latest legal hearing, in a long running dispute about treatment for brain-injured 12 year old Archie Battersbee, the Court of Appeal yesterday rejected his family’s request to delay stopping treatment until a UN committee had reviewed his case. Why was the appeal rejected? Archie’s parents had previously mounted a series
- [Epistemic Diligence and Honesty](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/07/epistemic-diligence-and-honesty/) - Written by Rebecca Brown All else being equal, it is morally good for agents to be honest. That is, agents shouldn’t, without good reason, engage in non-honest behaviours such as lying, cheating or stealing. What counts as a ‘good reason’ will vary depending on your preferred ethical theory. For instance, Kant (in)famously insisted that even
- [Event Summary: Hope in Healthcare - a talk by Professor Steve Clarke](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/07/event-summary-hope-in-healthcare-a-talk-by-professor-steve-clarke/) - In a special lecture on 14 June 2022, Professor Steve Clarke presented work co-authored with Justin Oakley, 'Hope in Healthcare'. It is widely supposed that it is important to imbue patients undergoing medical procedures with a sense of hope. But why is hope so important in healthcare, if indeed it is? We examine the answers
- [Can You Really Do More than What Duty Requires?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/07/can-you-really-do-more-than-what-duty-requires/) - By Roger Crisp Your legal duties are what the law demands of you: to pay your taxes, not to park on yellow lines. Moral duties are what morality demands of you: to keep your promises, not to kill the innocent. Most think it’s possible to 'go beyond' your moral duty. Imagine you’re one of the
- [The Morality of Sending Asylum Seekers to Rwanda](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/07/the-morality-of-sending-asylum-seekers-to-rwanda/) - Written by Doug McConnell The government has recently claimed that their policy to send asylum seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda as part of the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership is “completely moral” and responds to an “urgent moral imperative”. The justification for these claims is that the policy will act as a
- [The Homeric Power of Advance Directives](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/07/the-homeric-power-of-advance-directives/) - By Charles Foster [Image: Ulysses and the Sirens: John William Waterhouse, 1891: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne] We shouldn't underestimate Homer's hold on us. Whether or not we've ever read him, he created many of our ruling memes. I don't think it's fanciful (though it might be ambitious) to suggest that he, and the whole
- [Press Release: Court of Appeal decision in Dance & Battersbee (respondents/appellants) v Barts Health NHS Trust](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/06/press-release-court-of-appeal-decision-in-dance-battersbee-respondents-appellants-v-barts-health-nhs-trust/) - by Dominic Wilkinson Archie is legally alive, and the legal decision about whether it is in his best interests to keep him alive now needs to be revisited in the High Court. Today, the Court of Appeal made a decision in the case of Archie Battersbee to send the case back to the High Court
- [Track Thyself? Personal Information Technology and the Ethics of Self-knowledge](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/06/track-thyself-personal-information-technology-and-the-ethics-of-self-knowledge/) - Written by Muriel Leuenberger The ancient Greek injunction “Know Thyself” inscribed at the temple of Delphi represents just one among many instances where we are encouraged to pursue self-knowledge. Socrates argued that “examining myself and others is the greatest good” and according to Kant moral self-cognition is ‘‘the First Command of all Duties to Oneself’’.
- [Should Parents be Able to Decline Consent for Brain Death Testing in a Child?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/06/should-parents-be-able-to-decline-consent-for-brain-death-testing-in-a-child/) - by Dominic Wilkinson In the recently reported case of Archie Battersbee, a 12 year old boy with severe brain damage from lack of oxygen, a judge declared that he had died on 31st May. This was almost eight weeks after his tragic accident, and five weeks after doctors at his hospital first applied to the
- [Archie Battersbee: How the Court Reached its Conclusion](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/06/archie-battersbee-how-the-court-reached-its-conclusion/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford London’s high court has heard the tragic case of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee, who suffered severe brain damage after an accident at his home in Southend, Essex, in early April. On Monday, Mrs Justice Arbuthnot concluded that Archie was brain dead and that treatment should cease. His parents disagree and are
- [Cross Post: Is Google’s LaMDA conscious? A philosopher’s view](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/06/cross-post-is-googles-lamda-conscious-a-philosophers-view/) - Written by Benjamin Curtis, Nottingham Trent University and Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford LaMDA is Google’s latest artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot. Blake Lemoine, a Google AI engineer, has claimed it is sentient. He’s been put on leave after publishing his conversations with LaMDA. If Lemoine’s claims are true, it would be a milestone in
- [Can a Character in an Autobiographical Novel Review the Book in Which She Appears? On the Ethics of Literary Criticism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/06/can-a-character-in-an-autobiographical-novel-review-the-book-in-which-she-appears-on-the-ethics-of-literary-criticism/) - Written by Mette Leonard Høeg The common intuition in literary criticism, in art criticism in general and in the public cultural sphere is that it is wrong to engage in criticism of a work if you have a personal relation to its author. The critic who reviews the book of a friend, a professional contact
- [Peter Railton’s Uehiro Lectures 2022](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/06/peter-railtons-uehiro-lectures-2022/) - Written by Maximilian Kiener Professor Peter Railton, from the University of Michigan, delivered the 2022 Uehiro Lectures in Practical Ethics. In a series of three consecutive presentations entitled ‘Ethics and Artificial Intelligence’ Railton focused on what has become one the major areas in contemporary philosophy: the challenge of how to understand, interact with, and regulate
- [Google it, Mate.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/05/google-it-mate/) - Written by Neil Levy There’s just been an election in Australia. In elections nowadays, politicians attempt to portray themselves as one of us, or at least as someone who is in touch with ‘us’ (whoever ‘we’ are). Hence the (apparently disastrous) pictures of Ed Miliband eating a bacon sandwich. Increasingly, journalists see testing politicians to
- [Cross Post: Tech firms are making computer chips with human cells – is it ethical?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/05/cross-post-tech-firms-are-making-computer-chips-with-human-cells-is-it-ethical/) - Written by Julian Savulescu, Chris Gyngell, Tsutomu Sawai Cross-posted with The Conversation Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford; Christopher Gyngell, The University of Melbourne, and Tsutomu Sawai, Hiroshima University The year is 2030 and we are at the world’s largest tech conference, CES in Las Vegas. A crowd is gathered to watch a big tech company unveil
- [Returning To Personhood: On The Ethical Significance Of Paradoxical Lucidity In Late-Stage Dementia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/05/returning-to-personhood-on-the-ethical-significance-of-paradoxical-lucidity-in-late-stage-dementia/) - By David M Lyreskog About Dementia Dementia is a class of medical conditions which typically impair our cognitive abilities and significantly alter our emotional and personal lives. The absolute majority of dementia cases – approximately 70% – are caused by Alzheimer’s disease. Other causes include cardiovascular conditions, Lewy body disease, and Parkinson’s disease. In the
- [The Right To Tweet](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/05/the-right-to-tweet/) - By Doug McConnell On January 6th, 2021 Trump was locked out his Twitter account for 12 hours after describing the people who stormed the US Capitol as “patriots”. A few days later, his account was permanently suspended after further tweets that Twitter judged to risk “further incitement of violence” given the socio-political context at the
- [Abortion, Democracy, and Erring on the Side of Freedom](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/05/abortion-democracy-and-erring-on-the-side-of-freedom/) - by Alberto Giubilini (crosspost: this article appeared with a different title in iaiNews) The leaked draft opinion by Supreme Court Justice’ Samuel Alito foreshadows the overturn of the 1973 Roe vs Wade ruling. Roe vs Wade grounded women’s (limited) right to abortion in the US in the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution and its
- [Hang Onto Your Soul](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/05/hang-onto-your-soul/) - By Charles Foster Image: https://the-conscious-mind.com I can't avoid Steven Pinker at the moment. He seems to be on every page I read. I hear him all the time, insisting that I'm cosmically insignificant; that my delusional thoughts, my loves, my aspirations, and the B Minor Mass's effect on me are merely chemical events. I used
- [Video Interview: Is Vaccine Nationalism Justified?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/04/video-interview-is-vaccine-nationalism-justified/) - High income countries have been criticised for hoarding covid-19 vaccines: they have been accused of 'vaccine nationalism'. But what exactly is vaccine nationalism? Is it really wrong to prioritise one's own citizens, and, if so, why? How can we do better when the next pandemic strikes? In this Thinking Out Loud interview, philosopher Dr Jonathan
- [2022 Uehiro Lectures : Ethics and AI, Peter Railton. In Person and Hybrid](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/04/2022-uehiro-lectures-ethics-and-ai-peter-railton-in-person-and-hybrid/) - Ethics and Artificial Intelligence Professor Peter Railton, University of Michigan May 9, 16, and 23 (In person and hybrid. booking links below) Abstract: Recent, dramatic advancement in the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) raise a host of ethical questions about the development and deployment of AI systems. Some of these are questions long recognized as
- [Guest Post: The Ethics of Wimbledon’s Ban on Russian players](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/04/guest-post-the-ethics-of-wimbledons-ban-on-russian-players/) - Daniel Sokol is a barrister and ethicist in London, UK @DanielSokol9 The decision of the All England Club and the Lawn Tennis Association to ban all Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s Wimbledon and other UK tennis events is unethical, argues Daniel Sokol Whatever its lawfulness, the decision of the All England Club and
- [AI and the Transition Paradox](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/04/ai-and-the-transition-paradox/) - by Aksel Braanen Sterri The most important development in human history will take place not too far in the future. Artificial intelligence, or AI for short, will become better (and cheaper) than humans at most tasks. This will generate enormous wealth that can be used to fill human needs. However, since most humans will not
- [Rethinking 'Higher' and 'Lower' Pleasures](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/04/rethinking-higher-and-lower-pleasures/) - by Ben Davies One of John Stuart Mill’s most well-known claims concerns the distinction between higher and lower pleasures. Higher pleasures—which are, roughly, ‘mental’ pleasures—are, says Mill, always preferable to lower pleasures—the pleasures of the body. In Mill’s rendering, competent judges—those who have experience of both higher and lower pleasures—will choose a higher pleasure over
- [No, Plant-Based Meals Do Not Undermine Freedom of Choice](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/04/no-plant-based-meals-do-not-undermine-freedom-of-choice/) - No, Plant-Based Meals Do Not Undermine Freedom of Choice - written by Joanna Demaree-Cotton, Practical Ethics in the News Blog
- [New Publication: ‘Overriding Adolescent Refusals of Treatment’](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/04/new-publication-overriding-adolescent-refusals-of-treatment/) - Written by Anthony Skelton, Lisa Forsberg, and Isra Black Consider the following two cases: Cynthia’s blood transfusion. Cynthia is 16 years of age. She is hit by a car on her way to school. She is rushed to hospital. She sustains serious, life-threatening injuries and loses a lot of blood. Her physicians conclude that she
- [Just War, Economics, and Corporate Boycotting: A Review of Dr. Ted Lechterman’s 2022 St. Cross Special Ethics Seminar](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/04/just-war-economics-and-corporate-boycotting-a-review-of-dr-ted-lechtermans-2022-st-cross-special-ethics-seminar/) - Professor Larry Locke (University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and LCC International University) One of the more worrisome aspects of the modern concentration of resources in large corporations is that it often allows them to have societal impact beyond the capability of all but the wealthiest persons. Notwithstanding that disparity of power, much of modern ethical discourse
- [Slaps VS Jokes at the Oscars](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/04/slaps-vs-jokes-at-the-oscars/) - By Hazem Zohny Most of us draw a strict-ish line between actions that physically hurt and words that psychologically hurt. This is especially so when violence is used in response to words – hence the near universal condemnation of Will Smith’s cringey Oscars interruption. A slap is deemed a pathetic response to a joke, or any
- [Robert Audi on Moral Creditworthiness and Moral Obligation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/04/robert-audi-on-moral-creditworthiness-and-moral-obligation/) - by Roger Crisp On Tuesday 8 March, Professor Robert Audi, John A. O’Brien Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, gave a Public Lecture for the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics. The event was held in the Lecture Room at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford and was hybrid, the audience
- [The End Of The Egg?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/04/the-end-of-the-egg/) - written by Neil Levy There are no more free range eggs in the UK. They’re a victim of the pandemic – not COVID, but avian flu. Avian flu is devastating to the poultry industry, most immediately because outbreaks lead to the culling of all the birds. Avian flu can infect humans and has caused multiple
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: When Money Can’t Buy Happiness: Does Our Duty to Assist the Needy Require Us to Befriend the Lonely?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/04/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-when-money-cant-buy-happiness-does-our-duty-to-assist-the-needy-require-us-to-befriend-the-lonely/) - This article received an honourable mention in the undergraduate category of the 2022 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by Lukas Joosten, University of Oxford While most people accept some duty to assist to the needy, few accept a similar duty to befriend the lonely. In this essay I will argue that this position
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Why Don’t We Just Let The Wise Rule?!](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/04/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-why-dont-we-just-let-the-wise-rule/) - This article received an honourable mention in the undergraduate category of the 2022 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by Alexander Scoby, University of Cambridge Throughout history, democracy has been accused of producing objectively sub-optimal outcomes because it gives voice to the ‘mob’. 1 Recently, Brexit and the election of Trump have been the
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Terra Nullius, Populus Sine Terra: Who May Settle Antarctica?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/04/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-terra-nullius-populus-sine-terra-who-may-settle-antarctica/) - This article was the runner up in the undergraduate category of the 2022 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by Leo Rogers, University of Oxford Abstract Who may settle Antarctica? I first argue that there are no significant prior claims to Antarctic territory, which is completely uninhabited. I assume that the environmental case
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: How Should Career Choice Ethics Address Ignorance-Related Harms?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-how-should-career-choice-ethics-address-ignorance-related-harms/) - This article received an honourable mention in the graduate category of the 2022 National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics. Written by Open University student Lise du Buisson Introduction Choosing a career is a decision which governs most of our lives and, in large part, determines our impact on the world around us. Although being fortunate
- [The ABC of Responsible AI](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/03/the-abc-of-responsible-ai/) - Written by Maximilian Kiener Amazon’s Alexa recently told a ten-year-old girl to touch a live plug with a penny, encouraging the girl to do what could potentially lead to severe burns or even the loss of an entire limb.[1] Fortunately, the girl’s mother heard Alexa’s suggestion, intervened, and made sure her daughter stayed safe.
- [Cross Post: Western Pharma Companies Should Supply Only Essential Medicines to Russia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/03/cross-post-western-pharma-companies-should-supply-only-essential-medicines-to-russia/) - Written by Alex Polyakov, The University of Melbourne and Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford One glaring exception appears to be the majority of western pharmaceutical companies that continue to supply medicines and equipment. There is growing political and consumer pressure on these companies to take steps to join the concerted efforts designed to pressure the
- [Announcement: Philosophy and Psychiatry Summer School, 15 - 15 July 2022](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/03/announcement-philosophy-and-psychiatry-summer-school-15-15-july-2022/) - The Philosophy and Psychiatry Summer School returns this year, 14-15 July, at St Hilda's College Oxford. Registrations now open and the deadline for the early bird rate is 14th April. Keynote speaker: Essi Viding (Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London) Summer School Sessions run by: Khaldoon Ahmed (East London NHS Foundation Trust) with Susan Young
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Why We Should Negatively Discount the Well-Being of Future Generations](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-why-we-should-negatively-discount-the-well-being-of-future-generations/) - This essay was the winner in the undergraduate category of the 8th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by Matthew Price, University of Oxford Student Practical ethicists and policymakers alike must grapple with the problem of how to weigh the interests of future people against those of contemporary people. This question is most
- [Parliament Psychedelic](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/03/parliament-psychedelic/) - Written by Doug McConnell Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, and Liz Truss are on psychedelics at the Palace of Westminster. This isn’t the work of Russian spies who have dusted off the KGB playbook or yet another Downing Street party but, rather, a near-future professional development program for politicians. The path to this near-future scenario has
- [Exercise, Population Health and Paternalism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/03/exercise-population-health-and-paternalism/) - Written by Rebecca Brown The NHS is emphatic in its confidence that exercise is highly beneficial for health. From their page on the “Benefits of exercise” come statements like: “Step right up! It's the miracle cure we've all been waiting for” “This is no snake oil. Whatever your age, there's strong scientific evidence that being physically
- [Announcing the Winners and Runners Up in the 8th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/03/announcing-the-winners-and-runners-up-in-the-8th-annual-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics/) - Please join us in congratulating all four of the finalists in the National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2022, and in particular our winners, Matthew Price and Lily Moore-Eissenberg. This, the 8th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics was, for the first time, held as a National competition. From 5:30pm on the 15th
- [Video Interview: Julian Savulescu on the Selective Restriction of Liberty During the Pandemic](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/03/video-interview-julian-savulescu-on-the-selective-restriction-of-liberty-during-the-pandemic/) - Many people accept that, to protect public health, it is sometimes acceptable, or morally obligatory, to restrict people’s liberties. But there’s a lot of disagreement about how far these restrictions should go, and whom they should apply to: everyone, or certain groups of people only? In this Thinking out Loud interview, Professor Julian Savulescu (Uehiro
- [The Aliens Are Coming](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/03/the-aliens-are-coming/) - By Charles Foster It's said that 2022 is going to be a bumper year for UFO revelations. Secret archives are going to be opened and the skies are going to be probed as never before for signs of extraterrestrial life. This afternoon we might be presented with irrefutable evidence not just of life beyond the
- [Three Observations about Justifying AI](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/03/three-observations-about-justifying-ai/) - Written by: Anantharaman Muralidharan, G Owen Schaefer, Julian Savulescu Cross-posted with the Journal of Medical Ethics blog Consider the following kind of medical AI. It consists of 2 parts. The first part consists of a core deep machine learning algorithm. These blackbox algorithms may be more accurate than human judgment or interpretable algorithms, but are
- [Video Interview: Should We Vaccinate Young Children Against COVID?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/02/video-interview-should-we-vaccinate-young-children-against-covid/) - Many who had no doubts whatsoever about having themselves vaccinated against COVID, are much more hesitant when it comes to vaccinating their young children. Is such hesitancy justified? In this Thinking Out Loud interview, Katrien Devolder talks to Dominic Wilkinson, Consultant Neonatologist and Professor of Medical Ethics at the University of Oxford about the ethical
- [Your eyes will be discontinued: what are the long-term responsibilities for implants?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/02/your-eyes-will-be-discontinued-what-are-the-long-term-responsibilities-for-implants/) - by Anders Sandberg What do you do when your bionic eyes suddenly become unsupported and you go blind again? Eliza Strickland and Mark Harris have an excellent article in IEEE Spectrum about the problems caused when the bionics company Second Sight got into economic trouble. Patients with their Argus II eyes found that upgrades could
- [What is a party?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/02/what-is-a-party/) - By Alberto Giubilini There seems to be some confusion these days around what exactly a party is. The Sue Gray report updates on the alleged (i.e. actual) parties at No.10 during lockdowns cast doubts on our certainties. For what is a party? Intriguing question, for those into philosophy. You start by thinking you know
- [Should Vaccination Status Affect ICU Admission?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/02/should-vaccination-status-affect-icu-admission/) - By Ben Davies and Joshua Parker Intensive care units around the country are full, with a disproportionate number of patients who have not had a single COVID-19 vaccination. Doctors have been vocal in describing the emotional cost of caring for critically unwell patients suffering from the effects of a virus for which there is an
- [Spiderman and the Meaning of Hope](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/02/spiderman-and-the-meaning-of-hope/) - Written by Hazem Zohny. In Marvel’s latest ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, Peter Parker’s girlfriend MJ has a simple philosophy: “If you expect disappointment, then you can never really be disappointed.” She repeats this at various interludes in the movie, except as the plot gears up to the inevitable showdown with the villains, Peter Parker says
- [Impersonality and Non-identity: A Response to Bramble](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/02/impersonality-and-non-identity-a-response-to-bramble/) - by Roger Crisp Consider the following case, from David Boonin: Wilma. Wilma has decided to have a baby. She goes to her doctor for a checkup and the doctor tells her that...as things now stand, if she conceives, her child will have a disability. . . that clearly has a substantially negative impact on a person’s quality of
- [Cross Post: Is This the End of the Road for Vaccine Mandates in Healthcare?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/02/cross-post-is-this-the-end-of-the-road-for-vaccine-mandates-in-healthcare/) - Written by Dominic Wilkinson, Alberto Giubilini, and Julian Savulescu The UK government recently announced a dramatic U-turn on the COVID vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, originally scheduled to take effect on April 1 2022. Health or social care staff will no longer need to provide proof of vaccination to stay employed. The reason, as health
- [Social Media and the Loss of Knowledge](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/01/social-media-and-the-loss-of-knowledge/) - written by Neil Levy Here’s the common view of social media and its epistemic effects. Social media leads to people sequestering themselves in echo chambers, and echo chambers cause extreme and/or unjustified beliefs. When we don’t exchange opinions with a variety of people, we don’t have access to the full range of evidence and argument.
- [Cross Post: Vaccine Mandates For Healthcare Workers Should Be Scrapped – Omicron Has Changed The Game](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/01/cross-post-vaccine-mandates-for-healthcare-workers-should-be-scrapped-omicron-has-changed-the-game/) - Written by Dominic Wilkinson, Jonathan Pugh and Julian Savulescu Time is running out for National Health Service staff in England who have not had a COVID vaccine. Doctors and nurses have until Thursday, February 3, to have their first jab. If they don’t, they will not be fully immunised by the beginning of April and could
- [Guest Post: No, We Don’t Owe It To The Animals to Eat Them](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/01/guest-post-no-we-dont-owe-it-to-the-animals-to-eat-them/) - Written by Adrian Kreutz, New College, University of Oxford That eating animals constitutes a harm has by now largely leaked into public opinion. Only rarely do meat eaters deny that. Those who deny it usually do so on the grounds of an assumed variance in consciousness or ability to suffer between human and non-human animals.
- [Decoupling, Contextualising and Rationality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/01/decoupling-contextualising-and-rationality/) - Written by Rebecca Brown In February 2020, just before science journalists had to start writing about covid full time, Tom Chivers wrote an article for Unherd, ‘‘Eugenics is possible’ is not the same as ‘eugenics is good’’. In it he describes a Twitter outcry provoked by Richard Dawkins who tweeted: It’s one thing to deplore
- [Cross Post: Pig’s Heart Transplant: Was David Bennett the Right Person to Receive Groundbreaking Surgery?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/01/cross-post-pigs-heart-transplant-was-david-bennett-the-right-person-to-receive-groundbreaking-surgery/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford The recent world-first heart transplant from a genetically modified pig to a human generated both headlines and ethical questions. Many of those questions related to the ethics of xenotransplantation. This is the technical term for organ transplants between species. There has been research into this for more than a century,
- [Philosophical Fiddling While the World Burns: Second Movement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/01/philosophical-fiddling-while-the-world-burns-second-movement/) - Written by Doug McConnell Most ethicists would agree that the climate emergency is one of the most serious ethical problems society has ever faced, yet the focus of most of our work is elsewhere. In his piece, “Philosophical Fiddling While the World Burns”, Charles Foster suggests that business as usual for ethicists – “fine ethical
- [Was Djokovic Unethically Blamed and Shamed?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/01/was-djokovic-unethically-blamed-and-shamed/) - By Dominic Wilkinson, Julian Savulescu and Jonathan Pugh The decision about whether to grant tennis star Novak Djokovic a visa allowing him to stay in Australia to compete in the Australian Open Championship has generated significant controversy. Last week, the Australian Immigration minister exercised his power to cancel the player’s visa on the grounds of
- [Cognitive snobbery: The Unacceptable Bias in Favour of the Conscious](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/01/cognitive-snobbery-the-unacceptable-bias-in-favour-of-the-conscious/) - There are many corrosive forms of discrimination. But one of the most dangerous is the bias in favour of consciousness, and the consequent denigration of the unconscious. We see it everywhere. It's not surprising. For when we're unreflective - which is most of the time - we tend to suppose that we are our conscious
- [Are Public Health Institutions Honest?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2022/01/are-public-health-institutions-honest/) - By Rebecca Brown The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted various cracks in the function of our public institutions. One notable concern is the way in which scientific – including health – information is communicated to the public. Communication can serve different purposes. In the context of COVID-19, communication has been essential: describing the nature of the
- [Head to Head: the ethics of vaccine passports and COVID passes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/12/head-to-head-the-ethics-of-vaccine-passports-and-covid-passes/) - Crosspost with the Conversation, read the original article here by Alberto Giubilini (University of Oxford) and Helen Kennedy (University of Sheffield) COVID passes for England were given the green light in parliament in December, with 369 MPs voting in favour and 128 against. From now on, people attending large events will be required to
- [Are Electoral Pacts Undemocratic?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/12/are-electoral-pacts-undemocratic/) - By Ben Davies In the early hours of Friday morning last week, the long-Conservative UK constituency of North Shropshire caused some political upset (and no little political joy) by electing a Liberal Democrat, Helen Morgan. It is hard to exaggerate quite how significant a swing this was: the previous Conservative MP, Owen Paterson, whose resignation
- [Shaming unvaccinated people has to stop. We’ve turned into an angry mob and it’s getting ugly](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/12/shaming-unvaccinated-people-has-to-stop-weve-turned-into-an-angry-mob-and-its-getting-ugly/) - Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford and Alberto Giubilini, University of Oxford Unvaccinated mother, 27, dies with coronavirus as her father calls for fines for people who refuse jab. This is the kind of headline you may have seen over the past year, an example highlighting public shaming of unvaccinated people who die of COVID-19. One
- [Cross Post: Why the UK Shouldn’t Introduce Mandatory COVID Vaccination](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/12/cross-post-why-the-uk-shouldnt-introduce-mandatory-covid-vaccination/) - Written by Julian Savulescu, Dominic Wilkinson, and Jonathan Pugh As coronavirus infections surge across Europe, and with the threat of the omicron variant looming, countries are imposing increasingly stringent pandemic controls. In Austria, citizens will be subject to a vaccine mandate in February. In Greece, meanwhile, a vaccine mandate will apply to those 60 and
- [Omicron Travel Restrictions Are Not Ethically Justified](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/12/omicron-travel-restrictions-are-not-ethically-justified/) - Written by: Alberto Giubilini, Julian Savulescu *A version of this blogpost appears as an article in the Spectator* Governments are at it again. It has become an involuntary reflex. A few days after South Africa sequenced and identified the new Omicron variant, England placed some South African countries back in the ‘red list’. Quarantine has
- [Putting your Philosophical House in Order](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/12/putting-your-philosophical-house-in-order/) - A brief discussion of methodology in practical ethics.
- [Cross Post: Omicron: Better To Be Safe (And Quick) Than Sorry](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/12/cross-post-omicron-better-to-be-safe-and-quick-than-sorry/) - Written by: Dominic Wilkinson, and Jonathan Pugh These measures have tangible costs, and some have argued that they are an over-reaction. Critics of the travel ban claim that new measures will not significantly prevent the spread of the variant. Indeed, World Health Organization (WHO) officials have urged countries not to hastily impose travel curbs, instead advocating a
- [Writing Is Not That Easy: Grammarly As Affordance.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/12/writing-is-not-that-easy-grammarly-as-affordance/) - Written by Neil Levy I recently received an email from someone about a grant application in which I’m involved. In this email, the person coordinating the grant asked recipients to suggest revisions to the text, but noted that as it stood it had a score of 100% on Grammarly. He asked that any changes be
- [Things I’ve learned (so far) about how to do practical ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2014/03/things-ive-learned-so-far-about-how-to-do-practical-ethics/) - What are some lessons about engaging in public debates on practical ethics?
- [Event Summary: Vaccine Policies and Challenge Trials: The Ethics of Relative Risk in Public Health](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/11/event-summary-vaccine-policies-and-challenge-trials-the-ethics-of-relative-risk-in-public-health/) - St Cross Special Ethics Seminar, Presented by Dr Sarah Chan, 18 November 2021 In this St Cross Special Ethics Seminar, Dr Sarah Chan explores three key areas of risk in ‘challenge trials’ – the deliberate infection of human participants to infectious agents as a tool for vaccine development and improving our knowledge of disease biology.
- [Mandatory Vaccination Should Be Selective, Not General](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/11/mandatory-vaccination-should-be-selective-not-general/) - By Alberto Giubilini and Julian Savulescu As resurgent Covid-19 spreads rapidly across Europe, in countries such as Austria and the Netherlands the authorities are re-imposing lockdowns. And in response thousands are marching – and rioting. People are clearly fed up with losing their liberties. Indeed, more liberties may soon be taken away from people: in Austria,
- [Cross Post: Selective lockdowns can be ethically justifiable – here’s why](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/11/cross-post-selective-lockdowns-can-be-ethically-justifiable-heres-why/) - Written by: Jonathan Pugh, Dominic Wilkinson, and Julian Savulescu Some countries already have vaccine passport schemes to travel or enter certain public spaces. The passports treat those who have had vaccines – or have evidence of recent infection – differently from those who have not had a vaccine. But the proposed selective lockdowns would radically
- [Cross post: Why COVID passes are not discriminatory (in the way you think they are)](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/11/why-covid-passes-are-not-discriminatory-in-the-way-you-think-they-are/) - Alberto Giubilini (This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article) UK health secretary Sajid Javid’s plans for vaccination requirements for frontline NHS workers has reignited the political and ethical debate over COVID passes. The requirement constitutes a kind of vaccine pass; without proof of vaccination, healthcare workers are prevented from continuing working
- [How we got into this mess, and the way out](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/11/how-we-got-into-this-mess-and-the-way-out/) - By Charles Foster This week I went to the launch of the latest book by Iain McGilchrist, currently best known for his account of the cultural effects of brain lateralisation, The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World. The new book, The Matter with Things: Our brains, our
- [NHS and Care Home Mandates Should Take Account of Natural Immunity to COVID](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/11/nhs-and-care-home-mandates-should-take-account-of-natural-immunity-to-covid/) - by Dominic Wilkinson, Jonathan Pugh, Julian Savulescu Yesterday, the health secretary, Sajid Javid announced that COVID vaccines would become mandatory for frontline NHS staff from April. Meanwhile, from tomorrow care home workers in the UK will not be able to work if they don’t have a vaccine certificate and are not medically exempt. This vaccine
- [Cross Post: Should You Stop Wearing A Mask Just Because the Law Gives You Permission To Do So?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/11/cross-post-should-you-stop-wearing-a-mask-just-because-the-law-gives-you-permission-to-do-so/) - Written by Maximilian Kiener On December 1 1955, in Alabama, Rosa Parks broke the law. But Parks was no ordinary criminal trying to take advantage of others. She merely refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white person and was arrested for this reason alone. Parks is a hero because she
- [Who Cares?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/10/who-cares/) - How much of a role should the state play in taking care of us, as opposed to, say, our family members? According to some, care should “start at home” and should, moreover, be selfless.
- [Paying for the Flu Vaccine](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/10/paying-for-the-flu-vaccine/) - By Ben Davies As I do every winter, I recently booked an appointment for a flu vaccine. I get it for free in the UK. If I didn’t have asthma, I’d still get vaccinated, but it would cost me between £9 and £14.99. That is both an ethical error on the part of the government,
- [Oxford Uehiro Centre Goes DefaultVeg](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/10/oxford-uehiro-centre-goes-defaultveg/) - By Katrien Devolder “Britons have cut their meat consumption by 17% over the past decade but will need to double these efforts if they are to meet targets for healthy diets and sustainable food production set out in the national food strategy earlier this year”. So began an article in The Guardian last Friday.[1] The article was
- [Hedonism, the Experience Machine, and Virtual Reality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/10/hedonism-the-experience-machine-and-virtual-reality/) - By Roger Crisp I take hedonism about well-being or welfare to be the view that the only thing that is good for any being is pleasure, and that what makes pleasure good is nothing other than its being pleasant. The standard objections to hedonism of this kind have mostly been of the same form: there
- [Responsibility and Victim-Blaming](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/10/responsibility-and-victim-blaming/) - Written by Dr Rebecca Brown The recent sentencing of Wayne Couzens for the murder of Sarah Everard, along with the murder of Sabina Nessa last month, has prompted discussion in the UK of the prevalence of violence against women and the shortcomings of the criminal justice system. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has himself criticised the
- [Ethics of Vaccine Passports](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/09/ethics-of-vaccine-passports/) - Vaccine Passports as a Human Right The main way to control the pandemic, as we have all painfully found out, has been to restrict the movement of people. This stops people getting infected and infecting others. It is the justified basis for quarantine of people who have been in high risk areas, lockdown, isolation and
- [The Morality of Carbon Border Taxes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/09/the-morality-of-carbon-border-taxes/) - By Doug McConnell The European Parliament has adopted a tool called the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) which will apply the EU’s carbon pricing to imported goods. This means that imports from countries with lesser or non-existent carbon pricing will effectively face a tariff. Various governments including Australia and China have objected strongly to the
- [The double ethical mistake of vaccinating children against COVID-19](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/09/the-double-ethical-mistake-of-vaccinating-children-against-covid-19/) - Alberto Giubilini Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics University of Oxford Against the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI)’s advice that did not recommend COVID-19 vaccination for children, the four Chief Medical Officers in the UK have just recommended that all children aged 12-15 should be vaccinated with the mRNA Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
- [Philosophical Fiddling While the World Burns](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/09/philosophical-fiddling-while-the-world-burns/) - By Charles Foster An unprecedented editorial has just appeared in many health journals across the world. It relates to climate change. The authors say that they are ‘united in recognising that only fundamental and equitable changes to societies will reverse our current trajectory.’ Climate change, they agree, is the major threat to public health. Here
- [We Should Vaccinate Children in High-income Countries Against COVID-19, Too](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/08/we-should-vaccinate-children-in-high-income-countries-against-covid-19-too/) - Written by Lisa Forsberg, Anthony Skelton, Isra Black In early September, children in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are set to return to school. (Scottish schoolchildren have already returned.) Most will not be vaccinated, and there will be few, if any, measures in place protecting them from COVID-19 infection. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and
- [Mandating COVID-19 Vaccination for Children](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/04/mandating-covid-19-vaccination-for-children/) - Written by Lisa Forsberg and Anthony Skelton In many countries vaccine rollouts are now well underway. Vaccine programmes in Israel, the United Kingdom, Chile, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and the United States have been particularly successful. Mass vaccination is vital to ending the pandemic. However, at present, vaccines are typically not approved for children under
- [Judgebot.exe Has Encountered a Problem and Can No Longer Serve](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/08/judgebot-exe-has-encountered-a-problem-and-can-no-longer-serve/) - The more that relevant cases can be drawn upon in any instance of legal decision-making, the better the possibility of good decision-making. But given the volume of legal documentation and the passage of time, there may be too much for legal practitioners to fully comprehend.
- [In Praise of ‘Casual’ Friendship](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/08/in-praise-of-casual-friendship/) - By Ben Davies Academics, especially early in our careers, move around quite a lot. Having done my PhD in London, I have also lived or worked in Leeds, Liverpool, Oxford, and rural Pennsylvania; I am far from the most well-travelled academic I know. In many cases, when we arrive at a new job, we know
- [Would Extinction be so Bad?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/08/would-extinction-be-so-bad/) - by Roger Crisp In recent decades, it has often been said that we are living at the 'hinge of history', an unprecedented period during which some catastrophic event such as rapid climate change, a nuclear war, or the release of a synthesized pathogen may bring an end to human and perhaps all sentient life on
- [Healthcare, Responsibility, and Golden Opportunities](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/08/healthcare-responsibility-and-golden-opportunities/) - Written by Gabriel De Marco This blog post is based on a co-authored paper (w. Tom Douglas and Julian Savulescu) recently published in Ethical Theory and Moral Practice. When it comes to determining how healthcare resources should be allocated, there are many factors that could—and perhaps should—be taken into account. One such factor is
- [The end of the COVID-19 pandemic](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/08/the-end-of-the-covid-19-pandemic/) - A discussion on the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is overdue. We keep hearing that ‘we are in the middle of a pandemic’. However, it is not clear what it means to be in the middle of a pandemic if we don’t know what it means for a pandemic to end. How can we know what the middle is if we don’t know what the end is?
- [Homelessness as a moral cost to the housed](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/08/homelessness-as-a-moral-cost-to-the-housed/) - Written by Neil Levy Homelessness is, of course, above all a cost to the homeless: it’s a dangerous, difficult, insecure way to live. There are therefore strong moral reasons to address it, for the sake of the homeless. There are also (non-moral) reasons to address it, centring on its costs to everyone, homeless and housed
- [COVID: Media Must Rise Above Pitting Scientists Against Each other – Dealing With the Pandemic Requires Nuance](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/07/covid-media-must-rise-above-pitting-scientists-against-each-other-dealing-with-the-pandemic-requires-nuance/) - Trish Greenhalgh, University of Oxford and Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford At the start of the pandemic, there was a striking sense of shared resolve and solidarity. Facing a public health crisis greater than any in living memory, people were largely united in their support of difficult measures to protect the vulnerable, safeguard the health
- [Might Going to Space Morally Enhance Billionaires?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/07/might-going-to-space-morally-enhance-billionaires/) - By Hazem Zohny. Billionaire Richard Branson blasted off to the edge of space this month on his Virgin Galactic rocket plane, and Jeff Bezoz just followed suit in his own Blue Origin rocket ship – Elon Musk may well venture into space as well. The billionaire space race is certainly on, and while there
- [What If Stones Have Souls?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/07/what-if-stones-have-souls/) - By Charles Foster Over the 40,000 years or so of the history of behaviourally modern humans, the overwhelming majority of generations have been, so far as we can see, animist. They have, that is, believed that all or most things, human and otherwise, have some sort of soul. We can argue about the meaning of
- [Is a Publication Boycott of Chinese Science a Justifiable Response to Human Rights Violations Perpetrated by Chinese Doctors and Scientists?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/07/is-a-publication-boycott-of-chinese-science-a-justifiable-response-to-human-rights-violations-perpetrated-by-chinese-doctors-and-scientists/) - By Doug McConnell Recently the editor-in-chief of the Annals of Human Genetics, Prof David Curtis, resigned from his position, in part, because the journal’s publisher, Wiley, refused to publish a letter he co-authored with Thomas Schulze, Yves Moreau, and Thomas Wenzel. In that letter, they argue in favour of a boycott on Chinese medical and
- [COVID: Why We Should Stop Testing in Schools](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/07/covid-why-we-should-stop-testing-in-schools/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford; Jonathan Pugh, University of Oxford, and Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has announced the end of school “bubbles” in England from July 19, following the news that 375,000 children did not attend school for COVID-related reasons in June. Under the current system, if a schoolchild becomes
- [Compromising On the Right Not to Know?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/06/compromising-on-the-right-not-to-know/) - Written by Ben Davies Personal autonomy is the guiding light of contemporary clinical and research practice, at least in the UK. Whether someone is a potential participant in a research trial, or a patient being treated by a medical professional, the gold standard, violated only in extremis, is that they should decide for themselves whether
- [Urgency, Delayed Decision-making and Ethics in the Court of Protection](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/06/urgency-delayed-decision-making-and-ethics-in-the-court-of-protection/) - By Dominic Wilkinson, 24th June 2021 cross post from the Open Justice Court of Protection Project On 11th June 2021, I was a public observer (via MS Teams) of a case in the Court of Protection: Case No. 1375980T Re GU (also blogged about by Jenny Kitzinger here). The case was (though I did not know it
- [Cancelling Books](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/06/cancelling-books/) - Written by Neil Levy One of the latest flare ups in the culture wars concerns book publishing. Recent books by Mike Pence, Woody Allen and by Milo Yiannopoulos have all been met with protests, many of them stemming from staff within the publishing houses. Sometimes, these protests have been successful, at least to the extent
- [Mandatory Vaccination for Care Workers: Pro and Con](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/06/mandatory-vaccination-for-care-workers-pro-and-con/) - By Dominic Wilkinson and Julian Savulescu An edited version of this was published in The Conversation The UK government is set to announce that COVID-19 vaccination will become mandatory for staff in older adult care homes. Staff will be given 16 weeks to undergo vaccination; if they do not, they will face redeployment from frontline services
- [No jab, no job? Vaccination requirements for care home staff](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/06/no-jab-no-job-vaccination-requirements-for-care-home-staff/) - Written by Lisa Forsberg and Isra Black Last night the Guardian was first to report that staff working in older adult care homes will be required to get vaccinated against Covid-19. According to BBC News, ‘Care staff are expected to be given 16 weeks to have the jab—or face being redeployed away from frontline care
- [Care home staff vaccination - press release](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/06/care-home-staff-vaccination-press-release/) - Two (contrasting) perspectives on the news this morning about planned mandatory vaccination of care home workers. Professor Julian Savulescu “The proposal to make vaccination mandatory for care home workers is muddle-headed. Vaccination should be mandatory for the residents, not the workers. It is the residents who stand to gain most from being vaccinated. Young care
- [Post-Normal Challenges of Covid](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/06/post-normal-challenges-of-covid/) - The present pandemic has shown how uncertainty can be more guaranteed than a path through. It has also shown how science and political decision-making intertwine, mutually reinforce, or challenge one another. This happens at the level of advice, and action.
- [‘Waiver or Understanding? A Dilemma for Autonomists about Informed Consent’](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/06/waiver-or-understanding-a-dilemma-for-autonomists-about-informed-consent/) - A lecture arguing that informed consent in healthcare does not require the subject to have understood fully the nature of that to which they are consenting.
- [Video Series: Factory Farms are Breeding Grounds for Pandemics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/06/video-series-factory-farms-are-breeding-grounds-for-pandemics/) - In this Thinking Out Loud interview with Dr Katrien Devolder (Philosophy, Oxford), Professor Aaron S. Gross (Theology and Religious Studies, San Diego) explains why factory farms are breeding grounds for pandemics, and what we, as individuals, can do to reduce the risk of new pandemics arising (even if we don't feel ready just as yet
- [Guest Post: Frances Kamm- Harms, Wrongs, and Meaning in a Pandemic](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/06/guest-post-frances-kamm-harms-wrongs-and-meaning-in-a-pandemic/) - Written by F M Kamm This post originally appeared in The Philosophers' Magazine When the number of people who have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. reached 500,000 special notice was taken of this great tragedy. As a way of helping people appreciate how enormous an event this was, some commentators thought it would help to
- [Pfizer Jab Approved for Children, but First Other People need to be Vaccinated](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/06/pfizer-jab-approved-for-children-but-first-other-people-need-to-be-vaccinated/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford; Jonathan Pugh, University of Oxford, and Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford Moderna and Pfizer have released data suggesting that their vaccines are well tolerated in adolescents and highly effective in preventing COVID-19. Canada, the US and the EU have already authorised the Pfizer vaccine in children as young as 12.
- [Phobias, Paternalism and the Prevention of Home Birth](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/06/phobias-paternalism-and-the-prevention-of-home-birth/) - By Dominic Wilkinson, Cross post from the Open Justice Court of Protection blog In a case in the Court of Protection last week, a judge authorised the use of force, if necessary, to ensure that a young woman gives birth in hospital rather than at home. The woman (call her ‘P’) has severe agoraphobia, and has barely
- [Press Release: ISSCR Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/05/press-release-isscr-guidelines-for-stem-cell-research-and-clinical-translation/) - Response to the: ISSCR Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation "The new ISSCR guidelines provide a much welcomed framework for research that many find ethically contentious. Genome editing, the creation of human gametes in a lab, and the creation of human/non-human chimeras raise fundamental ethical issues that scientists can no longer overlook. The ISSCR
- [Special St Cross Seminar summary of Maureen Kelley's: Fighting Diseases of Poverty Through Research: Deadly dilemmas, moral distress and misplaced responsibilities](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/05/special-st-cross-seminar-summary-of-maureen-kelleys-fighting-diseases-of-poverty-through-research-deadly-dilemmas-moral-distress-and-misplaced-responsibilities/) - Written By Tess Johnson You can find the video recording of Maureen Kelley’s seminar here, and the podcast here. Lately, we have heard much in the media about disease transmission in conditions of poverty, given the crisis-point COVID-19 spread and mortality that India is experiencing. Yet, much of the conversation is centred on the ‘proximal’—or
- [Imposter Syndrome And Environmental Sampling](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/05/imposter-syndrome-and-environmental-sampling/) - Written by Rebecca Brown Imposter syndrome has received recent, though still fairly limited, philosophical discussion. Scholars such as Katherine Hawley (and, drawing upon Hawley in a recent and excellent podcast, Rebecca Roache), amongst a handful of others have illuminated issues such as how we can develop a useful definition of imposter syndrome, the extent to
- [Is Life-Sustaining Treatment Being Lawfully Withdrawn From Patients In Prolonged Disorders Of Consciousness? Nobody Seems To Know](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/05/is-life-sustaining-treatment-being-lawfully-withdrawn-from-patients-in-prolonged-disorders-of-consciousness-nobody-seems-to-know/) - By Charles Foster From the time of the decision of the House of Lords in Airedale NHS Trust v Bland (1993) until the decision of the Supreme Court in An NHS Trust v Y (2018) (which I will refer to here as 'Y") it had been understood that the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (typically clinically
- [Stowaway, Self-Defense, and the Sheriff Case](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/05/stowaway-self-defense-and-the-sheriff-case/) - Written by Hazem Zohny. You and your two fellow astronauts are on your way to Mars when you uncover a stowaway in your spaceship. His mere presence means there won’t be enough oxygen for anyone to survive the journey. You toss him out the spaceship, of course. But what if that stowaway is there by
- [Ambient Intelligence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/05/ambient-intelligence/) - If you take a selfie in a public space, you are creating a technological interface with open-ended data processing capacity for unspecified technological, security, and market-oriented ends. What do we want from public spaces?
- [Cross Post: Vaccine passports: why they are good for society](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/05/cross-post-vaccine-passports-why-they-are-good-for-society/) - Written by Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian, University of Cambridge; Christelle Langley, University of Cambridge, and Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford As more and more people get vaccinated, some governments are relying on “vaccine passports” as a way of reopening society. These passports are essentially certificates that show the holder has been immunised against COVID-19, which restaurants,
- [A Juror’s Guide to Going Rogue](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/05/a-jurors-guide-to-going-rogue/) - Written by Doug McConnell A jury recently acquitted several activists charged with causing £25,000 worth of damage to Shell’s HQ in London despite the defendants admitting that they caused the damage and the judge informing the jury that the defendants had no legal defence. In other words, if the law were applied correctly, the jury
- [Crosspost: Immunity Passports: A Debate Between Jay Bhattacharya and Alberto Giubilini](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/05/crosspost-immunity-passports-a-debate-between-jay-bhattacharya-and-alberto-giubilini/) - By Alberto Giubilini (University of Oxford) and Jay Bhattacharya (Stanford University) crosspost with Lockdown Sceptics [Prof Jay Bhattacharya (Professor of Medicine, Stanford University) and I collaborate on Collateral Global, a new project that aims to evaluate the impact of lockdowns and other pandemic restrictions. We have the same view on lockdown and pandemic
- [Lockdown Erodes Agency](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/05/lockdown-erodes-agency/) - By Charles Foster A couple of lockdown conversations: The other day I met a friend in the street. We hadn't seen one another for over a year. We mimed the hugs that we would have given in a saner age, and started to talk. 'There's nothing to tell you', she said. 'Nothing's happened since we
- [Vaccine Nationalism: Striking the balance](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/04/vaccine-nationalism-striking-the-balance/) - Written by Owen Schaefer and Julian Savulescu This is an updated cross-post of an article published in MediCine On 2 February 2021, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, issues a broadside against COVID-19 vaccine nationalism, calling it “morally indefensible” and “tantamount to medical malpractice at a global scale.” Rich countries
- [Cross Post: End-of-Life Care: People Should Have the Option of General Anaesthesia as They Die](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/04/cross-post-end-of-life-care-people-should-have-the-option-of-general-anaesthesia-as-they-die/) - Written by Dominic Wilkinson and Julian Savulescu There are two situations when a general anaesthetic might be used in dying patients. The first is when other drugs have not worked and the patient is still distressed or in pain. The second is when a patient has only a short time to live and expresses a clear wish
- [Making Universities (Even) More Unfair](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/04/making-universities-even-more-unfair/) - Written by Neil Levy Unsurprisingly, I’m a big believer in universities and higher education. I think research, of all kinds, is important for a whole range of reasons and that being educated is very often conducive to a good life. But we shouldn’t pretend that universities are institutions wholeheartedly devoted to genuine education and to
- [Cross Post: COVID: Is it OK to manipulate people into getting vaccinated?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/04/cross-post-covid-is-it-ok-to-manipulate-people-into-getting-vaccinated/) - Written by Maximilian Kiener, University of Oxford When the doctor realised that he wouldn’t be able to dissuade her of her beliefs, he decided to present her with another one: Have you considered the possibility that anti-vaccine propaganda could be an attempt by the Russians or the Chinese to weaken the health of the United States
- [General Anaesthesia in End of Life Care - GAEL.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/04/general-anaesthesia-in-end-of-life-care-gael/) - by Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics Our paper General anaesthesia in end-of-life care: extending the indications for anaesthesia beyond surgery has been published today in Anaesthesia. It is part of a series of work led by researcher Antony Takla, together with Julian Savulescu and Dominic Wilkinson. The recent paper is a collaboration with Professor Jaideep Pandit, Professor of
- [Press Release: Medical and ethical experts say ‘make general anaesthesia more widely available for dying patients’](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/04/press-release-medical-and-ethical-experts-say-make-general-anaesthesia-more-widely-available-for-dying-patients/) - General anaesthesia is widely used for surgery and diagnostic interventions, to ensure the patient is completely unconscious during these procedures. However, in a paper published in Anaesthesia (a journal of the Association of Anaesthetists) ethics and anaesthesia experts from the University of Oxford say that general anaesthesia should be more widely available for patients at
- [Cross-Post: The Moral Status of Human-Monkey Chimeras](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/04/cross-post-the-moral-status-of-human-monkey-chimeras/) - Written by Julian Savulescu and Julian Koplin This article was first published on Pursuit. Read the original article. The 1968 classic Planet of the Apes tells the story of the Earth after a nuclear war destroys human civilisation. When three astronauts return to our planet after a long space voyage, they discover that humans have lost the power of
- [Crosspost: Learning to live with COVID – the tough choices ahead](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/04/crosspost-learning-to-live-with-covid-the-tough-choices-ahead/) - By Jonathan Pugh, Dominic Wilkinson and Julian Savulescu This work was supported by the UKRI/ AHRC funded UK Ethics Accelerator project, grant number AH/V013947/1. The UK Ethics Accelerator project can be found at https://ukpandemicethics.org/ As mass vaccination continues to be rolled out, the UK is beginning to see encouraging signs that the number of COVID
- [Daunte Wright: Policing and Accountability](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/04/daunte-wright-policing-and-accountability/) - Written by Jake Wojtowicz and Ben Davies On April 11th, Daunte Wright was pulled over by police in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Shortly afterwards, he was shot and killed by police officer Kim Potter. Police Chief Tim Gannon described this as an ‘accidental discharge’. But framing events like this as accidents can be misleading and is
- [Nonconsensual Neurointerventions and Expressed Disrespect: a Dilemma](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/04/nonconsensual-neurointerventions-and-expressed-disrespect-a-dilemma/) - Written by Gabriel De Marco and Tom Douglas This essay is based on a co-authored paper recently published in Criminal Law and Philosophy Neurointerventions—interventions that modify brain states—are sometimes imposed on criminal offenders for the purposes of diminishing the risk that they will re-offend or, more generally, of facilitating their rehabilitation. A commonly discussed example
- [The Neuroscience of a Life Well-lived: New St Cross Ethics Seminar](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/04/the-neuroscience-of-a-life-well-lived-new-st-cross-ethics-seminar/) - Professor Morten Kringelbach (Aarhus and Oxford) recently gave a fascinating New St Cross Ethics Seminar on 'The Neuroscience of a Life Well-Lived' (YouTube; mp3). Morten began with a very cute slide of two babies enjoying being with one another and with others, to bring out the importance of sociality in our understanding of pleasure and the
- [Stalking Cat, tiger body modification, and the limits of consent](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2012/12/stalking-cat-tiger-body-modification-limits-consent/) - The American man who held the Guinness World Record for the most permanent transformations to look like an animal was recently found dead in his Nevada home. The man, known by his Native American name Stalking Cat (SC), had since the age of 23, when he had his first tiger stripe tattooed onto his body,
- [It's Only a Game](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/its-only-a-game/) - Footballers are increasingly prominent in speaking against social and political ills. They can draw attention to serious issues, given their public profile. If more of us followed their example, beyond supporting their causes, we could make a world less accommodating for moral complacency.
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: May the Use of Violent Civil Disobedience Be Justified as a Response to Institutional Racism?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-may-the-use-of-violent-civil-disobedience-be-justified-as-a-response-to-institutional-racism/) - This essay was the joint runner up in the graduate category of the 7th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics. Written by University of Oxford student Oshy Ray The summer of 2020 saw people across the world participating in racial justice protests, demanding the end of state violence against Black people, and calling for
- [In Praise of Ambivalence—“Young” Feminism, Gender Identity, and Free Speech](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/07/in-praise-of-ambivalence-young-feminism-gender-identity-and-free-speech/) - By Brian D. Earp (@briandavidearp) Introduction Alice Dreger, the historian of science, sex researcher, activist, and author of a much-discussed book of last year, has recently called attention to the loss of ambivalence as an acceptable attitude in contemporary politics and beyond. “Once upon a time,” she writes, “we were allowed to feel ambivalent about people. We
- [Press Release: New Tavistock Legal Ruling on Puberty Blockers](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/press-release-new-tavistock-legal-ruling-on-puberty-blockers/) - "The legal decision this morning, in the Family division of the High Court, provides important clarification. It is likely to be a relief to young people with gender dysphoria and their families. In December, the High Court found that young people under 16 with gender dysphoria were highly unlikely to be able to understand the
- [Cross Post: There's no Need to Pause Vaccine Rollouts When There's a Safety Scare. Give the Public the Facts and Let Them Decide](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/cross-post-theres-no-need-to-pause-vaccine-rollouts-when-theres-a-safety-scare-give-the-public-the-facts-and-let-them-decide/) - Written By: Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford; Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford; Jonathan Pugh, University of Oxford, and Margie Danchin, Murdoch Children's Research Institute This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. For instance, reports of blood clots associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine led to several European
- [Press Release: Majority of UK public want choice at the end of life - survey](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/press-release-majority-of-uk-public-want-choice-at-the-end-of-life-survey/) - Most people in the UK would like the option of being heavily sedated, having a general anaesthestic or to having euthanasia, if they were dying, according to Oxford research published today in the medical journal PLOS One. Professor Dominic Wilkinson, Professor Julian Savulescu and colleagues from the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, surveyed more
- [Video Series: Should We Feed Our Pets a Vegan Diet?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/video-series-should-we-feed-our-pets-a-vegan-diet/) - In this new Thinking Out Loud interview, Katrien Devolder talks to philosopher Dr Josh Milburn (Sheffield) about whether we should (and can) feed our cat or dog a vegan diet. There are plenty of good reasons to avoid products from factory farms (e.g. to prevent future pandemics, to reduce animal suffering, to reduce antimicrobial resistance,
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Should Feminists Endorse a Universal Basic Income?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-should-feminists-endorse-a-universal-basic-income/) - This essay was the joint runner up in the graduate category of the 7th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics. Written by University of Oxford student Rebecca L Clark 1 Introduction A UBI is a regularly remitted, non-means-tested cash grant which is given to every individual with no conditions attached.[1] Within these constraints, UBI
- [Ethics, iBlastoids, and Brain Organoids: Time to Revise Antiquated Laws and Processes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/ethics-iblastoids-and-brain-organoids-time-to-revise-antiquated-laws-and-processes/) - Written by Julian Savulescu Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and Wellcome Centre for Ethics, University of Oxford Biomedical Ethics Research Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute Jose Polo and his team at Monash University have successfully reprogrammed human adult cells (fibroblasts – skin cells) to form “iBlastoids”. These are structures which are like early human
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Why, If At All, Is It Unethical For Universities To Prioritise Applicants Related To Their Alumni?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-why-if-at-all-is-it-unethical-for-universities-to-prioritise-applicants-related-to-their-alumni/) - This essay was the runner up in the undergraduate category of the 7th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics. Written by University of Oxford student Tanae Rao Introduction Most notably in the United States, some prestigious universities[1] consider whether or not a student is closely related to one or more alumni when evaluating her
- [Suspending The Astra-Zeneca Vaccine and The Ethics of Precaution](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/suspending-the-astra-zeneca-vaccine-and-the-ethics-of-precaution/) - By Jonathan Pugh, Dominic Wilkinson, and Julian Savulescu The authors are working on the UK Pandemic Ethics Accelerator project - @PandemicEthics_. This project was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as part of UKRI’s Covid-19 funding. All authors are affiliated to the University of Oxford. Summary Points Preliminary Reviews suggest that the number
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Against Making a Difference](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-against-making-a-difference/) - This essay was the winning entry in the undergraduate category of the 7th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics. Written by University of Oxford student Imogen Rivers I. The Complacency Argument Some of the most serious wrongs are produced collectively. Can individuals bear moral responsibility for such outcomes? Suggestively, it’s been argued that “all
- [Cross Post: COVID vaccines: is it wrong to jump the queue?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/cross-post-covid-vaccines-is-it-wrong-to-jump-the-queue/) - Written by Dominic Wilkinson and Jonathan Pugh This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. In the UK, an Oxford city councillor has been suspended after mentioning on social media that she had received a COVID vaccination from a private doctor. Meanwhile, media reports suggest that
- [Ethics Doesn't Rule, OK?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/ethics-doesnt-rule-ok/) - By Charles Foster Ethics and law are different. Or they should be. Law has the power to coerce. That is a frightening power. There should be as little law as possible. But there should be more ethics than there is. The boundary between the two domains is not absolute. Clinicians are probably more frightened of
- [Oxford Uehiro Centre Prize in Practical Ethics: ‘Rational Departure’: What Does Stoicism Reveal About Contemporary Attitudes Towards Suicide?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/oxford-uehiro-centre-prize-in-practical-ethics-rational-departure-what-does-stoicism-reveal-about-contemporary-attitudes-towards-suicide/) - This essay received an honourable mention in the undergraduate category. Written by Ed Lamb, St. Anne’s College Abstract The Stoics’ approach to suicide appears to differ remarkably from our own. By contrasting these two views, I will explore why a difference in circumstances, epistemic claims, and value ascribed to life itself provides justification for our believing
- [Congratulations to our Winners and Runners up in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2021](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/congratulations-to-our-winners-and-runners-up-in-the-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-2021/) - Please join us in congratulating all of the finalists in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2021, and in particular our winners, Imogen Rivers and Lily Moore-Eissenberg. As the Uk continues to be in lockdown due to the pandemic, the 7th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics was again held as a Zoom
- [Seminar Recordings: The Neuroscience of a Life Well-Lived](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/seminar-recordings-the-neuroscience-of-a-life-well-lived/) - Audio and Video recordings of Professor Morten L. Kringlebach (Aarhus University, Denmark; University of Oxford) online St Cross Seminar (21 January 2021) are now available. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g90lUSaIEbQ Title: The Neuroscience of a Life Well-Lived Abstract: Recent advances in whole-brain modelling have helped stratify the heterogeneity of anhedonia across neuropsychiatric disorders, and the key underlying components of the pleasure network. I
- [Seminar Recordings: Towards a Plasticity of the Mind – New-ish Ethical Conundrums in Dementia Care, Treatment, and Research](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/seminar-recordings-towards-a-plasticity-of-the-mind-new-ish-ethical-conundrums-in-dementia-care-treatment-and-research/) - Audio and video recordings of David Lyreskog’s online St Cross Seminar (25 February 2021) are now available. https://www.youtube.com/embed/OXu_io5j29c Title: Towards a plasticity of the mind – New-ish ethical conundrums in dementia care, treatment, and research Abstract: It is no exaggeration that the philosophical and ethical dimensions of age-related cognitive decline and dementia have been discussed for
- [Thoughts about Final Thoughts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/thoughts-about-final-thoughts/) - By Neil Levy I've written a brief article for Aeon Magazine, on whether the regrets of the dying give us insight into what really matters. Here's the first paragraph. How do we find out what really matters in life? One way might be to ask those who are dying. They might occupy a perspective
- [What Is The Justification For Keeping Lockdown In Place? Two Questions For The UK Government](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/what-is-the-justification-for-keeping-lockdown-in-place-two-questions-for-the-uk-government/) - Written by Alberto Giubilini and Julian Savulescu Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford Given the success of the vaccine roll out in the UK and the higher than expected drop in COVID-19 deaths, it is legitimate to ask whether lockdown should continue to be the key strategy to contain the pandemic or whether
- [Cross Post: Vaccine Passports: Four Ethical Objections, and Replies](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/cross-post-vaccine-passports-four-ethical-objections-and-replies/) - Written By Tom Douglas This is a (slightly modified) cross-post from The Brussels Times. Should we all be required to produce a ‘vaccine passport’—proving that we have been vaccinated against Covid-19—before being allowed to enter a cafe, travel abroad, or work in a high-risk job? Some governments are taking tentative steps in this direction. Belgium
- [Inoculate to Imbibe? On the Pub Landlord Who Requires You to be Vaccinated against Covid](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/inoculate-to-imbibe/) - Written by Isra Black and Lisa Forsberg Elsewhere on the blog Tom Douglas has discussed vaccine requirements for commonplace activities, such as going to the pub, created by the state in the form of law or guidance. Let’s call these vaccine requirements ‘state-originating’. Also on the blog, Julian Savulescu has discussed whether ‘immunity passports’ are
- [Is it Irrational Not to Have a Plan? Should There Have Been National Guidance on Rationing in the NHS?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/03/is-it-irrational-not-to-have-a-plan-should-there-have-been-national-guidance-on-rationing-in-the-nhs/) - By Dominic Wilkinson and Jonathan Pugh. This is a crosspost from the Journal of Medical Ethics Blog. This is an output of the UKRI Pandemic Ethics Accelerator project. Last April, in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of academics, lawyers, doctors and ethicists wrote publicly about the need for national ethical guidance
- [Cross-Post: Self-experimentation with vaccines](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/02/cross-post-self-experimentation-with-vaccines/) - By Jonathan Pugh, Dominic Wilkinson and Julian Savulescu. This is a crosspost from the Journal of Medical Ethics Blog. This is an output of the UKRI Pandemic Ethics Accelerator project. A group of citizen scientists has launched a non-profit, non-commercial organisation named ‘RaDVaC’, which aims to rapidly develop, produce, and self-administer an intranasally delivered
- [An Ethical Review of Hotel Quarantine Policies For International Arrivals](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/02/an-ethical-review-of-hotel-quarantine-policies-for-international-arrivals/) - Written by: Jonathan Pugh Dominic Wilkinson Julian Savulescu This is an output of the UKRI Pandemic Ethics Accelerator project - it develops an earlier assessment of the English hotel quarantine policy, published by The Conversation) The UK has announced that from 15th Feb, British and Irish nationals and others with residency rights travelling to
- [Announcement: Finalists of the 7th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics and Final Presentation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/02/announcement-finalists-of-the-7th-annual-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-and-final-presentation/) - Please join us in congratulating all of the finalists in the 7th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics. The 7th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Final Presentation HT21 Week 8, Wednesday 10th March, 5pm – 6:30 pm. The Presentation will be held via zoom webinar, the registration details of which are below.
- [Priority Vaccination for Prison and Homeless Populations](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/02/priority-vaccination-for-prison-and-homeless-populations/) - Written by Ben Davies Last week brought the news that an additional 1.7m people in the UK had been asked to take additional ‘shielding’ measures against COVID-19, following new modelling which considered previously ignored factors such as ethnicity, weight and deprivation. Since many of this group have not yet been vaccinated, they were bumped up
- [Video Series: How To Prevent Future Pandemics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/02/video-series-how-to-prevent-future-pandemics/) - First interview in the new Thinking Out Loud series on 'Animals and Pandemics': Katrien Devolder in conversation with Jeff Sebo, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at NYU, on how our treatment of animals increases the risk of future pandemics arising, and on what we should do to reduce that risk! https://youtu.be/YlrmgDIzRJk
- [Crosspost: Is It Ethical To Quarantine People In Hotel Rooms?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/02/crosspost-is-it-ethical-to-quarantine-people-in-hotel-rooms/) - Written by Dominic Wilkinson and Jonathan Pugh, The UK government announced that from February 15, British and Irish residents travelling to England from “red list” countries will have to quarantine in a government-sanctioned hotel for ten days, at a personal cost of £1,750. Accommodation must be booked in advance, and people will need to have
- [Cross Post: Not Recommending AstraZeneca Vaccine For The Elderly Risks The Lives Of The Most Vulnerable](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/02/cross-post-not-recommending-astrazeneca-vaccine-for-the-elderly-risks-the-lives-of-the-most-vulnerable/) - Jonathan Pugh, University of Oxford and Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford Regulators in Europe are at odds over whether the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine should be given to the elderly. In the UK, the vaccine has been approved for use in adults aged 18 and up, but France, Germany, Sweden and Austria say the vaccine should be
- [Ethics of the GameStop Short Squeeze](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/02/ethics-of-the-gamestop-short-squeeze/) - By Doug McConnell Recently a large, loosely coordinated group of individual ‘retail investors’ have been buying up stocks that certain hedge funds had bet against (i.e. ‘shorted’). In doing so, the retail investors have driven up the price of those stocks. This has caused hedge funds that shorted the stock to lose billions of dollars
- [Guest Post: What Is The Case For Virtual Schooling?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/02/guest-post-what-is-the-case-for-virtual-schooling/) - Written by Thomas Moller-Nielsen News that children in England were to switch to online schooling as part of the country’s third national lockdown in response to the Covid-19 global pandemic was met with widespread support in the British press. Doctors, public health specialists, and even teaching unions similarly applauded the decision. (Nurseries, which have remained open
- [The Ethics of Age-Selective Restrictions for COVID-19 Control](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/01/the-ethics-of-age-selective-restrictions-for-covid-19-control/) - Written by: Bridget Williams1,2, James Cameron3, James Trauer2, Ben Marais4, Romain Ragonnet2, Julian Savulescu1,3 Cross-posted with the Journal of Medical Ethics blog One of the major controversies of the COVID-19 pandemic has been disagreement about whether age-selective measures should be introduced, with greater focus on preventing infection in older people but tolerance of some transmission
- [The UK Should Share The Vaccine With The Other Countries - But Only After All The Vulnerable Have Been Vaccinated](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/02/the-uk-should-share-the-vaccine-with-the-other-countries-but-only-after-all-the-vulnerable-have-been-vaccinated/) - National and global interests, in the long term, will inevitably converge.
- [Reminder: 7th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics - Entries Due By Tuesday 9th February](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/02/reminder-7th-annual-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-entries-due-by-tuesday-9th-february/) - A reminder that the closing date for entries to the 7th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics is fast approaching. Graduate and undergraduate students currently enrolled at the University of Oxford in any subject are invited to enter the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics by submitting an essay of up to 2000 words
- [Who You Really Are And Why It Matters](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/01/who-you-really-are-and-why-it-matters/) - By Charles Foster [This is a review of The Flip: Who you really are, and why it matters, by Jeffrey J. Kripal. Penguin, 2020] A few years ago I dislocated my shoulder. I went off to hospital, and breathed nitrous oxide while they tried to put it back. Something very strange yet very common happened.
- [Current Lockdown Is Ageist (Against The Young)](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/01/current-lockdown-is-ageist-against-the-young/) - Written by Alberto Giubilini Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities University of Oxford Former UK supreme court justice and historian Lord Jonathan Sumption recently made the following claim: “I don’t accept that all lives are of equal value. My children’s and my grandchildren’s life is worth much
- [“One cup of joe and your brain is ready to go”? – Caffeine as memory enhancer](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2014/01/one-cup-of-joe-and-your-brain-is-ready-to-go-caffeine-as-memory-enhancer/) - The first systematic study investigating the effects of caffeine on human performance - sponsored by Coca-Cola – has been published about 100 years ago. Since then, thousands of other studies have been looking at if and in which ways caffeine improves cognitive performance. This question is still debated in science, but there is general consensus
- [Are Immunity Passports a Human Rights Issue?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/01/are-immunity-passports-a-human-rights-issue/) - Written by Julian Savulescu A shorter version of this post appears in The Telegraph Imagine you are about to board a plane (remember that…) Authorities have reason to believe you are carrying a loaded gun. They are entitled to detain you. But they are obliged to investigate whether you have a gun. And if you
- [Ethical Considerations For The Second Phase Of Vaccine Prioritisation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/01/ethical-considerations-for-the-second-phase-of-vaccine-prioritisation/) - By Jonathan Pugh and Julian Savulescu As the first phase of vaccine distribution continues to proceed, a heated debate has begun about the second phase of vaccine prioritisation, particularly with respect to the question of whether certain occupations, such as teachers and police officers amongst others, should be prioritised in the second phase. Indeed,
- [Guest Post: Why Philosophers Should Write More Accessibly: Towards A New Kind of Epistemic (In)justice](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/01/guest-post-why-philosophers-should-write-more-accessibly-towards-a-new-kind-of-epistemic-injustice/) - Written by University of Oxford student Brian Wong Philosophy should, to some extent, be a publicly oriented activity: we hope to make sense of first-order questions concerning how we ought to live, what existence is, what we know, and also deeper questions concerning our methodologies and ways of thinking. Yet philosophical writing has long been
- [Vaccines and Ventilators: Need, Outcome or a Right to a Fair Go?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/01/vaccines-and-ventilators-need-outcome-or-a-right-to-a-fair-go/) - Written by Julian Savulescu and Jonathan Pugh The current UK approach to allocating limited life-saving resources is on the basis of need. Guidance issued by The General Medical Council states that all doctors must “Make sure that decisions about setting priorities that affect patients are fair and based on clinical need and the likely effectiveness
- [Pandemic Ethics: Saving Lives and Replaceability](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/01/pandemic-ethics-saving-lives-and-replaceability/) - Written by Roger Crisp Imagine two worlds quite different from our own. In Non-intervention, if a person becomes ill with some life-threatening condition, though their pain may be alleviated, no attempt is made to save their lives. In Maximal-intervention, everything possible is done to save the lives of those with life-threatening conditions. Our world lies
- [Lessons for Philosophers and Scientists from Sherlock Holmes and Father Brown](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/01/lessons-for-philosophers-and-scientists-from-sherlock-holmes-and-father-brown/) - By Charles Foster Arthur Conan Doyle's estate has issued proceedings, complaining that Enola Holmes, a recently released film about Sherlock Holmes' sister, portrays the great detective as too emotional. Sherlock Holmes was famously suspicious of emotions. 1 ' [L]ove is an emotional thing', he icily observed, 'and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true
- [PRESS RELEASE: Racial Justice Requires Ending Drug War, Say Leading Bioethicists](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/01/press-release-racial-justice-requires-ending-drug-war-say-leading-bioethicists/) - Non-violent offenders serving time for drug use or possession should be freed immediately and their convictions erased, according to experts
- [This Machine Kills Viruses](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/01/this-machine-kills-viruses/) - Because of the coronavirus pandemic a novel form of this scientific research, technological application, and influence or control of nature (including humans) is emerging. In this case, the application is public policy, as based on multitudes of scientific advice.
- [Even Though Mass Testing For COVID Isn’t Always Accurate, It Could Still Be Useful – Here’s Why](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2021/01/even-though-mass-testing-for-covid-isnt-always-accurate-it-could-still-be-useful-heres-why/) - By Jonathan Pugh This article was originally published here by the Conversation, on 22nd Dec 2020 The mass testing of asymptomatic people for COVID-19 in the UK was thrown into question by a recent study. In a pilot in Liverpool, over half the cases weren’t picked up, leading some to question whether using tests that perform
- [Selectively Saving Christmas?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/12/selectively-saving-christmas/) - Written by Ben Davies and Gabriel De Marco The UK governments in Westminster and the devolved nations (Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) have made a recent about-turn regarding Christmas. Where there were previously plans to relax Covid-related restrictions for five days, they will now be relaxed for only Christmas itself, and not at all in
- [Dementia, Pagal, or Neurocognitive Disorder: What Is In a Name?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/12/dementia-pagal-or-neurocognitive-disorder-what-is-in-a-name/) - By Doug McConnell A recent BBC news story has drawn attention to the fact that there isn’t a word for “dementia” in many South Asian languages and some South Asian people living in the UK still use the stigmatising Punjabi word "pagal", meaning "crazy" or “mad”. The news story implicitly assumes that the word
- [The Libertarian Argument Is the Best Argument Against Immunity Passports. But is it good enough?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/12/the-libertarian-argument-is-the-best-argument-against-immunity-passports-but-is-it-good-enough/) - Written by Julian Savulescu and Alberto Giubilini The government has reportedly flirted with the introduction of vaccination passports that would afford greater freedoms to people who have been vaccinated for COVID-19. However, the UK’s Minister for the Cabinet Office, Michael Gove, recently announced that vaccination passports are not currently under consideration in the UK. However,
- [Consent Without Alternatives](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/12/consent-without-alternatives/) - Written by Ben Davies and Joshua Parker “COVID-19: Do not resuscitate orders might have been put in place without consent, watchdog says”. This recent headline followed an investigation by the Care Quality Commission into Do Not Attempt Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions early in the pandemic. In a recent post, Dominic Wilkinson highlights two misconceptions in
- [Climbing the Pension Mountain: A Review of Michael Otsuka’s 2020 Uehiro Centre Lecture Series](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/12/climbing-the-pension-mountain-a-review-of-michael-otsukas-2020-uehiro-centre-lecture-series/) - Written by Professor Larry Locke (University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and LCC International University) On three successive Tuesdays last November, Michael Otsuka of the London School of Economics delivered the annual Uehiro Centre Lecture Series. The Series, entitled “How to Pool Risk Across Generations”, focused on the ethics of pension reform. Otsuka attacked the real-world problem
- [In Defence of Pretentiousness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/12/in-defence-of-pretentiousness/) - Written by Neil Levy In Paul Brok’s book Into the Silent Land, the English neuropsychologist tells the story of Michael. Following a head injury, Michael is disinhibited. When he first returned from rehab, he lived on a diet of fish fingers and Led Zeppelin. Michael experiences the change as a return to authenticity. “He’d always
- [What is Your Gender? A Friendly Guide to the Public Debate](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/what-is-your-gender-a-friendly-guide-to-the-public-debate/) - A friendly guide to the public debate about gender categories.
- [Could vaccine requirements for entering pubs be wrong, while closing pubs altogether is OK?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/12/could-vaccine-requirements-for-entering-pubs-be-wrong-while-closing-pubs-altogether-is-ok/) - Could vaccine requirements for entering pubs be wrong, while closing pubs altogether is OK?
- [DNACPR Orders in a Pandemic: Misgivings and Misconceptions.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/12/dnacpr-orders-in-a-pandemic-misgivings-and-misconceptions/) - by Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics This week, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published an interim report into resuscitation decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a number of media outlets, the report found that in the first wave of the crisis inappropriate and possibly unlawful 'do not resuscitate' orders were used “without the consent of patients
- [Mandatory Morality: When Should Moral Enhancement Be Mandatory?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/11/mandatory-morality-when-should-moral-enhancement-be-mandatory/) - By Julian Savulescu Together with Tom Douglas and Ingmar Persson, I launched the field of moral bioenhancement. I have often been asked ‘When should moral bioenhancement be mandatory?’ I have often been told that it won’t be effective if it is not mandatory. I have defended the possibility that it could be mandatory. In that
- [Cross post: Pandemic Ethics: Should COVID-19 Vaccines Be mandatory? Two Experts Discuss](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/11/cross-post-pandemic-ethics-should-covid-19-vaccines-be-mandatory-two-experts-discuss/) - Written by Alberto Giubilini (Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and WEH, University of Oxford ) Vageesh Jaini (University College London) (Cross posted with the Conversation) To be properly protective, COVID-19 vaccines need to be given to most people worldwide. Only through widespread vaccination will we reach herd immunity – where enough people are immune to
- [Refusal Redux. Revisiting Debate About Adolescent Refusal of Treatment.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/11/refusal-redux-revisiting-debate-about-adolescent-refusal-of-treatment/) - by Prof Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics Last month, in an emergency hearing, the High court in London heard a case that characterises a familiar problem in medical ethics. A 15 year old adolescent (known as ‘X’) with a long-standing medical condition, Sickle Cell disease, had a very low blood count and required an urgent blood transfusion.
- [Pandemic Ethics: Should Santa Claus Deliver Christmas Presents This Year? Preparing For Our First COVID-19 Christmas](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/10/should-santa-claus-deliver-christmas-presents-this-year-preparing-for-our-first-covid-19-christmas/) - Written by: Alberto Giubilini; Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, & Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities, University of Oxford It’s that time of the year again, when Christmas decorations start to appear way too early in shopping malls. It’s beginning to look a bit too much like Christmas. Except that, being it 2020, of
- [Legacies](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/11/legacies/) - We shouldn’t let our legacies as electorates be defined by acquiescence in what’s normal, or by the CV-boosting manoeuvres of outgoing leaders. For things to seem better, we have to be better. We need to make a legacy not just of making better choices, but of insisting on better options too.
- [Antenatal Care During The COVID-19 Pandemic: Couples As Dyads](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/11/antenatal-care-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-couples-as-dyads/) - Written by Rebecca Brown During the pandemic, many healthcare services have been reduced. One instance of this is the antenatal care of expectant mothers. Ordinarily, partners of pregnant women are permitted to attend appointments. This includes the 12 week scan: typically the first opportunity expectant parents get to see the developing foetus, to discover
- [Cross Post: Pandemic Ethics: Vaccine Distribution Ethics: Monotheism or Polytheism?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/11/pandemic-ethics-vaccine-distribution-ethics-monotheism-or-polytheism/) - Written by Alberto Giubilini, Julian Savulescu, Dominic Wilkinson (Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics) (Cross-posted with the Journal of Medical Ethics blog) Pfizer has reported preliminary results that their mRNA COVID vaccine is 90% effective during phase III trials. The hope is to have the first doses available for distribution by the end of the year. Discussion has
- [Invertebrate Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/11/invertebrate-ethics/) - by Roger Crisp In a recent and very interesting paper, Irina Mikhalevich and Russell Powell (MP) argue that the same standards of evidence and risk management that justify policy protections for vertebrates also support extending moral consideration to certain invertebrates. In this blog, I’ll offer two lines of argument broadly supportive of MP’s conclusions. First,
- [The Duty To Ignore Covid-19](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/10/the-duty-to-ignore-covid-19/) - By Charles Foster This is a plea for a self-denying ordinance on the part of philosophers. Ignore Covid-19. It was important that you said what you have said about it, but the job is done. There is nothing more to say. And there are great dangers in continuing to comment. It gives the impression that
- [Guest Post: A Relentless Focus on the Given – Reviewing O. Carter Snead’s What it Means to be Human: The Case for the Body in Public Bioethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/10/guest-post-a-relentless-focus-on-the-given-reviewing-o-carter-sneads-what-it-means-to-be-human-the-case-for-the-body-in-public-bioethics/) - Guest Post by Charles Camosy Professor Carter Snead, at least in my world, is about as important a contemporary voice in bioethics that we have today. A professor on Notre Dame’s law faculty, he is perhaps better known as director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture—one of the most significant positions in the United
- [Announcement: 7th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/10/announcement-7th-annual-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics/) - Graduate and undergraduate students currently enrolled at the University of Oxford in any subject are invited to enter the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics by submitting an essay of up to 2000 words on any topic relevant to practical ethics. Eligibility includes visiting students who are registered as recognized students, and paying fees, but
- [Mutilation or Enhancement? What is Morally at Stake in Body Alterations](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/12/mutilation-or-enhancement-what-is-morally-at-stake-in-body-alterations/) - By Brian D. Earp (@briandavidearp) Those who follow my work will know that I have published a number of papers on the ethics of medically unnecessary genital cutting practices affecting children of all sexes and genders (a partial bibliography is at the end of this post). When my writing touches on the sub-set of these practices
- [Conscience Rights or Conscience Wrongs?: Debating Conscientious Objection in Healthcare](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/10/conscience-rights-or-conscience-wrongs-debating-conscientious-objection-in-healthcare/) - Written by: David Albert Jones, Anscombe Bioethics Centre & Alberto Giubilini, Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities, University of Oxford For the purpose of this debate (held online on 12 October 2020), Alberto Giubilini and David Albert Jones each adopted a position on conscientious objection (CO) contrary to the one that he
- [Press Release: UK Approves COVID-19 Challenge Studies](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/10/press-release-uk-approves-covid-19-challenge-studies/) - Responses to the UK COVID-19 Challenge Studies: “In a pandemic, time is lives. So far, over a million people have died. “There is a moral imperative to develop to a safe and effective vaccine – and to do so as quickly as possible. Challenge studies are one way of accelerating vaccine research. They are ethical
- [Pandemic Ethics: Social Distancing for Animals](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/10/pandemic-ethics-social-distancing-for-animals/) - The risk that the next pandemic begins in a factory farm is high. If human social distancing measures are a crucial tool in preventing and tackling pandemics, we should urgently extend these measures to animals, especially animals in factory farms. We should do as viruses do and treat animals and humans the same.
- [COVID-19: Ethical Guidelines for the Exit Strategy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/10/covid-19-ethical-guidelines-for-the-exit-strategy/) - Alberto Giubilini Julian Savulescu Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics University of Oxford Supported by the UKRI/AHRC funded project “The Ethical Exit Strategy” (Grant number AH/V006819/1) https://practicalethics.web.ox.ac.uk/ethical-exit-strategy-covid-19 These are the "Main Points" and the Executive Summary of a Statement on key ethical considerations and recommendations for the UK "Exit Strategy", that is, the strategy informing
- [Coronavirus: Why I Support the World's First COVID Vaccine Challenge Trial](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/09/coronavirus-why-i-support-the-worlds-first-covid-vaccine-challenge-trial/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford Two months ago I received an email from a colleague inviting me to join a global campaign to support a form of vaccine research that would involve deliberately infecting volunteers with COVID-19. This might seem like a strange idea. Some people have raised concerns about this research. Some even think
- [Video Series: Covid-19 Who Should Be Vaccinated First?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/09/video-series-covid-19-who-should-be-vaccinated-first/) - After healthcare and some other essential workers, it might seem the most obvious candidates for a Covid-19 vaccine (if we have one) are the elderly and other groups that are more vulnerable to the virus. But Alberto Giubilini argues that prioritising children may be a better option as this could maximise the benefits of indirect
- [Some Questions for the University of Oxford about their Covid-19 Advice](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/09/some-questions-for-the-university-of-oxford-about-their-covid-19-advice/) - Written by University of Oxford DPhil Student, Tena Thau Yesterday, Oxford sent out an email to students, informing us that we would be asked to sign this Covid-19 Student Responsibility Agreement, before the start of term in October. The email also linked to some further Covid-19 guidance. Here are some questions that I had,
- [Video Series: Are Coronavirus Contact Tracing Apps Safe?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/08/video-series-are-coronavirus-contact-tracing-apps-safe/) - Are contact tracing apps safe? Dr Carissa Véliz (Oxford), author of 'Privacy is Power', explains why we should think twice about using such apps. They pose a serious risk to our privacy, and this matters, even if you think you have nothing to hide! https://youtu.be/gVR6wUvAGpc
- [Must Clinical Ethics Committees Involve Patients or Families in their Meetings?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/08/must-clinical-ethics-committees-involve-patients-or-families-in-their-meetings/) - By Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics and Michael Dunn @ethical_mikey In a high court case reported last week, a judge strongly criticised a London hospital’s clinical ethics committee (CEC). The case related to disputed treatment for a gravely ill nine-year old child. There had been a breakdown in the relationship between the clinical team and the child’s
- [Pandemic  Ethics: Good Reasons to Vaccinate: COVID19 Vaccine, Mandatory or Payment Model?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/07/pandemic-ethics-good-reasons-to-vaccinate-covid19-vaccine-mandatory-or-payment-model/) - The best chance of bringing the Coronavirus pandemic to an end with the least loss of life and the greatest return to normality seems to be the introduction of an effective vaccine. But how should such a vaccine be distributed? To be effective, particularly in protecting the most vulnerable in the population, it would need
- [Guest Post- Pandemic Ethics: Your Freedom Really Matters. So What?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/07/guest-post-pandemic-ethics-your-freedom-really-matters-so-what/) - Written by Farbod Akhlaghi (University of Oxford) The coronavirus pandemic rages on. To the surprise of many, the enforcement of mask wearing, imposition of lockdowns, and other measures taken to try to halt the pandemic’s march have been met with some heavy and vocal resistance. Such resistance has materialised into protests in various countries against
- [Pandemic Ethics: Testing times: An ethical framework and practical recommendations for COVID-19 testing for NHS workers](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/07/pandemic-ethics-testing-times-an-ethical-framework-and-practical-recommendations-for-covid-19-testing-for-nhs-workers/) - Dr Alberto Giubilini, Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities was part of an independent rapid-response project to develop an ethical framework for COVID-19 swab testing for NHS workers. Following a stakeholder consultation, the expert group have published a report identifying ethical considerations and providing
- [Guest Post: Is it Wrong to Lower Your Chances of Doing What You Ought to Do?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/07/is-it-wrong-to-lower-your-chances-of-doing-what-you-ought-to-do/) - Written by Farbod Akhlaghi (University of Oxford) Suppose you have a moral obligation to take care of your ailing parent tomorrow. If you did something that would lower your chances of fulfilling that moral obligation – like going out partying all night tonight – would you thereby have done something morally wrong? We do things
- [Video Series: Why Parental Status Matters When Allocating Scarce Medical Resources](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/07/video-series-why-parental-status-matters-when-allocating-scarce-medical-resources/) - Which patients should we treat, if we can't treat them all? The Covid-19 pandemic has brought questions about how to allocate scarce medical resources to the forefront. In this Thinking Out Loud interview with Katrien Devolder, Philosopher Moti Gorin (Colorado State University) argues that parents (or primary caregivers) of a dependent child should (sometimes) get
- [Pandemic Ethics: Moral Reasoning in a Pandemic [Guest Post]](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/07/pandemic-ethics-moral-reasoning-in-a-pandemic-guest-post/) - Cross-Posted with The Boston Review By Professor Frances Kamm, Harvard University Policy discussions during the pandemic have raised concerns for me, as a moral philosopher, about how policy analysts and policy makers are thinking about deaths from COVID-19 and the right way to combat them. The policy discussions I have in mind have ranged from
- [Pandemic Ethics: Utilitarianism and the Lockdown](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/05/pandemic-ethics-utilitarianism-and-the-lockdown/) - by Roger Crisp Utilitarianism is in the news. It was widely believed that the UK government’s so-called ‘herd immunity’ strategy, which involved sacrificing the important interests of a relative few for the sake of benefits for the many, was motivated by a commitment to utilitarianism. Now several commentators around the world have suggested that decisions to ease
- [Take Back Control? Doctors as Appointed Fiduciaries](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/02/take-back-control-doctors-appointed-fiduciaries/) - Written by Ben Davies There’s a story that’s often told about the evolution of the doctor-patient relationship. Here’s how it goes: back in the bad old days, doctors were paternalists. They knew what was best, and the job of the patient was simply to do as they were told and hopefully get better. Then, in
- [Arbitrariness as an Ethical Criticism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/05/arbitrariness-as-an-ethical-criticism/) - Written by Ben Davies We recently saw a legal challenge to the current UK law that compels fertility clinics to destroy frozen eggs after a decade. According to campaigners, the ten-year limit may have had a rationale when it was instituted, but advances in freezing technology have rendered the limit “arbitrary”. Appeals to arbitrariness often
- [What the People Really Want: Narrow Mandates in Politics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/08/what-the-people-really-want-narrow-mandates-in-politics/) - Written by Ben Davies Last week’s by-election in the Welsh constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire saw a reduction of Boris Johnson’s government majority to just one, as Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds won the seat. The result was an interesting one: more voters went for No Deal-friendly parties (mainly Johnson’s Conservatives and the Brexit Party) than
- [An Ambitious Vision for Bioethics – Some Reflections on Professor Jing-Bao Nie’s St Cross Seminar](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/an-ambitious-vision-for-bioethics-some-reflections-on-professor-jing-bao-nies-st-cross-seminar/) - Written by Ben Davies Many readers of the Practical Ethics blog will remember the astounding announcement last November by Chinese researcher He Jiankui that he had used CRISPR-cas9 technology to edit into two healthy embryos a resistance to developing HIV, later resulting in the birth of twins Lulu and Nana. As Professor Julian Savulescu expressed
- [Lying About Santa: The Sequel](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/12/lying-about-santa-the-sequel/) - Written by Ben Davies Another Christmas, and another blog about the ethics of Christmas-based lying. Around this time last year, Alberto Giubilini wrote a post about whether we should allow children to believe in Santa. Alberto was pretty scathing about some of the arguments in favour of Santa-based honesty, but I want to offer some
- [The Right Not to Know and the Obligation to Know](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/02/the-right-not-to-know-and-the-obligation-to-know/) - By Ben Davies Most people accept that patients have a strong claim (perhaps with some exceptions) to be told information that is relevant to their health and medical care. Patients have a Right to Know. More controversial is the claim that this control goes the other way, too. Some people claim, and others deny, that
- [The Perfect Protocol? Ethics Guidelines in a Pandemic](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/the-perfect-protocol-ethics-guidelines-in-a-pandemic/) - Written by Joshua Parker and Ben Davies One question occupying politicians and healthcare workers in the middle of this global pandemic is whether there will be enough ventilators when COVID-19 reaches its peak. As cases in the UK continue to increase, so too will demand for ventilators; Italy has reported overwhelming demand for the equipment
- [Maximising Ventilators: Some Ethical Complications](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/maximising-ventilators-some-ethical-complications/) - Written by Joshua Parker and Ben Davies One of the impending tragedies of the COVID-19 pandemic is a grave mismatch between the supply of ventilators and the numbers needing them. This situation, as seen in Italy, is predicted to be mirrored here in the UK. Coronavirus can cause acute respiratory distress syndrome for which the
- [Rhodes Must Fall: Oxford’s Institutional Response](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/06/rhodes-must-fall-oxfords-institutional-response/) - Written by Ben Davies I recently watched an excellent panel discussion, ‘Statues, Slavery and the Struggle for Equality’ with Labour MP Dawn Butler, historian David Olusoga, philosopher Susan Neiman, chaired by writer Yassmin Abdel-Magied. The discussion was wide-ranging but, as the title suggests, included a focus on the recent resurgence of demands to remove various
- [The Urge to Destroy is Also a Creative Urge](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/06/the-urge-to-destroy-is-also-a-creative-urge/) - Written by Neil Levy Statues are the latest front in our ongoing culture wars. Symbolism (as all sides agree) is not the be all and end all of politics, but it does matter. Those who want the statues to fall argue that they are harmful, because they commemorate racists (and worse) and thereby contribute to
- [Legalize heroin](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2011/09/legalize-heroin/) - Forget “medical marijuana.” Is it time to legalize heroin in the United States? Ron Paul and the limits of liberty.
- [The Utilitarian Truth-Seeker](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/06/the-utilitarian-truth-seeker/) - Utilitarianism is often associated with instrumental harm and impartial beneficence. They make you inclined to accept utilitarianism. But when we apply utilitarianism, truth-seeking is hugely important. To maximise impact, you must find the best ways of doing good. You can only do that if you're a devoted truth-seeker.
- [Video Series: Which Non-Covid-19 Patients Should Get Treatment First?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/05/video-interview-past-the-peak-of-the-pandemic-which-non-covid-19-patients-should-get-treatment-first/) - In the UK we're past the peak of the coronavirus pandemic but new ethical issues are arising: the healthcare system is now under enormous pressure - it's working less efficiently than before (because of precautions to protect healthcare personnel), and there's an enormous backlog of patients whose treatments have been put on hold. Which non-Covid-19
- [Video Series: (Un)fair Access to Covid-19 Treatment in Mexico?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/06/video-series-unfair-access-to-covid-19-treatment-in-mexico/) - Widespread corruption and racism in Mexico created extra hurdles for the development of Mexico's recently published federal guidelines for deciding who gets to access scarce medical resources (e.g. ventilators in the case of Covid-19). Dr César Palacios-González (Oxford), who helped develop these guidelines, talks about these challenges. https://youtu.be/KmepcSCZ3d0
- [Podcast and Event Summary: New St Cross Special Ethics Seminar: Medically Assisted Dying in Canada: from where we’ve come; to where we’re heading, presented by Professor Arthur Schafer (Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics, University of Manitoba)](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/06/podcast-and-event-summary-new-st-cross-special-ethics-seminar-medically-assisted-dying-in-canada-from-where-weve-come-to-where-were-heading-presented-by-professor-arthur-schafer/) - Written by: Dr Amna Whiston In this seminar (available on podcast), Professor Arthur Schafer discussed the ethical challenges involved in the Canadian euthanasia debate at the New St Cross Special Ethics Seminar (online). Professor Schafer, who has written extensively over the last thirty years about a range of topics that includes professional and bio-medical ethics,
- [Contact-tracing apps and the future COVID-19 vaccination should be compulsory.  Social, technological, and pharmacological immunisation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/05/contact-tracing-apps-and-the-future-covid-19-vaccination-should-be-compulsory-social-technological-and-pharmacological-immunisation/) - Written by Alberto Giubilini Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities - Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics University of Oxford Main point: Lockdown measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 have so far been compulsory in most countries. In the same way, use of contact tracing apps should be compulsory once lockdown measures
- [We’re All Vitalists Now](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/05/were-all-vitalists-now/) - By Charles Foster It has been a terrible few months for moral philosophers – and for utilitarians in particular. Their relevance to public discourse has never been greater, but never have their analyses been so humiliatingly sidelined by policy makers across the world. The world’s governments are all, it seems, ruled by a rather crude
- [Pandemic Ethics: Compulsory treatment or vaccination versus quarantine](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/05/pandemic-ethics-compulsory-treatment-or-vaccination-versus-quarantine/) - By Thomas Douglas, Jonathan Pugh and Lisa Forsberg Cross posted with the Journal of Medical Ethics Blog Governments worldwide have responded to the Covid-19 pandemic with sweeping constraints on freedom of movement, including various forms of isolation, quarantine, and ‘lockdown’. Governments have also introduced new legal instruments to guarantee the lawfulness of their measures. In
- [Announcement: Online Short Courses Open. Philosophy, Psychiatry and Mental Health, and Neuroethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/05/announcement-online-short-courses-open-philosophy-psychiatry-and-mental-health-and-neuroethics/) - Applications are open to join our two June short courses on the ethics and philosophy of neuroscience, psychiatry, and mental health which will be run online this year. For details and how to apply: Neuroethics, 15-19 June Philosophy, Psychiatry and Mental Health, 22-26 June
- [Forced Medical Feeding](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/05/forced-medical-feeding/) - By Roger Crisp At a recent New St Cross Special Ethics Seminar Prof. Noam Zohar of the Dept. of Philosophy, Bar Ilan University and a member of Israel's National Bioethics Council, spoke on ‘Debating Forced Medical Feeding: A Critical Examination of Israeli Responses to Hunger Strikes’. He began by setting his argument in the context of recent
- [Following the Science Without Forgetting Values](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/05/following-the-science-without-forgetting-values/) - 'Following the science' raises reasonable questions including, which science and why? In what sense 'follow'? To what degree?
- [Video Series: Do Health and Social Care Workers Have a Moral Obligation to Keep Working if they Lack Protective Equipment?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/video-series-do-health-and-social-care-workers-have-a-moral-obligation-to-keep-working-if-they-lack-protective-equipment/) - This interview is now also available as a video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/o0P7bJyc-H8
- [Interview Series: Do Health and Social Care Workers Have a Moral Obligation to Keep Working if they Lack Protective Equipment?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/interview-series-do-health-and-social-care-workers-have-a-moral-obligation-to-keep-working-if-they-lack-protective-equipment/) - Philosopher Udo Schüklenk argues that it is morally permissible for doctors, nurses and other care workers to stop working if they lack PPE (personal protective equipment). To listen to the interview, follow this link to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/is-it-morally-permissible-for-healthcare-workers-to/id1509190881?i=1000472576406
- [Pandemic Ethics: Extreme Altruism in a Pandemic](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/pandemic-ethics-extreme-altruism-in-a-pandemic/) - Written by Julian Savulescu and Dominic Wilkinson Cross-posted with the Journal of Medical Ethics blog Altruism is one person sacrificing or risking his or her own interests for another’s interests. Humans, like other animals, have a tendency towards altruism. This is usually directed to members of their own group. An example is donating a kidney
- [Pandemic Ethics: Why Lock Down of the Elderly is Not Ageist and Why Levelling Down Equality is Wrong](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/pandemic-ethics-why-lock-down-of-the-elderly-is-not-ageist-and-why-levelling-down-equality-is-wrong/) - By Julian Savulescu and James Cameron Cross-posted with the Journal of Medical Ethics Blog Countries all around the world struggle to develop policies on how to exit the COVID-19 lockdown to restore liberty and prevent economic collapse, while also protecting public health from a resurgence of the pandemic. Hopefully, an effective vaccine or treatment
- [Pandemic Ethics: Key Workers Have a Stronger Claim to Compensation and Hazard Pay for Working During The COVID-19 Pandemic Than The Armed Forces Do When on Deployment](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/key-workers-have-a-stronger-claim-to-compensation-and-hazard-pay-for-working-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-than-the-armed-forces-do-when-on-deployment/) - By Doug McConnell and Dominic Wilkinson Post originally appeared on the Journal of Medical Ethics Blog While the general public enjoy the relative safety of social distancing, key workers are at a higher risk of both contracting COVID-19 and transmitting it to their families. This is especially the case for ‘frontline’ workers who are
- [Guest Post: Pandemic Ethics. Social Justice Demands Mass Surveillance: Social Distancing, Contact Tracing and COVID-19](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/guest-post-pandemic-ethics-social-justice-demands-mass-surveillance-social-distancing-contact-tracing-and-covid-19/) - Written by: Bryce Goodman The spread of COVID-19 presents a number of ethical dilemmas. Should ventilators only be used to treat those who are most likely to recover from infection? How should violators of quarantine be punished? What is the right balance between protecting individual privacy and reducing the virus’ spread? Most of the mitigation
- [National Ethics Framework For Use in Acute Paediatric Settings During COVID-19 Pandemic](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/ethics-framework-for-use-in-acute-paediatric-settings-during-covid-19-pandemic/) - Oxford Uehiro Centre's Director of Medical Ethics, Professor Dominic Wilkinson, has led a UK ethical framework for treatment decisions in acute paediatric settings during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Professor Wilkinson produced the framework along with RCPCH Clinical Lead, Dr Mike Linney, Chair of RCPCH Ethics and Law Committee. This ethical framework is a modification of guidance
- [Video Series: Is the Coronavirus Pandemic Worse for Women?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/video-series-is-the-coronavirus-pandemic-worse-for-women/) - Dr Agomoni Ganguli Mitra talks about how pandemics increase existing inequalities in societies, and how this may result in even more victims than those from the disease itself. She urges governments and others to take social justice considerations much more into account when preparing for, and tackling, pandemics. This is an interview with Katrien Devolder as part of the Thinking Out Loud video series. Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inconversationwith/ Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PracticalEthicsChannel
- [Guest Post: Pandemic Ethics-Earthquakes, Infections, and Consent](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/guest-post-pandemic-ethics-earthquakes-infections-and-consent/) - David Killoren Dianoia Institute of Philosophy Australian Catholic University, Melbourne People often seem to be stubbornly resistant to change. Consider humanity’s collective failure to respond adequately to the climate emergency. Consider the lifelong smoker who won’t quit even after an emphysema diagnosis. Consider the meat-eater who watches Dominion, resolves to go vegan, and then falls
- [Video Series: Triage in an Italian ICU During the Coronavirus Pandemic](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/video-series-triage-on-an-italian-icu-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/) - https://youtu.be/8mJ5KYInZQ8
- [Cross Post: Boris Johnson Will Be Receiving The Same Special Treatment Other Patients Do In NHS Intensive Care](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/cross-post-boris-johnson-will-be-receiving-the-same-special-treatment-other-patients-do-in-nhs-intensive-care/) - Written by Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford This article originally appeared in The Conversation In a world where the adjective “unprecedented” has become commonplace, the news of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson being admitted to the intensive care unit of St Thomas’ Hospital with COVID-19 seemed to take it to a new level. There is
- [Why You Should Not (Be Allowed To) Have That Picnic in the Park, Even if it Does Not Make a Difference](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/why-you-should-not-be-allowed-to-have-that-picnic-in-the-park-even-if-it-does-not-make-a-difference/) - Our responsibilities during the lockdown
- [Video Interview: What Caused the Coronavirus Pandemic - with Peter Singer](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/video-interview-what-caused-the-coronavirus-pandemic-with-peter-singer/) - https://youtu.be/hvLQgK5uuQI
- [The Coronavirus: Signs of Hope?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/the-coronavirus-signs-of-hope/) - Written by Neil Levy These are scary times. The death toll from Covid-19 raises hour by hour and in most countries the rate of new infections continues to grow. While most of us know that if we contract the virus the disease will likely be mild for us, we have friends and family who are
- [Video Series: Trailer for Interviews on Ethical Questions Raised by the Corona Crisis](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/video-series-trailer-for-interviews-on-ethical-questions-raised-by-the-corona-crisis/) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Clj5cjXH3Q
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Can it be Wrong For Victims to Report Crimes?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-can-it-be-wrong-for-victims-to-report-crimes/) - This essay was the winning entry in the graduate category of the 6th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics. Written by University of Oxford student, Maya Krishnan. Introduction Late one night in Managua, Nicaragua, a man punched Leslie Jamison in the face and then ran away with her camera. Jamison called the police.
- [Pandemic Ethics: Infectious Pathogen Control Measures and Moral Philosophy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/pandemic-ethics-infectious-pathogen-control-measures-and-moral-philosophy/) - By Jonathan Pugh and Tom Douglas Listen to Jonathan Pugh and Tom Douglas on Philosophical Disquisitions discussing Covid 19 and the Ethics of Infectious Disease Control, a podcast interview that was inspired by this blog. Following the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, a number of jurisdictions have implemented restrictive measures to prevent the spread of this
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: An Account of Attitudinal Duties Towards Injustice](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-an-account-of-attitudinal-duties-towards-injustice/) - This essay received an honourable mention in the Graduate Category Written by University of Oxford Student, Brian Wong Injustices are ubiquitous around us. From authoritarian regimes’ crackdown on human rights, to exploitative trafficking of illegal migrants, to human-induced destruction of rainforests upon which indigenous groups depend – injustices are negative states of affairs violating moral
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: What, if Anything, is Wrong About Algorithmic Administration?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-what-if-anything-is-wrong-about-algorithmic-administration/) - This essay received an honourable mention in the undergraduate category. Written by University of Oxford student, Angelo Ryu. Introduction The scope of modern administration is vast. We expect the state to perform an ever-increasing number of tasks, including the provision of services and the regulation of economic activity. This requires the state to make
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Can Science Ethically Make Use Of Data Which Was Gathered By Unethical Means?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-can-science-ethically-make-use-of-data-which-was-gathered-by-unethical-means/) - This essay was the runner up in the undergraduate category of the 6th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by University of Oxford student Toby Lowther In this paper, I discuss the question of whether science can ethically make use of data which has been gathered by unethical means in seeking scientific and
- [Congratulations to our Winners and Runners up in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2020](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/congratulations-to-our-winners-and-runners-up-in-the-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-2020/) - Please join us in congratulating all of the finalists in this unique final for the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics, and in particular our winners, Eric Sheng and Maya Krishnan. In an Oxford Uehiro Centre first the 6th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics was held as a Zoom webinar event. The Finalists in each
- [Pandemic Ethics: Is it right to cut corners in the search for a coronavirus cure?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/pandemic-ethics-is-it-right-to-cut-corners-in-the-search-for-a-coronavirus-cure/) - By Julian Savulescu Cross-posted from The Guardian The race is on to find a treatment for coronavirus. This race is split between two approaches: the trialling of pre-existing drugs used for similar diseases, and the hunt for a vaccine. In both instances, important ethical decisions must be made. Is it OK to reassign a treatment that
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Why Is Virtual Wrongdoing Morally Disquieting, Insofar As It Is?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-why-is-virtual-wrongdoing-morally-disquieting-insofar-as-it-is/) - This essay was the winning entry in the undergraduate category of the 6th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics. Written by University of Oxford student, Eric Sheng. In the computer game Red Dead Redemption 2 (henceforward, RDR2), players control a character in a virtual world. Among the characters represented by computer graphics but not
- [Cross Post: Flouting Quarantine](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/cross-post-flouting-quarantine/) - Written by Dr Thomas Douglas Dr Tom Douglas has recently published a fascinating article on the Stockholm Centre, For the Ethics of War and Peace blog: As I write this, COVID-19, an illness caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, is sweeping the globe. Over 15,000 people have died, and it is likely that at least
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: If Doctors Could Administer a Treatment That Would Move a Patient From a Vegetative State to a Minimally Conscious One, Should They Do So?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-if-doctors-could-administer-a-treatment-that-would-move-a-patient-from-a-vegetative-state-to-a-minimally-conscious-one-should-they-do-so/) - This essay was the runner up in the graduate category of the 6th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics. Written by University of Oxford student Matthew Minehan. INTRODUCTION Sally is a healthy young woman who suffers catastrophic brain trauma. Over many months, her doctors subject her to functional Magnetic Resonance Imagining (fMRI) scans and
- [Pandemic Ethics: Covid-19 Shows Just How Much of Ethics Depends on (Good) Data](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/pandemic-ethics-covid-19-shows-just-how-much-of-ethics-depends-on-good-data/) - In times of crises, the archetypal ethicist sits in the proverbial armchair and hums and haws, testing out intuitions about an action or policy against a jumble of moral theories. Covid-19 shows why the archetypal ethicist is as useless as antibiotics are for viral infections. This is because virtually all the difficult ethical questions this pandemic raises boil down to having access to the relevant data, rather than the relevant intuitions or theories.
- [Pandemic Ethics: Who gets the ventilator in the coronavirus pandemic? These are the ethical approaches to allocating medical care](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/pandemic-ethics-who-gets-the-ventilator-in-the-coronavirus-pandemic-these-are-the-ethical-approaches-to-allocating-medical-care/) - By Julian Savulescu and Dominic Wilkinson Cross-posted from ABC Online Imagine there are two patients with respiratory failure. Joan is 40, normally employed with two children and no other health conditions or disabilities. Mary is 80, with severe dementia, in a nursing home. In the Western world, doctors are gearing up for an explosion of
- [Politics, Ethics, and Shutting Down in the Face of Covid-19](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/politics-ethics-and-shutting-down-in-the-face-of-covid-19/) - In one sense, anything done swiftly in the face of pandemic might look like over-reaction from this side of the emergency. But thinking about life afterwards, most responses will look unforgivably complacent.
- [Cross Post: Coronavirus: The Conversation We Should Have With Our Loved Ones Now – Leading Medic](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/coronavirus-the-conversation-we-should-have-with-our-loved-ones-now-leading-medic/) - Written by Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford This article was originally published on The Conversation Waiting is never easy. Sometimes the period when you know that something bad is coming is almost harder than when it finally arrives. Across the health service, there is an enormous and unprecedented effort underway to prepare for the coming
- [Pandemic ethics: Never again - will we make Covid-19 a warning shot or a dud?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/pandemic-ethics-never-again-will-we-make-covid-19-a-warning-shot-or-a-dud/) - by Anders Sandberg The Covid-19 pandemic is not the end of the world. But it certainly is a wake-up call. When we look back on the current situation in a year’s time, will we collectively learn the right lessons or instead quickly forget like we did with the 1918 flu? Or even think it was
- [Coronavirus: Dark Clouds, But Some Silver Linings?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/coronavirus-dark-clouds-but-some-silver-linings/) - By Charles Foster Cross posted from The Conversation To be clear, and in the hope of heading off some trolls, two observations. First: of course I don’t welcome the epidemic. It will cause death, worry, inconvenience and great physical and economic suffering. Lives and livelihoods will be destroyed. The burden will fall disproportionately on the
- [Pandemic Ethics: How Much Risk Should Social Care Workers and Their Families Be Expected to Take?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/pandemic-ethics-how-much-risk-should-social-care-workers-and-their-families-be-expected-to-take/) - By Doug McConnell Recently many of the staff at an aged-care home in Sydney, Australia called in sick the day after the report of a CoVid-19 outbreak at that facility.1 Upon investigation of these absences, one of the reasons the workers gave was that they were concerned about protecting their own families. They didn’t want
- [Festival of Arguments](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/festival-of-arguments/) - by Liz Sanders We have reluctantly taken the decision to postpone this year's Festival of Arguments. We apologise for the inconvenience and hope you will understand our decision in light of the uncertainty arising from recent global events. We hope to be able to record one or two of the events without an audience, and we will
- [Pandemic Ethics: the Unilateralist Curse and Covid-19, or Why You Should Stay Home](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/03/pandemic-ethics-the-unilateralist-curse-and-covid-19-or-why-you-should-stay-home/) - by Anders Sandberg In Scientific American Zeynep Tufekci writes: Preparing for the almost inevitable global spread of this virus, ... , is one of the most pro-social, altruistic things you can do in response to potential disruptions of this kind. We should prepare, not because we may feel personally at risk, but so that we
- [Cross Post: Climate change: How do I cope with inevitable decline?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/02/cross-post-climate-change-how-do-i-cope-with-inevitable-decline/) - Written by Neil Levy Originally published in The Conversation I recently watched an interview with David Attenborough, in which he was asked whether there is hope that things can get better for our planet. He replied that we can only slow down the rate at which things get worse. It seems to me that this
- [Pandemic Ethics: Should Frontline Doctors and Nurses Get Preferential Treatment?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/02/pandemic-ethics-should-frontline-doctors-and-nurses-get-preferential-treatment/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford It is mid-March 2020. James is a 29-year-old junior doctor working in a London hospital. Last week, James cared for a man who had become sick after returning from abroad. The man had been treated in isolation and is now improving. However, James has since become unwell. He developed a
- [Pandemic Ethics - Resources 2020](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/02/pandemic-ethics-resources-2020/) - With all the concern at present about the coronavirus outbreak in China (and the rest of the world), we will host a special series on the blog relating to ethical issues during pandemics. We last ran a series on this topic in 2009 during the Swine flu outbreak. In this blog, I'll collect together blogs
- [Dr Neil Armstrong - Why is Mental Healthcare so Ethically Confusing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/02/dr-neil-armstrong-why-is-mental-healthcare-so-ethically-confusing/) - Co-authored with Daniel D'Hotman de Villiers In the first St. Cross seminar of the term, Dr. Neil Armstrong talked about ethical challenges raised by mounting bureaucratic processes in the institutional provision of mental healthcare. Drawing on vignettes from his ethnographic fieldwork, Dr. Armstrong argued that the bureaucratization of mental healthcare has led to a situation in
- [Assessing and Respecting Sentience After Brexit](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/02/assessing-and-respecting-sentience-after-brexit/) - The Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics co-sponsored a workshop with the RSPCA examining the ethical and legal implications of recent advancements in our ability to assess the mental states and well-being of nonhuman animals. Videos from the short (~15 minute) talks from the day are posted below.
- [Heritable Human Genome Editing Can Cure or Prevent Diseases](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/02/heritable-human-genome-editing-can-cure-or-prevent-diseases/) - By César Palacios-González @CPalaciosG More than a year after the fallout from He Jiankui’s announcement to the world that he had edited human embryos in order to made them resistant to HIV, the debate on whether we should move ahead with heritable human genome editing has given no signs of slowing down. For example, just a
- [Responsibility, Healthcare, and Harshness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/02/responsibility-healthcare-and-harshness/) - Written by Gabriel De Marco Suppose that two patients are in need of a complicated, and expensive, heart surgery. Further suppose that they are identical in various relevant respects: e.g., state of the heart, age, likelihood of success of surgery, etc. However, they differ on one feature: for one of these patients, call her Blair,
- [Ecological Rationality: When Is Bias A Good Thing?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/02/ecological-rationality-when-is-bias-a-good-thing/) - By Rebecca Brown Many people will be broadly familiar with the ‘heuristics and biases’ (H&B) program of work, made prominent by the psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman in the 1970s. H&B developed alongside the new sub-discipline of Behavioural Economics, both detailing the ways in which human decision-makers deviate from what would be expected of
- [Why Epistemologists Should Sniff](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/02/why-epistemologists-should-sniff/) - By Charles Foster There are lots of big and clever books about epistemology. It’s a complex business. Although one can do some epistemology (some icy thinkers say all) without making any empirical claims about what the senses show (and hence how the senses work), such empirical claims are essential for the discipline to get any
- [Health vs Choice? The Vaccination Debate.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/01/health-vs-choice-the-vaccination-debate/) - On Sunday 3 November, OUC's Dr Alberto Giubilini participated in a debate on compulsory vaccination at 2019 Battle of Ideas Festival (Barbican Centre, London). Chaired by Ellie Lee, the session also featured Dr Michael Fitzpatrick (GP and author, MMR and Autism: what parents need to know and Defeating Autism: a damaging delusion); Emilie Karafillakis (Vaccine Confidence Project); and Nancy McDermott (author, The Problem with
- [Video Interview: Rebecca Roache on Passive Aggression](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/01/view-interview-rebecca-roache-on-passive-aggression/) - What is passive aggression? Why is it so annoying? What message does the person being passive aggressive try to convey? Is it usually better to speak our mind about what bothers us, or to be passive aggressive? Is it sometimes better to just swear at people? In this interview with Dr Katrien Devolder (Oxford Uehiro
- [Love Drugs: The Chemical Future of Relationships](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/01/love-drugs-the-chemical-future-of-relationships/) - Announcement: Brian Earp and Julian Savulescu's new book 'Love Drugs: The Chemical Future of Relationships', published by (Stanford University Press) is now available. Is there a pill for love? What about an "anti-love drug", to help us get over an ex? This book argues that certain psychoactive substances, including MDMA—the active ingredient in Ecstasy—may help ordinary couples
- [Climate Ought to Change Politics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/01/climate-ought-to-change-politics/) - In the midst of global climate change set to devastate entire ways of life, and ultimately on track to render the biosphere uninhabitable for all but the most adaptable organisms, it seems timely to question how political legitimacy relates to matters of scientific fact.
- [Institutional Conscientious Objection](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2020/01/institutional-conscientious-objection/) - by Roger Crisp In a recent work-in-progress seminar at the Oxford Uehiro Centre, Xavier Symons, from the University of Notre Dame Australia, gave a fascinating and suggestive presentation based on some collaborative work he has been doing with Reginald Chua OP, from the Catholic Theological College, on institutional conscientious objection. Conscientious objection is usually discussed
- [Announcement: New Issue of the Journal of Practical Ethics Available Open Access](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/12/announcement-new-issue-of-the-journal-of-practical-ethics-available-open-access/) - We are pleased to announce Volume 7 Issue 3 of the Journal of Practical Ethics, our open access journal on moral and political philosophy. You can read our complete open access archive online and hard copies can be purchased at cost price following links from each issue. The Duty to Remove Statues of Wrongdoers Helen
- [Human Genetic Enhancement Might Soon Be Possible – But Where Do We Draw the Line?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/12/human-genetic-enhancement-might-soon-be-possible-but-where-do-we-draw-the-line/) - Written by Tess Johnson, University of Oxford How far will we allow genetic enhancement to go? vchal/ Shutterstock The first genetically edited children were born in China in late 2018. Twins Lulu and Nana had a particular gene – known as CCR5 – modified during embryonic development. The aim was to make them (and their
- [Cross Post: Is Virtue Signalling a Perversion of Morality?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/11/cross-post-is-virtue-signalling-a-perversion-of-morality/) - Written by Neil Levy Originally published in Aeon Magazine People engage in moral talk all the time. When they make moral claims in public, one common response is to dismiss them as virtue signallers. Twitter is full of these accusations: the actress Jameela Jamil is a ‘pathetic virtue-signalling twerp’, according to the journalist Piers Morgan;
- [When the State Distrusts Individuals Based Purely on their Nationality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/11/when-the-state-distrusts-individuals-based-purely-on-their-nationality/) - Written by Hazem Zohny. The UK government finds my nationality sufficiently suspicious that it requires me to register with the police. Unlike any of the other foreign nationals working at my research centre, I alone have to present myself to the police to get ‘certified’ as part of my visa conditions. This is because I’m
- [Be Excellent: How Ancient Virtues can Guide our Responses to the Climate Crisis](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/11/be-excellent-how-ancient-virtues-can-guide-our-responses-to-the-climate-crisis/) - Written by Roger Crisp After world chiefs and youth leaders gathered in September in New York at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, many of us as individuals are left feeling powerless and overwhelmed. Making big personal changes can appear costly in terms of happiness. And anyway, why should I bother when any difference I
- [Rewarding what matters: Status in academic ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/11/rewarding-what-matters-status-in-academic-ethics/) - By Charles Foster Not everything matters equally. If academic ethics is to be useful – if, indeed, it is to be ethical – it should address itself more to the things that matter most than to things that matter less. It is hard to imagine a pair of sentences more uncontroversial – no, downright trite
- [Hornless Cattle - Is Gene Editing The Best Solution?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/11/hornless-cattle-is-gene-editing-the-best-solution/) - In this talk [AUDIO + SLIDES], Prof. Peter Sandøe (Philosophy, Copenhagen University), argues that, from an ethical viewpoint, gene editing is the best solution to produce hornless cattle. There are, however, regulatory hurdles. (Presented at the workshop 'Gene Editing and Animal Welfare', 19 Nov. 2019, Oxford - organised by Adam Shriver, Katrien Devolder, and The
- [Pub Bores and Politics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/11/pub-bores-and-politics/) - The foreshortened logic of the pub bet has become the modus operandi of political discourse and should be resisted by careful attention to the discourse itself, aside from a sense of including lots of points of view.
- [The Good Place, the Bad Place, and the Ugly Consequences](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/11/the-good-place-the-bad-place-and-the-ugly-consequences/) - written by Gabriel De Marco I recently started to watch The Good Place again, a sitcom by NBC which takes place in the realm of the supernatural. The show has taken us to the good place (somewhat like heaven, where good people go after they have shuffled off their mortal coil), the bad place (the
- [Bad Ads And Stereotypes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/11/bad-ads-and-stereotypes/) - Written by Rebecca Brown In June this year, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) brought into effect a ban on harmful gender stereotypes in advertising. In response to public outcry about adverts such as the 2015 ‘Are you beach body ready?’ campaign by Protein World, and growing discomfort with outdated depictions of gender roles in the
- [Interview with Julian Savulescu on Genetic Selection and Enhancement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/11/interview-with-julian-savulescu-on-genetic-selection-and-enhancement/) - Should we use genetic testing to choose what type of children to bring into the world, and if so, how should we choose? Is it acceptable to choose a deaf child? Should we choose our children on the basis of non-disease traits such as intelligence if that were possible ? Does genetic selection put too
- [Panpsychism and Moral Status](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/11/panpsychism-and-moral-status/) - Panpsychism is the view that sentience is ubiquitous in the world. Some people find it attractive because it sidesteps the challenge for dualists of explaining why there are two radically different types of things in the world, physical things and mental things. And panpsychism seems to avoid some of of the challenges that face physicalist
- [Video Interview: Peter Singer on The Global Kidney Exchange Programme](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/11/video-interview-peter-singer-on-the-global-kidney-exchange-programme/) - In this interview with Katrien Devolder, Peter Singer defends the Global Kidney Exchange (GKE) programme, which matches donor–recipient pairs across high-income, medium-income, and low-income countries. The GKE has been accused of being a form of organ trafficking, exploiting the poor, and involving coercion and commodification of donors. Peter Singer refutes these claims, and argues that
- [Journalistic Ethics and the Mandy Rice-Davies Principle](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/journalistic-ethics-and-the-mandy-rice-davies-principle/) - Written by Neil Levy It is an entrenched and central principle of journalistic ethics that the subjects of stories must have an opportunity to respond to them; comment must be sought. These comments are then published in any resulting story. For example, the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics requires journalists to “[d]iligently seek
- [Lifesaving Treatment for Babies Born at 22 weeks Doesn't Mean Abortion Law Should Change.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/lifesaving-treatment-for-babies-born-at-22-weeks-doesnt-mean-abortion-law-should-change/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford When new guidance relating to the outcome and medical care of babies born extremely prematurely was recently released, it led some to call for UK abortion law to be revised. This was because one of the new recommendations from the British Association of Perinatal Medicine is that it is sometimes
- [Mr Broccoli Versus Piers Morgan: Hypocrisy and Environmental Action](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/mr-broccoli-versus-piers-morgan-hypocrisy-and-environmental-action/) - Written by Doug McConnell Everywhere we look environmentalists are being exposed as hypocrites. But is this relevant to the arguments these environmentalists are making and, if not, how can we improve the quality of public debate on environmental issues? In August, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle used 4 private jet flights over 11 days while
- [Announcement: Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/announcement-annual-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics/) - Graduate and undergraduate students currently enrolled at the University of Oxford in any subject are invited to enter the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics by submitting an essay of up to 2000 words on any topic relevant to practical ethics. Eligibility includes visiting students who are registered as recognized students, and paying fees, but
- [Cross Post: Privacy is a Collective Concern: When We Tell Companies About Ourselves, We Give Away Details About Others, Too.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/cross-post-privacy-is-a-collective-concern-when-we-tell-companies-about-ourselves-we-give-away-details-about-others-too/) - BY CARISSA VÉLIZ This article was originally published in New Statesman America GETTY IMAGES / JUSTIN SULLIVAN People often give a personal explanation of whether they protect the privacy of their data. Those who don’t care much about privacy might say that they have nothing to hide. Those who do worry about it might say
- [The Psychology of Existential Risk: Moral Judgments about Human Extinction](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/the-psychology-of-existential-risk-moral-judgments-about-human-extinction/) - This blog post reports on: Schubert, S.**, Caviola, L.**, Faber, N. The Psychology of Existential Risk: Moral Judgments about Human Extinction. Scientific Reports. [Open Access]
- [Elizabeth Anderson's Uehiro Lectures: Lecture 3 – Communicating Moral Concern Beyond Blaming and Shaming](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/elizabethe-andersons-uehiro-lectures-lecture-3-communicating-moral-concern-beyond-blaming-and-shaming/) - In Elizabeth Anderson’s final Uehiro lecture, she tackles what she takes to be the hardest problem facing our current political discourse – How can we overcome obstacles to communicating moral concerns in order to orient policy to important values (such as public health and justice)? This is a particularly difficult and intractable problem because it
- [Prof. Elizabeth Anderson's Uehiro Lectures: Lecture 2 Summary - "Improving Political Discourse (1): Re-learning how to talk about facts across group identities"](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/prof-elizabeth-andersons-uehiro-lectures-lecture-2-summary-improving-political-discourse-1-re-learning-how-to-talk-about-facts-across-group-identities/) - Prof. Elizabeth Anderson’s second Uehiro lecture focuses on how we can overcome obstacles to fact-based political discourse. In particular, the lecture concerns how we might prevent identity-expressive discourse (a term introduced in the first lecture; see summary of lecture 1 below) from displacing the discussion of facts and evidence in public discourse, and how we
- [Elizabeth Anderson’s Uehiro Lecture Summary: “Can We Talk – Communicating Moral Concern In An Era of Polarized Politics” -  Lecture 1: What Has Gone Wrong?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/elizabeth-andersons-uehiro-lecture-summary-can-we-talk-communicating-moral-concern-in-an-era-of-polarized-politics-lecture-1-what-has-gone-wrong/) - It is something of an understatement to suggest that we are living through turbulent times. Society today is characterised not just by deep divisions about how to address key social challenges of our time, but also on the emphasis that should be placed on evidence-based discussion of these issues, and the moral values that should
- [A Sad Victory](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/a-sad-victory/) - AlphaGo managed to beat the world champion at Go. But is this a win for humanity?
- [Diet, Changing Desires, and Dementia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/diet-changing-desires-and-dementia/) - Written by Ben Davies Last week saw the launch of a campaign (run by the group Vegetarian For Life) that seeks to ensure that older people in care who have ethical commitments to a particular diet are not given food that violates those commitments. This is, as the campaign makes clear, a particularly pressing issue
- [Guest Post: Introducing Charlie’s Law, Bambos Charalambous MP (Labour, Enfield Southgate)](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/guest-post-introducing-charlies-law-bambos-charalambous-mp-labour-enfield-southgate/) - Bambos Charalambous MP (Labour, Enfield Southgate) The tragic case of Charlie Gard, who sadly died in 2017 following a serious and protracted illness, attracted significant global attention because of the harrowing dilemmas that it highlighted. Charlie’s story, was fraught with high tensions and unfurled very much in the public eye as a result of the
- [Tafida Raqeeb and Charlie’s Law](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/tafida-raqeeb-and-charlies-law/) - by Dominic Wilkinson Disputes between parents and doctors are back in the media. This morning, in the case of Tafida Raqeeb, the court concluded that her parents should be allowed to take her to Italy for continuing intensive care. In Tafida’s case, the court found in favour of her parents and against the doctors treating
- [Press Release: Tafida Raqeeb: Right Outcome, Wrong Reasons](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/press-release-tafida-raqeeb-right-outcome-wrong-reasons/) - Written by Professor Julian Savulescu Dominic Wilkinson describes well the decision to allow a severely brain damaged girl, Tafida Raqeeb, to travel to Italy to continue to be kept alive with artificial ventilation. This is the right outcome. It appears as if Tafida is insensate or unconscious. If Tafida is vegetative, continuing treatment won’t cause
- [Press Release: Tafida Raqeeb](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/press-release-tafida-raqeeb/) - Professor Dominic Wilkinson, Professor of Medical Ethics, University of Oxford. Consultant Neonatologist This morning, the High Court judgement around medical treatment for five-year old Tafida Raqeeb was published. Tafida sustained severe brain damage from bleeding in the brain eight months ago. Her parents wish to take her to a hospital in Italy to continue
- [Cross Post: Is Mandatory Vaccination the Best Way to Tackle Falling Rates of Childhood Immunisation?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/cross-post-is-mandatory-vaccination-the-best-way-to-tackle-falling-rates-of-childhood-immunisation/) - Written by Dr Alberto Giubilini and Dr Samantha Vanderslott This article was originally published on the Oxford Martin School website. Following the publication of figures showing UK childhood vaccination rates have fallen for the fifth year in a row, researchers from the Oxford Martin Programme on Collective Responsibility for Infectious Disease discuss possible responses. Alberto Giubilini: Yes, “we
- [The Doctor-Knows-Best NHS Foundation Trust: a Business Proposal for the Health Secretary](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/09/the-doctor-knows-best-nhs-foundation-trust-a-business-proposal-for-the-health-secretary/) - By Charles Foster Informed consent, in practice, is a bad joke. It’s a notion created by lawyers, and like many such notions it bears little relationship to the concerns that real humans have when they’re left to themselves, but it creates many artificial, lucrative, and expensive concerns. Of course there are a few clinical situations
- [Planting Trees, Search Engines, and Climate Change](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/08/planting-trees-search-engines-and-climate-change/) - Written by César Palacios-González The other day I went down an internet rabbit hole when researching about planting trees and climate change. I came out the other side concluding (among other things) that there were good reasons to change my search engine to Ecosia[1]. So I did, and, other things being equal, you should too.
- [Lies](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/09/lies/) - Lying can amount to rationally pushing someone around. But it can also be protective of another. It depends on what act the lie conveys. It is morally problematic when it’s done without regard for the good of the lied-to. Without good reason to mislead, or with narrow and self-serving reasons, the act is mean.
- [Video Interview: Jesper Ryberg on Neurointerventions, Crime and Punishment](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/09/video-interview-jesper-ryberg-on-neurointerventions-crime-and-punishment/) - Should neurotechnologies that affect emotional regulation, empathy and moral judgment, be used to prevent offenders from reoffending? Is it morally acceptable to offer more lenient sentences to offenders in return for participation in neuroscientific treatment programs? Or would this amount too coercion? Is it possible to administer neurointerventions as a type of punishment? Is it
- [Press Release: Tafida Raqeeb, International Disagreement and Controversial Decisions About Life Support](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/09/press-release-tafida-raqeeb-international-disagreement-and-controversial-decisions-about-life-support/) - by Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics This week the legal case around medical treatment for five-year old Tafida Raqeeb has begun in the High Court. She sustained severe brain damage from bleeding in the brain seven months ago. Her parents wish to take her to a hospital in Italy for further treatment, while the doctors at
- [The Ethics of Social Prescribing: An Overview](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/09/the-ethics-of-social-prescribing-an-overview/) - Written by Rebecca Brown, Stephanie Tierney, Amadea Turk. This post was originally published on the NIHR School for Primary Care Research website which can be accessed here. Health problems often co-occur with social and personal factors (e.g. isolation, debt, insecure housing, unemployment, relationship breakdown and bereavement). Such factors can be particularly important in the context of non-communicable
- [Female genital mutilation (FGM) and male circumcision: should there be a separate ethical discourse?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2014/02/female-genital-mutilation-and-male-circumcision-time-to-confront-the-double-standard/) - Some argue that comparing FGM to male circumcision is offensive, since it "trivializes" the horrors of FGM. This view is based on a deep misunderstanding of both practices and is unhelpful to advancing moral debate.
- [Conscientious Objection, Professional Discretionary Space, and Good Medicine](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/08/conscientious-objection-professional-discretionary-space-and-good-medicine/) - By Doug McConnell Some argue that good medicine depends on physicians having a wide discretionary space in which they can act on their consciences (Sulmasy, 2017). Interestingly, those who are against conscientious objection in medicine make the exact opposite claim – giving physicians the freedom to act on their consciences will undermine good medicine.
- [Religion, War and Terrorism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/08/religion-war-and-terrorism/) - In a fascinating, engaging, and wide-ranging talk in the New St Cross Special Ethics Seminar series, Professor Tony Coady provided several powerful arguments against the increasingly widespread assumption that religion, and religions, have a tendency to violence, particularly through war or terrorism. To start with, we need to recognize the complexity of human motivation. It is
- [Japan to Allow Human-Animal Hybrids to be Brought to Term](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/08/japan-to-allow-human-animal-hybrids-to-be-brought-to-term/) - Japanese researchers have been permitted to begin research to create a human-mouse hybrid. The hope is to one day use this technique to grow human organs for transplant inside larger animals like pigs. Is crossing this species boundary ethical?
- [Making Ourselves Better](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/08/making-ourselves-better/) - Human beings are sometimes seen as uniquely capable of enacting life plans and controlling our environment. With technology, we make the world around us yield to our desires in various ways.
- [Press Release: Tafida Raqeeb, Medical Ethics, and Difficult Decisions](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/08/press-release-tafida-raqeeb-medical-ethics-and-difficult-decisions/) - by Professor Dominic Wilkinson, consultant neonatologist, Professor of Medical Ethics, University of Oxford. In September, the high court will hear a legal challenge relating to the medical care of five-year old Tafida Raqeeb. She has been in intensive care since suffering a severe stroke in February this year. The doctors apparently believe that
- [Puberty-Blocking Drugs: The Difficulties of Conducting Ethical Research](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/07/puberty-blocking-drugs-the-difficulties-of-conducting-ethical-research/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford and Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford A recent Newsnight programme reported that a major UK puberty-blocking trial is under investigation. Doctors at a London clinic provided drugs to block the development of puberty in young adolescents with gender dysphoria, a condition where the person experiences discomfort or distress because of
- [A Proposal for Addressing Language Inequality in Academia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/07/a-proposal-for-addressing-language-inequality-in-academia/) - Written by Anri Asagumo Oxford Uehiro/St Cross Scholar Although more and more people see the importance of diversity in academia, language diversity is one type of diversity that seems to be diminishing: English is increasingly dominant in both areas. I would like to argue that people who are born and raised in an English-speaking country
- [Criticising Stigma Whilst Reinforcing it: the Case of the Response to CRUK’s Anti-Obesity Campaign](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/07/criticising-stigma-whilst-reinforcing-it-the-case-of-the-response-to-cruks-anti-obesity-campaign/) - Written by Rebecca Brown There has been recent concern over CRUK’s (Cancer Research UK) latest campaign, which features the claim ‘obesity is a cause of cancer too’ made to look like cigarette packets. It follows criticism of a previous, related campaign which also publicised links between obesity and cancer. Presumably, CRUK’s aim is to increase
- [Doing More Harm Than Good? Should the Police Always Investigate Non-recent Child Sexual Abuse Cases?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/07/doing-more-harm-than-good-should-the-police-always-investigate-non-recent-child-sexual-abuse-cases/) - Hannah Maslen, University of Oxford, @hannahmaslen_ox Colin Paine, Thames Valley Police, @Colin_Paine Police investigators are sometimes faced with a dilemma when deciding whether to pursue investigation of a non-recent case of child sexual abuse. Whilst it might seem obvious at first that the police should always investigate any credible report of an offence – especially
- [Four Lessons from the Covert Separation and Study of Triplets](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/07/four-lessons-from-the-covert-separation-and-study-of-triplets/) - Written by Julian Savulescu Today, the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article entitled “Three Identical Strangers and The Twinning Reaction— Clarifying History and Lessons for Today From Peter Neubauer’s Twins Study” written by Leon Hoffman and Lois Oppenheim. It provides background to a documentary, Three Identical Strangers, which gained a lot of
- [Abolish Medical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/06/13975/) - Written by Charles Foster In a recent blog post on this site Dom Wilkinson, writing about the case of Vincent Lambert, said this: ‘If, as is claimed by Vincent’s wife, Vincent would not have wished to remain alive, then the wishes of his parents, of other doctors or of the Pope, are irrelevant. My views or
- [Responsibility Over Time And Across Agents](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/07/responsibility-over-time-and-across-agents/) - Rebecca Brown and Julian Savulescu Cross-posted from the Journal of Medical Ethics blog, available here. There is a rich literature on the philosophy of responsibility: how agents come to be responsible for certain actions or consequences; what conditions excuse people from responsibility; who counts as an ‘apt candidate’ for responsibility; how responsibility links to blameworthiness; what
- [Is ‘Dad Joke” Sexist?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/06/is-dad-joke-sexist/) - Written by Neil Levy A dad joke is a short joke, often turning on a pun or a play on words. Here are a couple of examples: Did you hear about the restaurant on the moon? It’s got great food, but no atmosphere. A sandwich walks into a bar and orders a beer. “Sorry,” says
- [How Should We Regulate Genetic Enhancement Technologies?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/06/how-should-we-regulate-genetic-enhancement-technologies/) - A Guest Post Written by Jonny Anomaly It’s been 20 years since Allen Buchanan and his colleagues published From Chance to Choice: Genetics and Justice. The book was a landmark, and it repays careful reading. But there is at least one kind of question that has been largely (if not entirely) ignored in discussions
- [The Ethics of Stress, Resilience, and Moral Injury Among Police and Military Personnel](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/05/the-ethics-of-stress-resilience-and-moral-injury-among-police-and-military-personnel/) - In a fascinating presentation hosted in March by the Oxford Uehiro Centre in Practical Ethics, Professor Seumas Miller spoke about what is now known as ‘moral injury’ and its relation to PTSD, especially in the context of war fighting and police work. Miller began by explaining the standard view of moral injury, as used in the
- [Guest Post: How Should We Evaluate Deaths?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/05/guest-post-how-should-we-evaluate-deaths/) - Written by: Carl Tollef Solberg, Senior Research Fellow, Bergen Centre for Ethics and Priority Setting (BCEPS), University of Bergen. Espen Gamlund, Professor of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, University of Bergen. In 2015, there were 56.4 million deaths worldwide (WHO 2017).[i] Most people would say that the majority of these deaths were bad. If this is the
- [Withdrawing Life Support: Only One Person's View Matters](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/05/withdrawing-life-support-only-one-persons-view-matters/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford Shortly before Frenchman Vincent Lambert’s life support was due to be removed, doctors at Sebastopol Hospital in Reims, France, were ordered to stop. An appeal court ruled that life support must continue. Lambert was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in 2008 and has been diagnosed as being in a
- [Regulating The Untapped Trove Of Brain Data](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/05/regulating-the-untapped-trove-of-brain-data/) - Increasing use of brain data, either from research contexts, medical device use, or in the growing consumer brain-tech sector raises privacy concerns. Some already call for international regulation, especially as consumer neurotech is about to enter the market more widely.
- [Shamima Begum and the Public Good](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/05/shamima-begum-and-the-public-good/) - An argument for the conclusion that it is not conducive to the public good to revoke Shamima Begum's UK citizenship.
- [Cross Post: Ten Ethical Flaws in the Caster Semenya Decision on Intersex in Sport](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/05/cross-post-ten-ethical-flaws-in-the-caster-semenya-decision-on-intersex-in-sport/) - Written by Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford Middle-distance runner Caster Semenya will need to take hormone-lowering agents, or have surgery, if she wishes to continue her career in her chosen athletic events. The Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS) decided last week to uphold a rule requiring athletes with certain forms of what they call “disorders
- [Caster Semenya, What’s Next?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/05/caster-semenya-whats-next/) - Guest Post: Torbjörn Tännsjö, Kristian Claëson Emeritus Professor of Practical Philosophy Statistically speaking, women perform less well than men in most sports. Their top results are 10-12 % worse than those of men. If they are to have a chance to compete at the top level, they need a protected space. At least, this has been
- [In Praise Of Dementia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/05/in-praise-of-dementia/) - By Charles Foster Statistically there is a good chance that I will ultimately develop dementia. It is one of the most feared conditions, but bring it on, I say. It will strip me of some of my precious memories and some of my cognitive function, but it will also strip me of many of the
- [Press Release: In Defence of Intersex Athletes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/05/press-release-in-defence-of-intersex-athletes/) - Julian Savulescu The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has announced that multiple Olympic and World Champion runner Caster Semenya and other athletes with disorders of sex (DSD) conditions will have to take testosterone lowering agents in order to be able to compete in her events. Reducing the testosterone levels of existing intersex female athletes is
- [Neurointerventions, Disrespectful Messages, and the Right to be Listened to](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/04/neurointerventions-disrespectful-messages-and-the-right-to-be-listened-to/) - Written by Gabriel De Marco Neurointerventions can be roughly described as treatments or procedures that act directly on the physical properties of the brain in order to affect the subject’s psychological characteristics. The ethics of using neurointerventions can be quite complicated, and much of the discussion has revolved around the use of neurointerventions to improve
- [Survey on community attitudes on early and late abortion](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2010/07/survey-on-community-attitudes-on-early-and-late-abortion/) - Do Australians’ believe that women should be able to access abortion later in pregnancy? A new survey (Australian attitudes on access to early and late abortion. Lachlan de Crespigny, Dominic Wilkinson, Thomas Douglas, Mark Textor, Julian Savulescu MJA 2010; 193: 1-4) of 1050 Australians published in the Medical Journal of Australia shows that the answer
- [Should Meat Be Excluded From the UK’s Value Added Tax?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/04/should-meat-be-excluded-from-the-uks-value-added-tax/) - A meat tax has been discussed recently in the media. However, maybe there's a different question we should be asking first: should unhealthy meat products be excluded from the UK's Value Added Tax (VAT)?
- [Should Religious Homophobia be a Firing Offence?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/04/should-religious-homophobia-be-a-firing-offence/) - By Doug McConnell It looks as if Isreal Folau will lose his job as a professional rugby player for expressing his apparently genuine religious belief that drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists, and idolators are all going to hell. Morgan Begg, a research fellow at the Australian conservative think-tank, the Institute of Public Affairs,
- [Medical Nihilism: When A Dose Of Scepticism Can Be Healthy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/04/medical-nihilism-when-a-dose-of-scepticism-can-be-healthy/) - In his 2018 book, the philosopher of science, Jacob Stegenga defends the view “that we should have little confidence in the effectiveness of medical interventions.” (Stegenga 2018) On the face of it, he acknowledges, this position seems unreasonable: most of us can think of myriad ways in which modern medicine has improved – perhaps saved
- [The Re-Greening of Abraham](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/03/the-re-greening-of-abraham/) - By Charles Foster Some odd alliances are being forged in this strange new world, I well remember, a few years ago, the open hostility shown by dreadlocked, shamanic, eco-warriors towards the Abrahamic monotheisms. They’d spit when they passed a church. The rhetoric of their distaste was predictable. The very notion of a creed was anathema
- ['Now Is Not The Time': Is It Wrong To Engage In Political Debate Following A Tragedy?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/03/now-is-not-the-time-is-it-wrong-to-engage-in-political-debate-following-a-tragedy/) - Written by Alexandra Couto and Guy Kahane In the days following the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in February 2018, many of the surviving students and staff gathered to demand immediate change to the gun laws that allowed Nicholas Cruz to kill so many of their friends and pupils. Many students held banners on which
- [The Gulf Between Japanese and English Google Image Search](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/03/the-gulf-between-japanese-and-english-google-image-search/) - By Anri Asagumo, Oxford Uehiro/St Cross Scholar, (with input from Dr Tom Douglas and Dr Carissa Veliz) Trigger Warning: This article deals with sexual violence, which could be potentially upsetting for some people. Although Google claims in its policy that it restricts promotion of adult-oriented content, there is a district in the online world
- [Entitlement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/03/entitlement/) - Sometimes, if someone encounters a challenge to their picture of the world, they will retort that they are entitled to their opinion. Or, maybe in an attempt to avoid confrontation, disagreement is sometimes brushed over by stating that whatever else may be going on, everyone is entitled to their opinion.
- [The Ethics of Gently Electrifying Prisoners' Brains](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/03/the-ethics-of-gently-electrifying-prisoners-brains/) - By Hazem Zohny and Tom Douglas Scientists who want to study the effects of passing electric currents through prisoners’ brains have a PR problem: it sounds shady. Even if that electric current is so small as to go largely unnoticed by its recipient – as in the case of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) –
- [Harmful Choices and Vaccine Refusal](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/03/harmful-choices-and-vaccine-refusal/) - By Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics Last week, medical specialists in the US reported a case of severe tetanus in an unvaccinated 6 year old child, (who I will call ‘C’). The boy had had a minor cut, but six days later he developed intense painful muscle spasms and was rushed to hospital. (Tetanus used to
- [Is there a Moral Problem with the Gig Economy?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/03/is-there-a-moral-problem-with-the-gig-economy/) - by Roger Crisp Nearly all of us have been involved with the so-called ‘gig economy’ in some way or other, whether by calling an Uber or by ordering a pizza via Deliveroo. Indeed my elder daughter was a ‘Roo’ for a while (not long, I’m glad to say), so I have had some insight, albeit
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Do Jurors Have a Moral Obligation to Avoid Deadlock?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-do-jurors-have-a-moral-obligation-to-avoid-deadlock/) - This essay was the runner up in the undergraduate category of the 5th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by University of Oxford student Angelo Ryu 1. Introduction Many legal systems have juries decide cases of an especially grave nature. Because a jury consists of a group of individual jurors, they need a
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Question:  Can soldiers justify killing some as a means to influence the decisions of others?       ](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-question-can-soldiers-justify-killing-some-as-a-means-to-influence-the-decisions-of-others/) - This essay received an honourable mention in the 5th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics, Graduate Category. Written by University of Oxford DPhil student, Robert Underwood. Lt. Col. Bob Underwood is a U.S. Army officer and a Fellow in its Advanced Strategic Plans and Policy Program. He is pursuing a DPhil in Philosophy
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Should We Contact Uncontacted Peoples?: A Case for a Samaritan Rescue Principle](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-should-we-contact-uncontacted-peoples-a-case-for-a-samaritan-rescue-principle/) - This essay was a joint runner up in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Graduate Category Written by University of Oxford student Brian Wong Uncontacted peoples refer to individuals who live (by choice or by circumstance) without coming into contact with broader, greater civilisation.[1] I make the idealised[2] assumption that our act of contacting
- [Announcement: Winners of the 5th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/03/announcement-winners-of-the-5th-annual-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics/) - It is with great pleasure that we can announce the winners of the Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2019. Undergraduate Category: Winner: Harry Lloyd with his essay “What, if anything, is objectionable about gentrification?” Runner Up: Angelo Ryu with his essay “Do Jurors Have a Moral Obligation to Avoid Deadlock?” Graduate Category: Winner: Tena Thau with
- [Video Interview: Alberto Giubilini on the Ethics of Vaccination](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/03/video-interview-alberto-giubilini-on-the-ethics-of-vaccination/) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6jAjaOg7kY&feature=youtu.be Why do some people refuse to have their child vaccinated? Are there any good reasons not to vaccinate one’s child? Why should one have one's child vaccinated if this doesn't make a difference to whether the community is protected? Why is vaccinating one’s child an ethical issue? In this interview with Dr Katrien Devolder,
- [Cross Post: Why No-Platforming is Sometimes a Justifiable Position](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/03/cross-post-why-no-platforming-is-sometimes-a-justifiable-position/) - Written by Professor Neil Levy Originally published in Aeon Magazine The discussion over no-platforming is often presented as a debate between proponents of free speech, who think that the only appropriate response to bad speech is more speech, and those who think that speech can be harmful. I think this way of framing the debate
- [Angela Smith’s Funny Tinge.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/02/angela-smiths-funny-tinge/) - Written by Neil Levy The irony was palpable: mere hours after a group of MPs resigned from the Labour Party in part over allegations of anti-Semitism in the party, one of the breakaway MPs found herself accused of racism. On a BBC politics program, she described people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds as
- [Announcement: Final Presentation for the 5th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/02/announcement-final-presentation-for-the-5th-annual-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics/) - It is with great pleasure that we announce the finalists in the Oxford Uehiro Prize for Practical Ethics 2019, and invite you to the final presentation and reception. The 5th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Final Presentation and Reception HT19 Week 8, Wednesday 6th March, 4:30 – 5:45 pm. The Presentation will be held
- [Should we criminalise robotic rape and robotic child sexual abuse? Maybe](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2014/12/should-we-criminalise-robotic-rape-and-robotic-child-sexual-abuse-maybe/) - Guest Post by John Danaher (@JohnDanaher) This article is being cross-posted at Philosophical Disquisitions I recently published an unusual article. At least, I think it is unusual. It imagines a future in which sophisticated sex robots are used to replicate acts of rape and child sexual abuse, and then asks whether such acts should be
- [Better Living Through Neurotechnology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/01/better-living-through-neurotechnology/) - Even if the data from the brain don’t actually represent a genuine, contentful state of mind for the user of a neurotechnological device, problems may remain. Such data may be taken as genuine representations of mental states by others.
- [Separation Anxiety – Should Treatment be Imposed for Conjoined Twins?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/01/separation-anxiety-should-treatment-be-imposed-for-conjoined-twins/) - by Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics On the BBC News website this week, there is a feature on a pair of conjoined twins from Senegal who are currently living in Wales. They have an extremely rare condition – fused at the lower abdomen they have separate brains, hearts and lungs, but shared liver, bladder and digestive system.
- [A third MRT-baby is on its way](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/01/a-third-mrt-baby-is-on-its-way/) - Written by César Palacios-González It has been recently reported (link in Spanish) that a 32 year old Greek woman is 27 weeks pregnant with a child who was conceived after a mitochondrial replacement technique (MRT) – in this case Maternal Spindle Transfer (MST). If true this is really big news in terms of reproductive medicine and
- [Press Statement: He Jiankui](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/01/press-statement-he-jiankui/) - The response to reckless human experimentation has to go way beyond Dr He's dismissal. This is not merely a failure of compliance, Dr He failed to grasp the ethical principles and concepts he was vigorously espousing. There will undoubtedly be more guidelines and laws on gene editing but we also need basic education of the
- [Cross Post: Biased Algorithms: Here's a More Radical Approach to Creating Fairness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/01/cross-post-biased-algorithms-heres-a-more-radical-approach-to-creating-fairness/) - Written by Dr Tom Douglas Our lives are increasingly affected by algorithms. People may be denied loans, jobs, insurance policies, or even parole on the basis of risk scores that they produce. Yet algorithms are notoriously prone to biases. For example, algorithms used to assess the risk of criminal recidivism often have higher error rates in
- [Cross Post: Philosophy Can Make the Previously Unthinkable Thinkable](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/01/cross-post-philosophy-can-make-the-previously-unthinkable-thinkable/) - Written by Dr Rebecca Brown In the mid-1990s, Joseph Overton, a researcher at the US think tank the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, proposed the idea of a ‘window’ of socially acceptable policies within any given domain. This came to be known as the Overton window of political possibilities. The job of think tanks, Overton
- [Is Addiction an Expression of One’s Deep Self?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/01/is-addiction-an-expression-of-ones-deep-self/) - By Doug McConnell Chandra Sripada (2016) has recently proposed a conative self-expression account of moral responsibility which claims that we are responsible for actions motivated by what we care for and not responsible for actions motivated solely by other desires. He claims that this account gives us the intuitively correct answers when used to assess
- [In My Own Blood I Have Written The Things Important To Me](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/01/in-my-own-blood-i-have-written-the-things-important-to-me/) - Adrien Locatelli, a French teenager claims to have injected DNA strands encoding verses from the Bible and the Quran in his thighs. “I did this experiment only for the symbol of peace between religions and science … It’s just symbolic.” he told Motherboard. Sri Kosuri, a UCLA biochemist working on DNA for data storage and
- [Reversibility, Colds, and Neurosurgery](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/01/reversibility-colds-and-neurosurgery/) - By Jonny Pugh This blog was originally published on the Journal of Medical Ethics Blog Happy new year to readers of the blog! I always approach the new year with some trepidation. This is not just due to the terrible weather, or even my resolution to take more exercise (unfortunately in the aforementioned terrible
- [Abortion: a Law Unto Itself](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/01/13745/) - By Charles Foster Wrongful life cases (typically where a birth has resulted from a failed sterilisation procedure), used to be big business. The parents would sue the negligent steriliser for the costs of bringing up the unwanted child. There was always something distasteful about parents unwishing their child, and this distaste found legal expression
- [Human In Vitro Gametogenesis and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2019/01/human-in-vitro-gametogenesis-and-the-same-sex-marriage-debate/) - Written by César Palacios-González It seems that in the not-so-distant future, scientists will be able to create functional human gametes (i.e. eggs and sperm) in a laboratory setting. In other words, they will be able to create human gametes outside of the human body. And just as there is in vitro fertilization (IVF), there will
- [Baby, It's Cold Outside](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/12/baby-its-cold-outside/) - A classic holiday song has garnered controversy over lyrics which some claim depict sexual harassment. How should we judge media which would not have been offensive when it was written, but which some might find offensive now?
- [Should we Believe in Santa Claus?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/12/should-we-believe-in-santa-claus/) - Written by Alberto Giubilini Oxford Martin School and Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities University of Oxford As we all know, Santa Claus is a good and benevolent old chap: he brings presents and tries the best he can to fulfil children’s wishes. But he is also fair: he only brings presents to those
- [Hard Choices, Fredkin’s Paradox and is Ethics a Waste of Time?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/12/hard-choices-fredkins-paradox-and-is-ethics-a-waste-of-time/) - Think back to the last time you were faced with a really great menu in a restaurant. Loads of options, all of them appealing. Plus you’re very hungry. Culinary choices, though typically trivial, can also be hard. This is because it can be tricky to make comparisons – and to judge what’s best – across
- [The Function of Cynicism at the Present Time](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/12/the-function-of-cynicism-at-the-present-time/) - Written by Roger Crisp Last month, Helen Small, Merton Professor of English Language and Literature, gave a fascinating and wide-ranging presentation in the New St Cross Special Ethics Seminar Series, on the function of cynicism at the present time. She is currently writing a book on the topic with the support of a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship.
- [Moral Responsibility and Interventions](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/12/moral-responsibility-and-interventions/) - Written by Gabriel De Marco Consider a story about Joe, Louie, and Dr. White. Joe is a gambling man and has been for much of his life. In his late twenties, Joe began to gamble occasionally and after a while, he decided that he would embrace this practice of gambling. Although Joe gambles fairly often,
- [The Fundamental Ethical Flaw in Jiankui He's Alleged Gene Editing Experiment](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/11/the-fundamental-ethical-flaw-in-jiankui-hes-alleged-gene-editing-experiment/) - By Julian Savulescu Chinese researcher Jiankui He of Shenzhen claims to have gene edited two healthy embryos, resulting in the birth of baby girls born this month, Lulu and Nana. He edited a gene to make the babies resistant to HIV. One girl has both copies of the gene modified while the other has only
- [Harnessing the Power of Moral Identity to Improve Morality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/11/harnessing-the-power-of-moral-identity-to-improve-morality/) - Written by Doug McConnell Over the last 25 years there has been an explosion of psychological research investigating the influence of ‘moral identity’ on agency with a recent meta-analysis of 111 studies concluding that people’s moral identity has as much of an effect on agency is either their moral emotion or powers of moral reasoning
- [Press Statement: Monstrous Gene Editing Experiment](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/11/press-statement-monstrous-gene-editing-experiment/) - Chinese researcher He Jiankui of Shenzhen claims to have gene edited two healthy embryos, resulting in the birth of baby girls born this month, Lulu and Nana. He edited a gene to make the babies resistant to HIV. One girl has both copies of the gene modified while the other has only one (making her
- [Cross Post: Fresh Urgency in Mapping Out Ethics of Brain Organoid Research](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/11/cross-post-fresh-urgency-in-mapping-out-ethics-of-brain-organoid-research/) - Written by Julian Koplin, University of Melbourne and Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Researchers have grown groups of brain cells in the lab – known as ‘organoids’ – that produce brain waves resembling those found in premature infants.
- [Cross Post: What If Banks Were the Main Protectors of Customers’ Private Data?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/11/cross-post-what-if-banks-were-the-main-protectors-of-customers-private-data/) - Written by Carissa Véliz Dr Carissa Véliz, Oxford Uehiro Centre research fellow, has recently published a provocative article in the Harvard Business Review: The ability to collect and exploit consumers’ personal data has long been a source of competitive advantage in the digital economy. It is their control and use of this data that has
- [The Dangers of Biography](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/11/the-dangers-of-biography/) - By Charles Foster A friend of mine has written a brilliant and justly celebrated biography. I am worried about her, and about her readers. The biography is brilliant and engaging precisely because of the degree of rapport the author has established with her subject, and the rapport she brokers between her subject and her readers.
- [Announcement: Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/11/announcement-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-2/) - Graduate and undergraduate students currently enrolled at the University of Oxford in any subject are invited to enter the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics by submitting an essay of up to 2000 words on any topic relevant to practical ethics. Eligibility includes visiting students who are registered as recognized students, and paying fees, but
- [The Psychology of Speciesism: How We Privilege Certain Animals Over Others](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/02/the-psychology-of-speciesism-how-we-privilege-certain-animals-over-others/) - Our relationship with animals is complex. There are some animals we treat very kindly; we keep them as pets, give them names, and take them to the doctor when they are sick. Other animals, in contrast, seem not to deserve this privileged status; we use them as objects for human consumption, trade, involuntary experimental subjects, industrial equipment, or as sources of entertainment. Dogs are worth more than pigs, horses more than cows, cats more than rats, and by far the most worthy species of all is our own one. Philosophers have referred to this phenomenon of discriminating individuals on the basis of their species membership as speciesism (Singer, 1975). Some of them have argued that speciesism is a form of prejudice analogous to racism or sexism.
- [Listen Carefully](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/11/listen-carefully/) - In respecting the right to freedom of speech we ought to remember that our duties to listen are not absolute. We ought to be as fastidious with our infosphere as we tend to be with the natural environment.
- [Online Sales and Differential Pricing.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/10/online-sales-and-differential-pricing/) - Written by Neil Levy When it was revealed (more than a decade ago now) that Amazon was charging different consumers different prices, based on information that suggested either that they had higher incomes or a greater willingness to pay for a specific item, there was widespread outrage. Amazon quickly backed down and Jeff Bezos apologised.
- [Response from David S. Oderberg to "Against Conscientious Objection In Health Care: A Counterdeclaration And Reply To Oderberg"](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/10/response-from-david-oderberg-to-against-conscientious-objection-in-health-care-a-counterdeclaration-and-reply-to-oderberg/) - I am grateful to Prof. Savulescu and Dr Giubilini for taking the time and care to respond in detail to my Declaration in Support of Conscientious Objection in Health Care. I also thank Prof. Savulescu for giving me the opportunity to reply to their lengthy analysis. The authors make a series of important criticisms and
- [Should vegans avoid avocados and almonds?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/10/should-vegans-avoid-avocados-and-almonds/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford A video recently doing the rounds on Facebook included a segment from the BBC comedy quiz show QI. The video asks which of avocados, almonds, melon, kiwi or butternut squash are suitable for vegans. The answer, at least according to QI, is none of them. Commercial farming of those vegetables,
- [Against Conscientious Objection In Health Care: A Counterdeclaration And Reply To Oderberg](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/10/against-conscientious-objection-in-health-care-a-counterdeclaration-and-reply-to-oderberg/) - Alberto Giubilini (Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities, University of Oxford) and Julian Savulescu (Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford) Conscientious objection in health care – that is, healthcare practitioners objecting to performing certain legal, safe, and beneficial medical procedures (e.g. abortion) that a patient requests by appealing to their personal moral values - is
- [Lecture and Book Launch: Ethics, Conflict and Medical Treatment for Children - From Disagreement to Dissensus](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/10/lecture-and-book-launch-ethics-conflict-and-medical-treatment-for-children-from-disagreement-to-dissensus/) - Watch the lecture by Professors Dominic Wilkinson and Julian Savulescu at the book launch for 'Ethics, Conflict and Medical Treatment for Children', which took place on 4 October at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdBNX4RxoP8
- [Evil Online and the Moral Fog](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/10/evil-online-and-the-moral-fog/) - The following is based on a brief presentation at the launch of Evil Online, by Dean Cocking and Jeroen van den Hoven and published by Wiley-Blackwell, in Bendigo, Australia, on 20 September 2018. It was an honour and a pleasure to be invited to speak, and I thank Dean for the opportunity. Evil Online is a
- [The Ethics of Consciousness Hunting](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/09/the-ethics-of-consciousness-hunting/) - We are letting brain damaged patients die on a false assumption. Providing functional neuroimaging to brain injured patients may soon be an ethical obligation that can help save lives worth living.
- [Victoria's Voluntary Assisted Dying Law isn't on a Slippery Slope](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/08/victorias-voluntary-assisted-dying-law-isnt-on-a-slippery-slope/) - By David Copolov and Julian Savulescu This week the Australian Senate will debate a private members’ bill that will consider whether to overturn the 21-year-old Euthanasia Laws Act that nullified the ability of Australian self-governing territories to pass legislation in relation to euthanasia and assisted suicide. The deliberation on whether to continue the arbitrary over-riding of the
- [Ethics Goes on Holiday](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/08/ethics-goes-on-holiday/) - Summer time, and the living is ethically perplexing. Hordes of holidaymakers, the shimmering sea, busy beaches, and one sun over it all. How can the eager ethicist assess how to make the most of a fortnight away?
- [Terrorist Beheadings and Other Forms of Disease Transmission](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/08/terrorist-beheadings-and-other-forms-of-disease-transmission/) - By Hazem Zohny Most of us are disturbed by people who take hostages and then cut their heads off while filming it. Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh – the remaining members of the British Isis cell nicknamed “the Beatles” – are accused of such gore. Now that they have been arrested by the US-backed
- [Fetal Reduction in a Multiple Pregnancy: the Case of Identical Twins](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/08/fetal-reduction-in-a-multiple-pregnancy-the-case-of-identical-twins/) - Written by Elizabeth Crisp and Roger Crisp When a woman aborts a single fetus, that abortion can be a morally troubling experience for her. What about a situation in which a woman is pregnant with more than one fetus, perhaps identical twins, and wishes to abort just one of them – that is, engage in
- [UK Supreme Court Decision Means Patients No Longer Forced to Live](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/07/uk-supreme-court-decision-means-patients-no-longer-forced-to-live/) - The UK Supreme Court has ruled that judicial approval is no longer needed to withdraw life-support from severely brain injured patients when families and doctors agree. This decision means that patients who are no longer benefiting from treatment can more easily be allowed to die. This is a good thing.
- [The Dangers Of Deferring To Doctors](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/07/the-dangers-of-deferring-to-doctors/) - By Charles Foster (Image: tctmd.com) There is a dizzying circularity in much medical law. Judges make legal decisions based on the judgments of rightly directed clinicians, and rightly directed clinicians make their judgments based on what they think the judges expect of them. This is intellectually unfortunate. It can also be dangerous. There are two
- [Should Gene Editing Be Compulsory?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/07/should-gene-editing-be-compulsory/) - Written by Julian Savulescu Hypothetical Case 1: Enzyme Replacement Therapy for Gaucher's Disease Consider a hypothetical version of a real life disease, Gaucher's Disease. Gaucher’s disease is an inherited disorder caused by a genetic mutation. The mutation means an enzyme-- glucocerebrosidase -- is not produced. A a result, glucerebrosides (fats) build up, damaging cells. This
- [What’s Wrong With Simulation in Football?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/07/whats-wrong-with-simulation-in-football/) - Written by Doug McConnell The 2018 edition of the football world cup has brought with it a renewed bout of hand wringing over ‘simulation’, e.g. players falling, diving, and tumbling under imaginary fouls, rolling around in mock pain, or clasping their faces pretending to have been hit. Stuart James writes in the Guardian that “play-acting
- [Video Interview: Richard Holton on Addiction](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/07/video-interview-richard-holton-on-addiction/) - Is addiction within or beyond our control? What turns something into an addiction? What should we do (more of) to tackle addiction? In this interview with Dr Katrien Devolder (philosophy, Oxford), Professor Richard Holton (philosophy, Cambridge) discusses these questions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHx1skbZqVQ&frags=pl%2Cwn
- [The Psychology of Uncertainty, Vaccinations, and Protecting the Most Vulnerable: Was Rawls Right After All?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/07/the-psychology-of-uncertainty-vaccinations-and-protecting-the-most-vulnerable-was-rawls-right-after-all/) - written by Andreas Kappes (@AnKappes), Anne-Marie Nußberger (@amnussberger ), Molly Crockett (@mollycrockett ) & Julian Savulescu (@juliansavulescu) Measles is making a comeback in Britain and Europe with numbers rising to record levels this year. Last year in Europe, measles killed 35 people, including young children . The re-emergence of measles can be traced to falling rates of
- [Pain for Ethicists #2: Is the Cerebral Cortex Required for Pain? (Video)](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/07/pain-for-ethicists-2-do-human-lesion-studies-tell-us-the-cerebral-cortex-is-required-for-pain/) - Researchers often distinguish between nociception and pain, sometimes arguing that a response to noxious stimulation is either one or the other. But pain is a complex experience with multiple dimensions; different aspects of pain experience can be selectively impaired, so we may need more fine-grained distinctions.
- [Pain for Ethicists: What is the Affective Dimension of Pain?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/06/pain-for-ethicists-what-is-the-affective-dimension-of-pain/) - This is my first post in a series highlighting current pain science that is relevant to philosophers writing about well-being and ethics. My work on this topic has been supported by the W. Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics, the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, and the Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities, as well as
- [Video Interview: Richard Holton on Dementia and the Social Self](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/07/video-interview-richard-holton-philosophy-cambridge-on-dementia-and-the-social-self/) - In this interview with Dr Katrien Devolder (Philosophy, Oxford), Professor Richard Holton (Philosophy, Cambridge) argues that those interacting with people suffering from dementia have an important role to play in buttressing their identity. He also discusses the implications of his views for the role of family and friends in medical decision-making for those with dementia,
- [Free Will Sceptics: We’re Not So Bad.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/07/free-will-sceptics-were-not-so-bad/) - Written by Neil Levy A number of philosophers and psychologists suggest that belief in free will – whether it is true or not – is important, because it promotes prosocial behavior. People who disbelieve in free will might become fatalists, holding that their choices make no difference to how events play out, because they’re already
- [Spineless Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/06/spineless-ethics/) - Written by Roger Crisp Last week, at a seminar organized jointly by the Oxford Uehiro Centre and the Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities, Prof. Irina Mikhalevich presented a fascinating preview of a paper (‘Minds Without Spines: Toward a More Comprehensive Animal Ethics’) which forms part of a project she has been working on with
- [The Utilitarian's Guide to the FIFA World Cup](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/06/the-utilitarians-guide-to-the-fifa-world-cup/) - By Hazem Zohny For those suspicious of sentiments like national pride, or who simply fail to feel emotionally engaged by a sporting team representing a bit of territory on the planet, the World Cup season can feel alienating. It is a global phenomenon that can be difficult to avoid, and you may rightly feel tired
- [Illness and Attitude – Richard Holton’s 3rd Uehiro Lecture](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/05/illness-and-attitude-richard-holtons-3rd-uehiro-lecture/) - By Jonathan Pugh In the final lecture of the 2018 Uehiro lecture series, Richard Holton concluded his reflections on the theme of ‘illness and the social self’ by turning to questions about how attitudes can play a role in the onset of medical disorders, with a particular focus on psycho-somatic disorders. You can
- [Addiction, Desire, and The Polluted Environment – Richard Holton’s 2nd Uehiro Lecture](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/05/addiction-desire-and-the-polluted-environment-richard-holtons-2nd-uehiro-lecture/) - By Jonathan Pugh In the second of his three Uehiro lectures on the theme of ‘illness and the social self’, Richard Holton turned to the moral questions raised by addiction. In the first half of the lecture, he outlined an account of addictive behaviour according to which addictive substances disrupt the link between wanting
- [Dementia and the Social Scaffold of Memory](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/05/dementia-and-the-social-scaffold-of-memory/) - By Jonathan Pugh The number of individuals suffering with dementia is steadily increasing; as such, the moral issues raised by the neurodegenerative diseases that bring about the symptoms typifying dementia are of pressing practical concern. In this context, Richard Holton’s topic for the first of his three 2018 Uehiro lectures (on the theme “Illness
- [Music Streaming, Hateful Conduct and Censorship](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/06/music-streaming-hateful-conduct-and-censorship/) - Written by Rebecca Brown Last month, one of the largest music streaming services in the world, Spotify, announced a new ‘hate content and hateful conduct’ policy. In it, they state that “We believe in openness, diversity, tolerance and respect, and we want to promote those values through music and the creative arts.” They condemn hate
- [Treating the Dead Well](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/06/treating-the-dead-well/) - Maybe we should think again about how we treat dead bodies. There could come a time when cremation and burial might be considered a waste of resources, given the uses to which cadavers can be put.
- [Gene-Editing Mosquitoes at The European Youth Event 2018](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/06/gene-editing-mosquitoes-at-the-european-youth-event-2018/) - By Jonathan Pugh The below is a slightly extended version of my two 5min presentations at the European Youth Event 2018, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. I was asked to present on the following questions: What are the ethical issues surrounding gene-editing, particularly with respect to eradicating mosquitoes? Should the EU
- [Utilitarian Supervillains, Moral Enhancement, and Enforced Vegetarianism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/05/utilitarian-supervillains-moral-enhancement-and-enforced-vegetarianism/) - By Hazem Zohny Bad utilitarians make for great supervillains. Take Thanos, the purple CGI nemesis the Avengers have to face this year in what feels like the gazillionth Marvel movie. In his sincere desire to reduce suffering, Thanos is trying to kill half of all life in the universe. Like all utilitarian-type supervillains, he
- [Should Abortion be a Matter of Referendum?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/05/should-abortion-be-a-matter-of-referendum/) - Alberto Giubilini Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities and Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford I am writing this post on the 25th of May, as the Irish abortion referendum is taking place. However, you will probably be reading it once the results are already known. I am not going to write in support of either
- [Hell, Damnation, The Royal Wedding, And The Thrashing Of Schoolboys](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/05/hell-damnation-the-royal-wedding-and-the-thrashing-of-schoolboys/) - By Charles Foster Image: Holly Fisher, a Conservative Christian blogger from West Virginia, posing with gun, Bible, and US flag: from www.nydailynews.com There was a near universal consensus that Bishop Michael Curry’s sermon at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was magnificent. ‘Frock Star’, panted the Sun. The Bishop ‘stole the show…and is
- [Coffee with Colleagues: Caffeine is a “Social” Enhancer](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/05/coffee-with-colleagues-caffeine-is-a-social-enhancer/) - By Nadira Faber The coffee you are having with your colleagues at a business meeting does more than keep you awake. Many of us know that caffeine can help with alertness and working memory - the first systematic study on caffeine and performance, sponsored by Coca-Cola, was published over 100 years ago. But did you
- [Video Series: Francesca Minerva on Discrimination Against Unattractive People](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/05/video-series-francesca-minerva-on-discrimination-against-unattractive-people/) - Is discrimination against unattractive people (lookism) a serious problem? What are the costs of lookism ? What should we do about lookism? In this interview with Katrien Devolder, Dr Francesca Minerva (Philosopher, Ghent University) addresses these thorny questions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85roWM0JA5o
- [Why It's Important to Test Drugs on Pregnant Women](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/05/why-its-important-to-test-drugs-on-pregnant-women/) - Pregnant women have historically been underrepresented in clinical research. As a result, there is little safety or dosing information for them to rely on when taking medication during pregnancy. This needs to change.
- [Announcement: Vacancy Research Fellow in Applied Moral Philosophy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/05/announcement-vacancy-research-fellow-in-applied-moral-philosophy/) - Applications are invited for a full-time Research Fellow position (Grade 7: £31,604 - £38,883 p.a.) to conduct research in philosophy and applied ethics for the research project: Neurointerventions in Crime Prevention: An Ethical Analysis, which is hosted by the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics within the Faculty of Philosophy. This post is fixed-term for
- [Press Release: Alfie Evans Case](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/04/press-release-alfie-evans-case/) - by Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics In the light of the media attention today, I have gathered together some of the material relating to the ethics of this case Previous blog posts: Groundhog Day and Legal Appeals. (What if Alfie Were a Texan?) Harm, Interests and Medical Treatment. Where the Supreme Court Got it Wrong… Where
- [I Feel Pretty - Your Practical Ethics Movie Review](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/04/i-feel-pretty-your-practical-ethics-movie-review/) - By Neil Levy Last week, I found myself seeing a film I hadn’t planned to. The film I wanted to see (The Death of Stalin) was sold out, so rather than miss my weekly fix, I picked the Amy Schumer comedy I Feel Pretty. I don’t mind a chick flick and I enjoyed Trainwreck, but
- [Doing Good and Being Bad: The Presidents Club, Charity and Moral Licensing.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/04/doing-good-and-being-bad-the-presidents-club-charity-and-moral-licensing/) - Last January, an article in the Financial Times broke a story about a men-only charity event run by the Presidents Club, a charitable trust set up to raise money for “worthy children’s causes.” Allegations were made by undercover journalists who attended the black tie event as ‘hostesses,’ 130 of whom were hired to attend the
- [Should Iceland Ban Circumcision? A Legal and Ethical Analysis](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/04/should-iceland-ban-circumcision-a-legal-and-ethical-analysis/) - By Lauren Notini and Brian D. Earp *Note: a condensed version of this article titled "Iceland's Proposed Circumcision Ban" is being cross-published at Pursuit. For a small country, Iceland has had a big impact on global media coverage recently, following its proposed ban on male circumcision before an age of consent. Iceland’s proposed legislation seeks
- [Groundhog Day and Legal Appeals. (What if Alfie Were a Texan?)](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/04/groundhog-day-and-legal-appeals-what-if-alfie-were-a-texan/) - By Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics According to media reports, the family of seriously ill infant Alfie Evans have decided to lodge a second appeal to the Supreme Court today. This is the 6th legal appeal mounted since the High Court decision, on the 20th February, that continued medical treatment was not in Alfie’s best interests.
- [Video Series: Tom Douglas Defends the Chemical Castration of Sex Offenders](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/04/video-series-tom-douglas-defends-the-chemical-castration-of-sex-offenders/) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXgxqXNK0BI The Minister of Justice in the UK wants to dramatically increase the use of chemical castration in sex offenders to reduce their risk of reoffending.Dr Tom Douglas (University of Oxford) argues that offering chemical castration to sex offenders might be a better option than current practices to prevent sex offenders from reoffending (e.g. incarceration),
- [Ethical AI Kills Too: An Assement of the Lords Report on AI in the UK](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/04/ethical-ai-kills-too-an-assement-of-the-lords-report-on-ai-in-the-uk/) - Hazem Zohny and Julian Savulescu Cross-posted with the Oxford Martin School Developing AI that does not eventually take over humanity or turn the world into a dystopian nightmare is a challenge. It also has an interesting effect on philosophy, and in particular ethics: suddenly, a great deal of the millennia-long debates on the good and
- [Should PREDICTED Smokers Get Transplants?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/04/should-predicted-smokers-get-transplants/) - By Tom Douglas Jack has smoked a packet a day since he was 22. Now, at 52, he needs a heart and lung transplant. Should he be refused a transplant to allow a non-smoker with a similar medical need to receive one? More generally: does his history of smoking reduce his claim to scarce medical
- [Announcement: Medical Ethics Symposium on Health Care Rationing - Oxford June 20th. Registration Now Open](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/03/announcement-medical-ethics-symposium-on-health-care-rationing-oxford-june-20th-registration-now-open/) - Practical medical ethics: Rationing responsibly in an age of austerity Date: June 20th 2018, 2-5pm, includes refreshments Location: Ship Street Centre, Jesus College, Oxford Health professionals face ever expanding possibilities for medical treatment, increasing patient expectations and at the same time intense pressures to reduce healthcare costs. This leads frequently to conflicts between obligations to current patients, and others who might
- [Mind Control, Free Will, and Jessica Jones](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/04/mind-control-free-will-and-jessica-jones/) - By Hazem Zohny In the first season of the Netflix show Jessica Jones, our traumatized, alcoholic protagonist is up against a particularly nasty villain: Kilgrave. He is a mind-controller and complete psychopath. A virus he emits compels people around him to do whatever he commands. Early in the season, he makes a young woman, Hope,
- [What is 'Practical' Ethics?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/04/what-is-practical-ethics/) - By Roger Crisp This is an exciting time for practical ethics in Oxford. The University has recently launched a new Masters in Practical Ethics, organized by the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and the Department for Continuing Education. Applicants are currently being assessed for admission, and the course begins in earnest in October. But
- [Facebook, Big Data, and the Trust of the Public](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/04/facebook-big-data-and-the-trust-of-the-public/) - Mark Zuckerberg testified before the US Congress that the illicit acquisition of 87 million Facebook profiles by Cambridge Analytica was "a breach of trust between Facebook and its users." As 'big data' research emerges, traditional notions of informed consent may no longer be enough.
- [Scrabbling for Augmentation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/04/scrabbling-for-augmentation/) - By Stephen Rainey Around a decade ago, Facebook users were widely playing a game called ‘Scrabulous’ with one another. It was pretty close to Scrabble, effectively, leading to a few legal issues. Alongside Scrabulous, the popularity of Scrabble-assistance websites grew. Looking over the shoulders of work colleagues, you could often spy a Scrabulous window,
- [Tongue Splitting, Nipple Excision, And Ear Removal: Why Prosecute The Operator But Not The Customer?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/04/tongue-splitting-nipple-excision-and-ear-removal-why-prosecute-the-operator-but-not-the-customer/) - By Charles Foster Image: 'Split tongue: procedure, safety, result': Tattoo World: Standard YouTube licence. The appellant in R v BM was a tattooist and body piercer who also engaged in ‘body modification’. He was charged with three offences of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm. These entailed: (a) Removal of an ear; (b) Removal of
- [Guest Post: Cambridge Analytica: You Can Have My Money but Not My Vote](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/03/guest-post-cambridge-analytica-you-can-have-my-money-but-not-my-vote/) - Emily Feng-Gu, Medical Student, Monash University When news broke that Facebook data from 50 million American users had been harvested and misused, and that Facebook had kept silent about it for two years, the 17th of March 2018 became a bad day for the mega-corporation. In the week following what became known as the Cambridge Analytica
- [Harm, Interests and Medical Treatment. Where the Supreme Court Got it Wrong…](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/03/harm-interests-and-medical-treatment-where-the-supreme-court-got-it-wrong/) - By Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics In the latest case of disputed medical treatment for a child, the family of Liverpool toddler Alfie Evans yesterday lost their last legal appeal. The family had appealed to the European Court of Human Rights to examine whether the UK courts’ decision (to allow doctors to stop life support) was
- [Guest Post: Consequentialism and Ethics? Bridging the Normative Gap.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/03/guest-post-consequentialism-and-ethics-bridging-the-normative-gap/) - Written by Simon Beard University of Cambridge After years of deliberation, a US moratorium on so-called ‘gain of function’ experiments, involving the production of novel pathogens with a high degree of pandemic potential, has been lifted [https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director/statements/nih-lifts-funding-pause-gain-function-research]. At the same time, a ground-breaking new set of guidelines about how and when such experiments can be
- [Cross Post: Common Sense for A.I. Is a Great Idea. But it’s Harder Than it Sounds.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/03/cross-post-common-sense-for-a-i-is-a-great-idea-but-its-harder-than-it-sounds/) - Written by Carissa Veliz Crosspost from Slate. Click here to read the full article At the moment, artificial intelligence may have perfect memories and be better at arithmetic than us, but they are clueless. It takes a few seconds of interaction with any digital assistant to realize one is not in the presence of a
- [If You Had to Choose, Would You Say Chimpanzees Are Persons or Things?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/03/if-you-had-to-choose-would-you-say-chimpanzees-are-persons-or-things/) - In everyday speech, the term ‘person’ often means roughly the same thing as ‘human,’ which in turn refers to someone who belongs to the species Homo sapiens. However, in practical ethics and in philosophy more broadly, the term ‘person’ has a much more rich, and more complicated, history.
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: When is Sex With Conjoined Twins Permissible?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-when-is-sex-with-conjoined-twins-permissible/) - This essay was the runner up in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Graduate Category Written by University of Oxford student James Kirkpatrick It is widely accepted that valid consent is necessary for the permissibility of sexual acts. This requirement explains why it is impermissible to have sex with non-human animals, children, and agents
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: The Paradox of the Benefiting Samaritan](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-the-paradox-of-the-benefiting-samaritan/) - This essay was the winner in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Graduate Category Written by University of Oxford student Miles Unterreiner Question to be answered: Why is it wrong to benefit from injustice? In the 2005 film Thank You for Smoking, smooth-talking tobacco company spokesman Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is charged with
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Why We Should Genetically ‘Disenhance’ Animals Used in Factory Farms](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-why-we-should-genetically-disenhance-animals-used-in-factory-farms/) - This essay was the winner in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Undergraduate Category Written by University of Oxford student Jonathan Latimer I will defend the process of genetic ‘disenhancement’ of animals used for factory farming. I suggest that disenhancement will significantly increase the quality of life for animals in factory farms, and that
- [Cutting Costs?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/03/cutting-costs/) - Written by Neil Levy We use taxation policy for a variety of ends. Obviously, the primary goal is revenue raising, in order to support government programs. But we also use taxation to send signals and to shape behavior. We tax tobacco and alcohol, for instance, to signal social disapproval of consumption (excessive consumption, in the
- [Faster, Higher, Stronger…Happier? Olympic Athletes and the Philosophy of Well-Being](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/03/faster-higher-strongerhappier-olympic-athletes-and-the-philosophy-of-well-being/) - On some philosophical accounts of well-being, Olympics athletes are leading the best possible lives; they are maximizing human excellence. If this is true, why do so many report feeling unhappy, or even depressed, after competing?
- [Announcement: Winners of the 4th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/03/announcement-winners-of-the-4th-annual-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics/) - It is with great pleasure that we can announce the winners of the Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2018. Undergraduate Category: Winner: Jonathan Latimer with his essay 'Why we Should Genetically 'Disenhance' Animals Used in Factory Farms' Runner Up: Brian Wong with his essay ' On Relational Injustice: Could Colonialism Have Been Wrong
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: On Relational Injustice: Could Colonialism Have Been Wrong Even if it Had Introduced More Benefits Than Harms?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-on-relational-injustice-could-colonialism-have-been-wrong-even-if-it-had-introduced-more-benefits-than-harms/) - This essay was awarded second place in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Undergraduate Category. Written by University of Oxford student, Brian Wong Recent debates over the legacy of colonialism – such that that of the British Empire – have often been centred around whether members of colonies have, on balance, benefited from being subject
- [Harmless Kidney Markets](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/02/harmless-kidney-markets/) - Written by Adam Shriver @adamjshriver Kidney transplants result in improved quality of life and increased longevity compared to dialysis for patients with end-stage renal disease (Evans et al. 1985, Schnuelle et al. 1998, Wolfe et al 1999). In 2014, the national transplant list in the United States passed a milestone of 100,000 people waiting for
- [Where There is Life, There is Not Always Hope. Ethics, Futility and the Alfie Evans Case](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/02/where-there-is-life-there-is-not-always-hope-ethics-futility-and-the-alfie-evans-case/) - by Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics [Updated 22/02/18] This afternoon, in another case of disputed medical treatment for a seriously ill child, Justice Hayden in the High Court concluded that treatment should be withdrawn from toddler Alfie Evans against the wishes of his parents. See below for a press release on the Alfie Evans decision. I will
- [Announcement: The 4th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Final Presentation and Reception](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/02/announcement-the-4th-annual-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-final-presentation-and-reception/) - We are pleased to announce the five finalists for the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics and to invite you to attend the final where they will present their entries. Two finalists have been selected from the undergraduate category and three from the graduate, to present their ideas to an audience and respond to a
- [Neuroblame?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/02/neuroblame/) - Written by Stephen Rainey Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), or brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), are technologies controlled directly by the brain. They are increasingly well known in terms of therapeutic contexts. We have probably all seen the remarkable advances in prosthetic limbs that can be controlled directly by the brain. Brain-controlled legs, arms, and hands allow natural-like mobility
- [Medical Treatment Disputes and the International Second Opinion](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/02/medical-treatment-disputes-and-the-international-second-opinion/) - By Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics Disputes about medical treatment for seriously ill children are in the news again. Last week, the High Court in London decided in favour of withdrawal of life support from a brain damaged 11-month old infant, Isaiah Haastrup, against the wishes of his parents (an appeal is pending later this month).
- [Cross Post: The Discomforts of Being a Utilitarian](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/02/cross-post-the-discomforts-of-being-a-utilitarian/) - Written by Hazen Zohny * Please note that this essay was originally published in Quillette Magazine. The Discomforts of Being a Utilitarian I recently answered the nine questions that make up The Oxford Utilitarianism Scale. My result: “You are very utilitarian! You might be Peter Singer.” This provoked a complacent smile followed by a quick
- [The Disunity of Utilitarian Psychology: Runaway Trolleys vs. Distant Strangers](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/01/the-disunity-of-utilitarian-psychology-runaway-trolleys-vs-distant-strangers/) - Guy Kahane**, Jim A.C. Everett**, Brian D. Earp, Lucius Caviola, Nadira Faber, Molly Crockett, and Julian Savulescu Last week, we invited people to find out “How Utilitarian Are You?” by filling out our newly published Oxford Utilitarianism Scale. The scale was widely shared – even by Peter Singer (who scored predictably highly). The Oxford Utilitarianism
- [How Utilitarian Are You? Measure on The Oxford Utilitarianism Scale](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/01/how-utilitarian-are-you-measure-on-the-oxford-utilitarianism-scale/) - Blog Authors: Julian Savulescu, Brian D. Earp, Jim A.C. Everett, Nadira Faber, and Guy Kahane This blog reports on the paper, Kahane G, Everett J, Earp BD, Caviola L, Faber N, Crockett MJ, Savulescu J, Beyond Sacrificial Harm: A Two Dimensional Model of Utilitarian Decision-Making, Psychological Review [open access] How Utilitarian are you? Answer these 9
- [The ‘Killer Robots’ Are Us](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/01/the-killer-robots-are-us/) - Written by Dr Michael Robillard In a recent New York Times article Dr Michael Robillard writes: "At a meeting of the United Nations Convention on Conventional Weapons in Geneva in November, a group of experts gathered to discuss the military, legal and ethical dimensions of emerging weapons technologies. Among the views voiced at the convention
- [Partiality, Ethical Theory, and Christmas](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/01/partiality-ethical-theory-and-christmas/)
- [Bigotry and the Academic Abortion Debate](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/12/bigotry-and-the-academic-abortion-debate/) - By Alberto Giubilini Oxford Martin School and Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanitites, University of Oxford For further discussion on this topic by Dr Giubilini see his oped in The Irish Times Last month I was invited by Oxford’s Students for Life (OSFL), the pro-life student organisation at the University of Oxford, to take part
- [Cross Post: Think Twice Before Sending Facebook Your Nude Photos: The Shadow Brokers’ Disclosures Prove Privacy and Security Are Not a Zero-Sum Game](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2018/01/cross-post-think-twice-before-sending-facebook-your-nude-photos-the-shadow-brokers-disclosures-prove-privacy-and-security-are-not-a-zero-sum-game/) - Written by Dr Carissa Veliz This article first appeared in El Pais Time and again, we have been sold the story that we need to give up privacy in exchange for security. According to former NSA security consultant Ed Giorgio, ‘Privacy and security are a zero-sum game’—meaning that for every increase in one,
- [New Year’s Reflection](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/12/new-years-reflection/) - written by Neil Levy It's the time of year at which many of us take stock of how our lives are going. It is more or less arbitrary where we mark the end of the year, but because the convention is shared, our lives have a rhythm that is marked by the calendar, and the
- [Video Series: Larry S. Temkin on Peter Singer, Effective Altruism and Our Obligations to the Needy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/12/video-series-larry-s-temkin-on-peter-singer-effective-altruism-and-our-obligations-to-the-needy/) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l68pi6_alt0 What does Peter Singer's famous 'pond example' tell us about our obligations to the world's needy? Is rescuing a child drowning in a shallow pond really the same as donating money to effective aid organisations? Is it okay to spend large amounts of money on 'dramatic rescues' (e.g. after an earthquake, to find perhaps
- [Video Series: Is AI Racist? Can We Trust it? Interview with Prof. Colin Gavaghan](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/12/video-series-prof-colin-gavaghan-on-ethical-and-legal-questions-raised-by-ai/) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfwhtqzWNDs Should self-driving cars be programmed in a way that always protects 'the driver'? Who is responsible if an AI makes a mistake? Will AI used in policing be less racially biased than police officers? Should a human being always take the final decision? Will we become too reliant on AIs and lose important skills?
- [Guest Post: The Real Problem With Human Head Transplantation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/12/guest-post-the-real-problem-with-human-head-transplantation/) - Written by Michael S. Dauber, MA In 2015, Sergio Canavero announced that he would perform a therapeutic head transplant procedure on a human subject by December 2017. Since then, he has recruited the assistance of surgeon Xiaoping Ren and switched from Valery Spiridonov to an anonymous Chinese patient whose medical condition remains undisclosed. The procedure, which
- [Paddington Bear and the Evangelicals](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/11/paddington-bear-and-the-evangelicals/) - By Charles Foster Last night, long after everyone else I know, I went with the kids to see Paddington 2. As everyone agrees, it’s wonderful. It’s a modern morality tale. There is plainly a big appetite for morality. Interestingly, though, it is a Christian morality tale.1 Paddington’s behaviour neutralizes violence. In the face of
- [In Defence of Impulsivity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/11/in-defence-of-impulsivity/) - Written by Dr Rebecca Brown It has become commonplace to identify a lack of impulse control as a major cause of poor health. A popular theory within behavioural science tells us that our behaviour is regulated via two systems: the fast, impulsive system 1 (the ‘impulsive’ or ‘automatic’ system) and the slower, deliberative system 2
- [Cross Post: Sacred Places and Traditions with Lea Ypi](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/11/cross-post-sacred-places-and-traditions-with-lea-ypi/) - Suppose a religious community regards a site – with, say, a stone circle – as sacred. It has for centuries been used as a place of prayer and contemplation. The land is owned by the state and they want to sell it off to build apartment blocks. You might think that the deep attachment the
- [Video Series: John Harris Defends Gene-Editing in Human Embryos](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/11/video-series-john-harris-defends-gene-editing-in-human-embryos/) - https://youtu.be/kIMOpu9uZbk Novel gene editing technologies, such as CRISPR/Cas9, allow scientists to make very precise changes in the genome of human embryos. This could prevent serious genetic diseases in future children. But the use of gene editing in human embryos also raises questions: Is it safe? Should prospective parents be free to choose the genetic characteristics
- [Super Soldiers, Civ-Mil Relations,  and the 21st Century Coriolanus](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/11/super-soldiers-civ-mil-relations-and-the-21st-century-coriolanus/) - Written by Michael Robillard “Let me have war, say I: it exceeds peace as far as day does night; it's spritely, waking, audible, and full of vent. Peace is a very apoplexy, lethargy; mulled, deaf, sleepy, insensible; a getter of more bastard children than war's a destroyer of men.” ― William Shakespeare, The Tragedy
- [Webinar - Charlie Gard Case: Questions and Lessons](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/11/webinar-charlie-gard-case-questions-and-lessons/) - by Dominic Wilkinson (@Neonatalethics) Webinar given recently for the Children's Mercy Centre for bioethics as part of the excellent (and free) Children’s Mercy webinar series (great resource for those interested in paediatric bioethics) In July 2017, the long-running, deeply tragic and emotionally fraught court case of UK infant, Charlie Gard reached its sad conclusion. This high profile case
- [Criticisms of Ableist Language: Empirical Commitments?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/11/criticisms-of-ableist-language-empirical-commitments/) - Written by Neil Levy As I have discussed previously, there is a growing concern about the use of ‘ableist’ language. Ableism is discrimination on the basis of disability, when disability is not in fact relevant. There has long been a move to eradicate sexism from our language. Most of us do not think it’s appropriate
- [2017 Annual Uehiro Lectures in Practical Ethics:  Audio Recordings Now Available](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/11/2017-annual-uehiro-lectures-in-practical-ethics-audio-recordings-now-available/) - We were extremely honoured to welcome Professor Larry Temkin (Rutgers University) to Oxford to deliver the 2017 Annual Uehiro Lectures on 6, 8 and 10 November. The engaging lectures were fully booked well in advance, and were each followed by a lively discussion. Lecture 1: Obligations to the Needy: Effective Altruism, Pluralism, and Singer’s Pond
- [Pedophilia and Child Sexual Abuse Are Two Different Things -- Confusing Them is Harmful to Children](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/11/pedophilia-and-child-sexual-abuse-are-two-different-things-confusing-them-is-harmful-to-children/) - Pedophilia and child sexual abuse are two different things. Confusing them is harmful to children.
- [The ethics of treatment for Charlie Gard: resources for students/media](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/the-ethics-of-treatment-for-charlie-gard-resources-for-studentsmedia/) - by Dominic Wilkinson and Julian Savulescu The case of Charlie Gard has reached its sad conclusion. However, it continues to attract intense public attention. It raises a number of challenging and important ethical questions. The role of Practical Ethics in cases like this is to help clarify the key concepts, identify central ethical questions,
- [Video Series: Should We Pay People to Quit Smoking or Lose Weight?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/11/video-series-should-we-pay-people-to-quit-smoking-or-lose-weight/) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6NyJ3KHGDA Should we pay people to quit smoking or lose weight? Would paying them amount to coercion? Is there a risk that if we start paying for healthy behaviour, its value will be corrupted? Is paying unhealthy people unfair to those who already lead healthy life styles? In this video interview (with Katrien Devolder), Dr
- [Announcement: 4th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics is Now Open For Submissions.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/11/announcement-4th-annual-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-is-now-open-for-submissions/) - It is with great pleasure that we announce the opening of the 4th annual prize in practical ethics. All graduate and undergraduate students currently enrolled at the University of Oxford in any subject are invited to enter the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics by submitting an essay of up to 2000 words on any
- [Womb Transplants and Child-Centred Surrogacy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/11/womb-transplants-and-child-centred-surrogacy/) - Julian Savulescu Womb transplants are again in the news as Richard Paulson, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), said there was no reason to believe that the treatment could not work for transgender women at recent conference in Texas. The ethical issues of performing a womb transplant for a transgender women
- [Cross Post: Friends With Unexpected Benefits – Working With Buddies Can Improve Performance](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/11/cross-post-friends-with-unexpected-benefits-working-with-buddies-can-improve-performance/) - Written by Nadira Faber This post was originally published on The Conversation We routinely work together with other people. Often, we try to achieve shared goals in groups, whether as a team of firefighters or in a scientific collaboration. When working together, many people – naturally – would prefer doing so with others who are
- [Vaccine Refusal Is Like Tax Evasion](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/10/vaccine-refusal-is-like-tax-evasion/) - Written by Alberto Giubilini: Oxford Martin School and Wellcome Centre for Ethics and the Humanities, University of Oxford Vaccination has received a lot of media attention over the past few months following recent measles outbreaks and the introduction of rigid vaccination policies in some countries. Amid this discussion, a rather strange story hit the
- [Cross Post: Machine Learning and Medical Education: Impending Conflicts in Robotic Surgery](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/10/cross-post-machine-learning-and-medical-education-impending-conflicts-in-robotic-surgery/) - Guest Post by Nathan Hodson * Please note that this article is being cross-posted from the Journal of Medical Ethics Blog Research in robotics promises to revolutionize surgery. The Da Vinci system has already brought the first fruits of the revolution into the operating theater through remote controlled laparoscopic (or “keyhole”) surgery. New developments are going
- [Harvey Weinstein and the Ring of Gyges](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/10/harvey-weinstein-and-the-ring-of-gyges/) - Written by Roger Crisp At the start of book II of what is perhaps the most famous work in western philosophy, Plato’s Republic, one of the characters in the dialogue, Glaucon, tells Socrates the story of a Lydian shepherd, Gyges. Gyges, having found a ring which made him invisible, used its powers to enter the royal
- [Blade Runner 2049, Parfit and Identity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/10/blade-runner-2049-parfit-and-identity/) - Julian Savulescu Contains spoilers for both Blade Runner films. This is a longer version of a shorter piece without spoilers, Blade Runner 2049: Identity, Humanity, and Discrimination, in Pursuit Blade Runner 2049, like the original, is about identity, humanity and discrimination. Identity and Humanity In both films, bioengineered humans are known as replicants. Blade
- [Cross Post: Sex Versus Death: Why Marriage Equality Provokes More Heated Debate Than Assisted Dying](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/10/cross-post-sex-versus-death-why-marriage-equality-provokes-more-heated-debate-than-assisted-dying/) - Written by Julian Savulescu A version of this article has been published by The Conversation Epicurus wrote: "Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist. " We are in the midst of two great ethical debates: marriage equality and
- [A Fundamental Problem with Moral Enhancement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/10/a-fundamental-problem-with-moral-enhancement/) - by Joao Fabiano Moral philosophers often prefer to conceive thought experiments, dilemmas and problem cases of single individuals who make one-shot decisions with well-defined short-term consequences. Morality is complex enough that such simplifications seem justifiable or even necessary for philosophical reflection. If we are still far from consensus on which is the best moral theory
- [Flu Vaccination for Kids: a Moral Obligation?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/10/flu-vaccination-for-kids-a-moral-obligation/) - Written by Ben Bambery and Julian Savulescu Rosie Anderson, aged 8, died from influenza infection last Friday the 15th of September. Her tragic death followed the recent death of young father, Ben Ihlow, aged 30, who died suddenly on Father’s Day this year, also from influenza infection. Contrary to public perception, “the flu” is a
- [Judges Are Paid To Express Opinions](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/10/judges-are-paid-to-express-opinions/) - Introduction In a series of five harrowing judgments, the President of the Family Division, Sir James Munby, expressed his frustration with the system that endangered the life of a child who was the subject of care proceedings. He was forthright. Some of his words were quoted in the press. A headline in the Guardian read:
- [Organ Donation: Presumed Consent and Focusing on What Matters](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/09/organ-donation-presumed-consent-and-focussing-on-what-matters/) - Rebecca Brown discusses the significance of presumed consent policies as a tool for increasing organ donation rates.
- [Cross Post: UK Gene Editing Breakthrough Could Land an Aussie in Jail for 15 Years: Here’s Why Our Laws Need to Catch Up](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/09/cross-post-uk-gene-editing-breakthrough-could-land-an-aussie-in-jail-for-15-years-heres-why-our-laws-need-to-catch-up/) - Written by Dr Christopher Gyngell Research Fellow in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, and Professor Julian Savulescu Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics,Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, Melbourne University, University of Oxford This article was originally published on The Conversation One of the greatest mysteries in life is why only about
- [Can We Trust Research in Science and Medicine?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/can-we-trust-research-in-science-and-medicine/) - A series of short videos discussing research and publication ethics.
- [Why Vegetarians Should Be Prepared to Bend Their Own Rules](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/08/why-vegetarians-should-be-prepared-to-bend-their-own-rules/) - Alberto Giubilini Republished from Aeon Magazine It’s a common enough scenario. A vegetarian has been invited to a friend’s place for dinner. The host forgets that the guest is a vegetarian, and places a pork chop in front of her. What is she to do? Probably her initial feelings will be disgust and repulsion. Vegetarians
- [‘Being a burden’: an Illegitimate Ground For Assisted Dying](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/09/being-a-burden-a-illegitimate-ground-for-assisted-dying/) - The issue of the legality in England and Wales of physician-assisted suicide has recently been revisited by the Divisional Court. Judgment is awaited. The judgment of the Court of Appeal, granting permission for judicial review, is here. The basic issue before the Court of Appeal was the same as that in Nicklinson v Ministry of
- [Illegal Strikes and Political Obligation – What Reasons Do We Have To Obey The Law?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/09/illegal-strikes-and-political-obligation-what-reasons-do-we-have-to-obey-the-law/) - The issue of public sector pay rises has been at the forefront of political discussions in the UK in recent months. The controversy can be traced back to at least 2013, when the government placed a 1% limit on such pay rises, a figure that falls below recent levels of inflation, meaning that the cap
- [We are Hiring: Research Fellow in Bioethics & Research Fellow in Neuroethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/08/we-are-hiring-research-fellow-in-bioethics-research-fellow-in-neuroethics/) - We are delighted to announce two new vacancies at the new Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities and the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics. Follow the links below for information including how to apply: Research Fellow in Bioethics Research Fellow in Neuroethics
- [Vacancy: Researcher in Global Health Bioethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/08/vacancy-researcher-in-global-health-bioethics/) - The newly established Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities is currently advertising for the post of Researcher in Global Health Bioethics - Grade 7: £31,076 - £38,183 p.a. The post is full-time (part-time considered) and fixed-term for 3 years. Based within the Nuffield Department of Population Health, the newly established Wellcome Centre for Ethics and
- [Talking Back to Science?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/08/talking-back-to-science/) - By Stephen Rainey In June 2017, the European Court of Justice ruled that it was legal for a French citizen to sue a drug company for damages following a vaccination, and an illness. The ruling caused some consternation as it seemed a legal vindication of anecdote over scientific rigour. This is a dramatic case, not
- [Guest Post: Track Authorities Are Wrong To Ban Women With Naturally High Testosterone levels](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/08/guest-post-track-authorities-are-wrong-to-ban-women-with-naturally-high-testosterone-levels/) - Michael S. Dauber, MA According to a story by Catherine Caruso published in STAT News this week, authorities at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) are getting set to debate whether or not women with hyperandrogenism, or higher-than-expected testosterone levels, should be restricted from competing against women with “normal” or “expected” levels. The debate over the IAAF rules
- [What the Present Debate About Autonomous Weapons is Getting Wrong](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/08/what-the-present-debate-about-autonomous-weapons-is-getting-wrong/) - Author: Michael Robillard Many people are deeply worried about the prospect of autonomous weapons systems (AWS). Many of these worries are merely contingent, having to do with issues like unchecked proliferation or potential state abuse. Several philosophers, however, have advanced a stronger claim, arguing that there is, in principle, something morally wrong with the use
- [Hard lessons: learning from the Charlie Gard case](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/hard-lessons-learning-from-the-charlie-gard-case/) - by Dominic Wilkinson and Julian Savulescu On the 24th July 2017, the long-running, deeply tragic and emotionally fraught case of Charlie Gard reached its sad conclusion (Box 1). Following further medical assessment of the infant, Charlie’s parents and doctors finally reached agreement that continuing medical treatment was not in Charlie’s best interests. It is
- [Animal Welfare, Reducing Meat Consumption and the Instrumental Use of Moral Reasons](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/08/animal-welfare-reducing-meat-consumption-and-the-instrumental-use-of-moral-reasons/) - Author: Rebecca Brown In this post, I consider how moral reasons may be used instrumentally – that is, to bring about some desired end. I take as an example the public debate around reducing meat consumption. I suggest that although animal welfare is recognised as important in a number of contexts, it is rarely used
- [Press Release - "The Worst Outcome" Prof Dominic Wilkinson](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/press-release-the-worst-outcome-prof-dominic-wilkinson/) - This afternoon the long-running, deeply tragic and emotionally fraught legal dispute over treatment of Charlie Gard reached its sad and sadly inevitable conclusion. Following further medical assessment of Charlie by several international experts, Charlie’s parents and doctors finally reached agreement that continuing life support and experimental treatment could not help him. This is the worst possible
- [Press Release - "Vale Charlie" Prof Julian Savulescu](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/press-release-vale-charlie-prof-julian-savulescu/) - Vale Charlie At some point in all of our lives, we have to let go. One can only admire Connie Yates and Chris Gard who fought so hard for Charlie. However, we should continue to question the original decision, and the way in which these decisions are made. Even if it is too late
- [Medical tourism for controversial treatment options](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/medical-tourism-for-controversial-treatment-options/) - By Dominic Wilkinson Baby C’s parents had done their research. They had read widely about different options for C and had clear views about what they felt would be best for their child. They had asked a number of doctors in this country, but none were willing to provide the treatment. After contacting some
- [Cross Post: Re: Nudges in a Post-truth World ](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/cross-post-re-nudges-in-a-post-truth-world/) - Guest Post: Nathan Hodson This article originally appeared on the Journal of Medical Ethics Blog In a recent article in the Journal of Medical Ethics, Neil Levy has developed a concept of “nudges to reason,” offering a new tool for those trying to reconcile medical ethics with the application of behavioural psychological research – a practice known as
- [Cross Post: Speaking with: Julian Savulescu on the ethics of genetic modification in humans](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/speaking-with-julian-savulescu-on-the-ethics-of-genetic-modification-in-humans/) - Could genetic engineering one day allow parents to have designer babies? Tatiana Vdb/flickr, CC BY William Isdale, University of Melbourne What if humans are genetically unfit to overcome challenges like climate change and the growing inequality that looks set to define our future? Julian Savulescu, visiting professor at Monash University and Uehiro professor of Practical
- [Burke, Briggs and Wills: Why we should not fear the judgment in Charlie Gard](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/burke-briggs-and-wills-why-we-should-not-fear-the-judgment-in-charlie-gard/) - In a blog post today, Julian Savulescu argues that in a parallel adult version of the highly controversial Charlie Gard case, a UK court might thwart an unconscious patient’s previously expressed desire for self-funded experimental medical treatment. He finds the Gard decision deeply disturbing and suggests that we all have reason to fear the Charlie
- [Burke and Wills, Bowen and Gard: The English Courts, Best Interests and Justice](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/burke-and-wills-why-we-might-all-fear-the-judgment-in-charlie-gard/) - The Case of Donald Wills Donald Wills is a self-made man. He is billionaire British banker who has taken an interest in technology. He believes the Singularity is near and wishes to live as long as possible. He completes an advance directive to use his money to keep him alive at all costs, should he
- [Video Series: Charlie Gard should be allowed to die, says Dominic Wilkinson](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/video-series-charlie-gard-should-be-allowed-to-die-says-dominic-wilkinson/) - Dominic Wilkinson, Consultant Neonatologist and Professor in Medical Ethics, argues that Charlie Gard should be allowed to die and that disagreement about this case is not necessarily 'reasonable' disagreement. He also explains what could possibly change his mind about the case. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrUkdICxOzY
- [Video Series: Peter Singer on the Pros and Cons of Defending Controversial Views](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/video-series-peter-singer-on-the-pros-and-cons-of-defending-controversial-views/) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al4i4oQT8Ng Peter Singer has probably done more good than many of us will ever do. Despite this, he has received threats, people have protested to stop him from lecturing, his views have been compared to those defended by Nazis, etc. How has this affected him? Should we ever refrain from defending controversial views? Is it
- [Video Series: Professor Julian Savulescu argues in favour of an experimental treatment for Charlie Gard](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/video-series-professor-julian-savulescu-argues-in-favour-of-an-experimental-treatment-for-charlie-gard/) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS7GOE795dQ
- [How Social Media Distorts Our Perceptions of Groups.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/how-social-media-distorts-our-perceptions-of-groups/) - We know that groups are internally diverse. For any group you care to pick out (Brexit supporters, feminists, tea drinkers), we know intellectually that they will disagree among themselves about a great deal. When people identify as a group member, they may feel pressure to conform to the group view, but there are countervailing pressures
- [Revised Press Statement: Gard Legal Decision Questionable on Secular Ethical Grounds](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/press-statement-gard-legal-decision-questionable-on-secular-ethical-grounds/) - Julian Savulescu and Peter Singer Charlie Gard should have been allowed to go to US for experimental treatment back in April (or better January when it was first considered) because there was some possibility of him having a life worth living after treatment. That possibility may have been slim, but it does not appear (to
- [Debate Response: Charlie Gard, Interests and Justice – an alternative view](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/04/debate-reponse-charlie-gard-interests-and-justice-an-alternative-view/) - Dominic Wilkinson Responding to Julian Savulescu The sad and difficult case of Charlie Gard, which featured in the media last week, is the latest in a series of High Court and Family court cases when parents and doctors have disagreed about medical treatment for a child. Doctors regard the treatment as “futile” or “potentially inappropriate”.
- [The sad case of Charlie Gard and the rights *and wrongs* of experimental treatment](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/the-sad-case-of-charlie-gard-and-the-rights-and-wrongs-of-experimental-treatment/) - By Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics In a blog post published yesterday, Julian Savulescu argues that Charlie Gard should have received the experimental treatment requested by his parents 6 months ago. He further argues that “we should be more aggressive about trials of therapy where there are no other good options”. I have previously argued (in
- [The Moral of the Case of Charlie Gard: Give Dying Patients Experimental Treatment ... Early](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/07/the-moral-of-the-case-of-charlie-gard-give-dying-patients-experimental-treatment-early/) - The tragic case of Charlie Gard has captured the imagination of social media, the Pope and President Trump. All of Charlie's legal options appear to have been exhausted so, despite the tsunami of opinion, it looks like treatment will be withdrawn, barring some act of God or other authority. I argued back in April and
- [The non-identity problem of professional philosophers](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/06/the-non-identity-problem-of-professional-philosophers/) - By Charles Foster Philosophers have a non-identity problem. It is that they are not identified as relevant by the courts. This, in an age where funding and preferment are often linked to engagement with the non-academic world, is a worry. This irrelevance was brutally demonstrated in an English Court of Appeal case, ('the CICA case')
- [Targeted Killing and Black Boxes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/06/targeted-killing-and-black-boxes/) - Written By Mitt Regan and Michael Robillard Various aspects of the US targeted killing program have attracted considerable attention and some criticism in philosophy and international law. One important aspect of the program that deserves more attention is how targeted killing reflects how the growing number of conflicts involving non-state actors are eroding conventions regarding
- [Using AI to Predict Criminal Offending: What Makes it ‘Accurate’, and What Makes it ‘Ethical’.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/06/using-ai-to-predict-criminal-offending-what-makes-it-accurate-and-what-makes-it-ethical/) - Jonathan Pugh Tom Douglas The Durham Police force plans to use an artificial intelligence system to inform decisions about whether or not to keep a suspect in custody. Developed using data collected by the force, The Harm Assessment Risk Tool (HART) has already undergone a 2 year trial period to monitor the accuracy of
- [Announcement: James Williams wins Innovative Thinking prize](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/06/announcement-james-williams-wins-innovative-thinking-prize/) - OUC affiliated student, James Williams, has been awarded the inaugural $100,000 Nine Dots Prize. Williams, a doctoral candidate researching design ethics, beat 700 other entrants from around the world with his 3,000-word answer to the set question ‘Are digital technologies making politics impossible?’ His entry Stand Out of Our Light: Freedom and Persuasion in the
- [Guest Post: Crispr Craze and Crispr Cares](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/06/guest-post-crispr-craze-and-crispr-cares/) - Written by Robert Ranisch, Institute for Ethics and History of Medicine, University of Tuebingen @RobRanisch Newly discovered tools for the targeted editing of the genome have been generating talk of a revolution in gene technology for the last five years. The CRISPR/Cas9-method draws most of the attention by enabling a more simple and precise, cheaper
- [Article Announcement:Which lives matter most? Thinking about children who are not yet born confronts us with the question of our ethical obligations to future people.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/06/article-announcementwhich-lives-matter-most-thinking-about-children-who-are-not-yet-born-confronts-us-with-the-question-of-our-ethical-obligations-to-future-people/) - Professor Dominic Wilkinson and Keyur Doolabh have recently published a provocative essay at Aeon online magazine: Imagine that a 14-year-old girl, Kate, decides that she wants to become pregnant. Kate’s parents are generally broadminded, and are supportive of her long-term relationship with a boy of the same age. They are aware that Kate is sexually
- [Video Series: Peter Singer on Vegetarianism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/06/video-series-peter-singer-on-vegetarianism/) - Is it okay to eat one hamburger per year? Is it acceptable to eat a hamburger made from a ‘happy cow’? The production of crops may result in more animals killed than the production of meat from grass-fed cattle and sheep - does this mean we should eat more meat and less crops? Should we eat
- [Cross Post: Italy has introduced mandatory vaccinations – other countries should follow its lead](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/06/cross-post-italy-has-introduced-mandatory-vaccinations-other-countries-should-follow-its-lead/) - Written by Alberto Giubilini This article was originally published on The Conversation In the first four months of this year, around 1,500 cases of measles were reported in Italy. As a response to the outbreak, the Italian government introduced a law making 12 vaccinations mandatory for preschool and school-age children. Parents will have to provide
- [The Campaign Trail as a Carnival of Virtues](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/06/the-campaign-trail-as-a-carnival-of-virtues/) - by Andreas Kappes @AnKappes Imagine you are asked to evaluate candidates who apply for a job. The person who gets the job will interact with you a lot. What would be more important to you, that the person is friendly, honest, and overall a good person or that the person is competent, educated, and good
- [Agreement and disagreement about experimental treatment. The Charlie Gard Appeal](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/05/agreement-and-disagreement-about-experimental-treatment-the-charlie-gard-appeal/) - by Dominic Wilkinson and Julian Savulescu @Neonatalethics @juliansavulescu Tomorrow, the UK Court of Appeal will review the controversial case of a British infant, Charlie Gard. Charlie’s parents are appealing a recent High Court decision that gave doctors permission to withdraw his life support. They have raised money for Charlie to travel to the US for
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics:In It To Win It: Is Prize-giving Bad for Philosophy? Written by Rebecca Buxton](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/05/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethicsin-it-to-win-it-is-prize-giving-bad-for-philosophy-written-by-rebecca-buxton/) - This essay received an Honorable Mention in the Graduate Category of the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2017 Written by University of Oxford student, Rebecca Buxton INTRODUCTORY REMARKS We live in a culture of prize-giving. The Nobel Prize, the Medal of Honour, the Man Booker and, not least, the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics.
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Global Warming & Vegetarianism: What should I do, when what I do makes no difference?  By Fergus Peace](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/05/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-global-warming-vegetarianism-what-should-i-do-when-what-i-do-makes-no-difference-by-fergus-peace/) - This essay received an Honorable Mention in the Graduate Category of the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2017 Written by University of Oxford student, Fergus Peace The Problem of Cumulative Impact In large, integrated societies, some of the most important moral challenges we face can only be resolved by large-scale collective action. Global poverty and
- [Are Incentives Corrupting? The Case of Paying People to be Healthy.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/05/are-incentives-corrupting-the-case-of-paying-people-to-be-healthy/) - Written by Dr Rebecca Brown Financial incentives are commonplace in everyday life. As tools of states, corporations and individuals, they enable the ‘tweaking’ of motivations in ways more desirable to the incentiviser. A parent may pay her child £1 to practice the piano for an hour; a café offers a free coffee for every nine
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: The Ethical Dilemma of Youth Politics, written by Andreas Masvie](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/05/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-the-ethical-dilemma-of-youth-politics-written-by-andreas-masvie/) - This essay was the runner up in the undergraduate category of the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2017 Written by University of Oxford Student, Andreas Masvie The West in general, and perhaps Europe in particular, tend to celebrate youth politics as a vital force of democracy. This is reflected in the current literature
- [Nudges and Reasoning](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/05/nudges-and-reasoning/) - Back in what now seems like a previous age, when David Cameron was prime minister, there was quite a lot of attention paid to his so-called ‘nudge unit’. Nudges, named after Thaler and Sunstein’s well-known book, are ways of getting people to make better choices by making these options more salient or less effortful for
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Prostitution: You Can’t Have Your Cake and Sell It*. Written by Simon-Pierre Chevarie-Cossette](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/05/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-prostitution-you-cant-have-your-cake-and-sell-it-written-by-simon-pierre-chevarie-cossette/) - This essay received an Honorable Mention in the Graduate Category of the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2017 Written by University of Oxford student, Simon-Pierre Chevarie-Cossette Abstract: I offer a new** argument for the thesis that prostitution is not just a normal job. It has the advantage of being compatible with the claim that humans
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Should we completely ban “political bots”? Written by Jonas Haeg](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/05/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-should-we-completely-ban-political-bots-written-by-jonas-haeg/) - This essay was the runner up in the Graduate Category of the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2017 Written by University of Oxford student, Jonas Haeg Introduction This paper concerns the ethics of a relatively new and rising trend in political campaigning: the use of “political bots” (henceforth “polibots”). Polibots are amalgamations of computer code
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Is Sex With Robots Rape? Written by Romy Eskens](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/05/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-is-sex-with-robots-rape-written-by-romy-eskens/) - This essay was the winner in the Graduate Category of the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2017 Written by University of Oxford student, Romy Eskens On The Permissibility of Consentless Sex With Robots Recent movies and TV-series, such as Ex Machina and Westworld, have sparked popular interest in sex robots, which are embodied AI systems
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: What Makes Discrimination Wrong? Written by Paul de Font-Reaulx](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/05/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-what-makes-discrimination-wrong-written-by-paul-de-font-reaulx/) - This essay was the winner in the Undergraduate Category of the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2017 Written by University of Oxford student, Paul de Font-Reaulx What makes discrimination wrong? Most of us intuitively take discrimination based on gender or ethnicity to be impermissible because we have strong rights to be treated on the
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Secondary Intentions in Euthanasia, written by Isabel Canfield](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/05/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-secondary-intentions-in-euthanasia-written-by-isabel-canfield/) - This essay received an Honourable Mention in the Undergraduate Category of the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2017 Written by University of Oxford student, Isabel Canfield The debate about the moral permissibility of euthanasia is often presented as hinging upon the distinction between killing and letting die. This debate is often focused around a discussion
- [Announcement: 3rd Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/05/announcement-3rd-annual-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-2/) - After our enforced time offline it is with great pleasure that we can now announce and publish the winners of the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2017 on the Practical Ethics in the News Blog. The winner of the Undergraduate Category is Paul de Font-Reaulx, with his essay ‘What Makes Discrimination Wrong?’ The runner
- [Video Series: Tom Douglas on Using Neurointerventions in Crime Prevention](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/05/video-series-tom-douglas-on-using-neurointerventions-in-crime-prevention/) - Interview with philosopher Tom Douglas on the ethics of using neurointerventions (e.g. chemical castration) in crime prevention.
- [Cross Post: Five ways the meat on your plate is killing the planet](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/04/cross-post-five-ways-the-meat-on-your-plate-is-killing-the-planet/) - Cross-posted from The Conversation Francis Vergunst, Université de Montréal and Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford When we hear about the horrors of industrial livestock farming – the pollution, the waste, the miserable lives of billions of animals – it is hard not to feel a twinge of guilt and conclude that we should eat less
- [Debate: The Fiction of an Interest in Death? Justice for Charlie Gard](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/04/debate-the-fiction-of-an-interest-in-death-justice-for-charlie-gard/) - Julian Savulescu Dominic Wilkinson's Response A judge ruled last week that baby Charlie Gard will have his treatment withdrawn, against the wishes of his parents. His doctors argued that the rare mitochondrial disease (MDDS) he was born with was causing him unbearable suffering. His parents had raised funds to take him to the US for
- [Damages and communitarianism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/04/damages-and-communitarianism/) - By Charles Foster The Lord Chancellor recently announced that the discount rate under the Damages Act 1996 would be decreased from 2.5% to minus 0.75%. This sounds dull. In fact it is financially tectonic, and raises some important ethical questions. In the law of tort, damages are intended to put a claimant in the position
- [Synthetic life and biodiversity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/04/synthetic-life-and-biodiversity/) - Written by Dr Chris Gyngell Last year, the first truly novel synthetic life form was created. The Minimal Cell created by the Venter Lab, contains the smallest genome of any known independent organism.[1] While the first synthetic microbe was created in 2010, that was simply a like for like synthetic copy of the genome of
- [How do medical professionals decide on treatment options for children?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/04/how-do-medical-professionals-decide-on-treatment-options-for-children/) - Following widespread media coverage about the court case where baby Charlie Gard's parents were told that his life support would be removed against their wishes, Dominic Wilkinson appeared on BBC's Newsnight to discuss the factors that doctors take into account when making such difficult decisions. Short Video Full Programme
- [Cross Post: Why we should tax meat that contains antibiotics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/04/cross-post-why-we-should-tax-meat-that-contains-antibiotics/) - Alberto Giubilini, University of Oxford The use of antibiotics in meat production is a major contributor to one of the biggest threats facing human health in the 21st century: antibiotic resistance. Finding a solution to this requires us to start taking responsibility for our actions. While one person eating meat has an imperceptible effect on
- [Cross Post: IAI debate, 'Doing Right and Feeling Good'](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/04/cross-post-doing-right-and-feeling-good/) - Zero Degrees of Empathy author Simon Baron-Cohen, philosopher Peter Dews and Oxford Transhumanist Anders Sandberg dispute how to be good. We think empathising with others is the route to a better world. But studies show that empathy encourages us to help one named child over ten anonymous others. Is morality perhaps not about empathy at
- [YouTube interview: Shelly Kagan on Animal Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/04/youtube-interview-shelly-kagan-on-animal-ethics/) - Should we increase the cognitive capacities of fish if we can? If we enhanced a chimpanzee so that it had the same cognitive capacities as us, would it have exactly the same moral status as us? Is it morally preferable to kill a mouse or to destroy a robot? Could there be beings with a
- [New Year resolutions and tripartite human nature](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/04/new-year-resolutions-and-tripartite-human-nature/) - Written by Charles Foster ‘I do not understand my own actions’, grumbled St. Paul. ‘For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate….I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not
- [The Ethics of Regulation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/04/the-ethics-of-regulation/) - The New York Times just ran a fairly lengthy article that reported the use of psilocybin, a hallucinogenic drug, in a controlled experiment aimed at reducing anxiety and depression in cancer patients. (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/01/health/hallucinogenic-mushrooms-psilocybin-cancer-anxiety-depression.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news) A few days earlier the New York Times ran a story on trials using MDMA (i.e., ecstasy) to treat post traumatic stress
- [Cross Post: Why you might want to think twice about surrendering online privacy for the sake of convenience](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/03/cross-post-why-you-might-want-to-think-twice-about-surrendering-online-privacy-for-the-sake-of-convenience/) - Written by Carissa Veliz DPhil Candidate in Philosophy, Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford This article was originally published in The Conversation It is inconvenient to guard one’s privacy, and the better one protects it, the more inconvenience one must endure. Enjoying privacy, at a minimum, demands installing software to block tracking online,
- [Cross Post: Liberal or conservative? Most of our beliefs shift around](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/03/cross-post-liberal-or-conservative-most-of-our-beliefs-shift-around/) - Written by Prof Neil Levy, Senior Research Fellow, Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford This article was originally published on The Conversation One common reaction to the election of Donald Trump (and perhaps to a lesser extent, the Brexit vote) among liberals like me is an expression of dismay that some of our
- [Cross Post: Solomon’s frozen judgement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/03/cross-post-solomons-frozen-judgement/) - Written by Anders Sandberg This post was originally published on Andert II A girl dying of cancer wanted to use cryonic preservation to have a chance at being revived in the future. While supported by her mother the father disagreed; in a recent high court ruling, the judge found that she could be cryopreserved. As the
- [Functional neo-Aristotelianism as a way to preserve moral agency: A response to Dr William Casebeer's lecture: The Neuroscience of Moral Agency](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/03/functional-neo-aristotelianism-as-a-way-to-preserve-moral-agency-a-response-to-dr-william-casebeers-lecture-the-neuroscience-of-moral-agency/) - Written by Dr Anibal Monasterio Astobiza Audio File of Dr Casebeer's talk is available here: http://media.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/uehiro/HT17_Casebeer.mp3 Dr. William Casebeer has an unusual, but nonetheless very interesting, professional career. He retired from active duty as a US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and intelligence analyst. He obtained his PhD in Cognitive Science and Philosophy from University of
- [Cross Post: Our political beliefs predict how we feel about climate change](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2017/03/cross-post-our-political-beliefs-predict-how-we-feel-about-climate-change/) - Written by Prof Neil Levy Originally published on The Conversation The man who called global warming a fabrication invented by the Chinese to make US manufacturing less competitive is now president-elect of the US. His followers expect him to withdraw the US from the Paris climate change agreement and eliminate the environmental regulations introduced by
- [Good Enough Lives – Procreative Satisficence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/10/good-enough-lives-procreative-satisficence/) - By Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics Should parents undertake prenatal testing? Is there a moral reason to prevent disability in your future child through embryo selection? In a special Moral Philosophy Seminar yesterday evening, Professor Tom Shakespeare, from the University of East Anglia, gave a nuanced and multi-faceted argument against the arguments advanced by Julian Savulescu
- [Four myths about IVF in older women](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/10/four-myths-about-ivf-in-older-women/) - Dominic Wilkinson, @Neonatalethics Reports that a 62-year-old Spanish woman has given birth after IVF treatment have led many to question whether there should be age limits with such treatment. Lina Alvarez, a doctor in north-west Spain, isn’t the oldest person to have had success with IVF. Earlier this year, in India, Daljinder Kaur is said
- [The bright side of Brexit](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/10/the-bright-side-of-brexit/) - Let’s suppose, entirely hypothetically and for the sake of argument, that Brexit is a disaster for the UK. Let’s suppose that sterling crashes; that foreign travel is punishingly expensive and that, if you can afford to go abroad, you’re a laughing stock. Let’s suppose that the Treasury’s estimates of billions of pounds of losses each
- [Announcement: 3rd Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/10/announcement-3rd-annual-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics/) - Graduate and undergraduate students currently enrolled at the University of Oxford in any subject are invited to enter the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics by submitting an essay of up to 2000 words on any topic relevant to practical ethics. Eligibility includes visiting students who are registered as recognized students, and paying fees, but
- [Guest Post: Mind the accountability gap: On the ethics of shared autonomy between humans and intelligent medical devices](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/10/guest-post-mind-the-accountability-gap-on-the-ethics-of-shared-autonomy-between-humans-and-intelligent-medical-devices/) - Guest Post: Mind the accountability gap: On the ethics of shared autonomy between humans and intelligent medical devices
- [Cross Post: Ig Nobel Prize Winner: Why I Lived Like a Badger, an Otter, a Deer and a Swift](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/10/cross-post-ig-nobel-prize-winner-why-i-lived-like-a-badger-an-otter-a-deer-and-a-swift/) - Written by Charles Foster, Research Associate, University of Oxford This article was originally published in The Conversation I have lived as a badger in a hole in a Welsh wood, as an otter in the rivers of Exmoor, an urban fox rummaging through the dustbins of London’s East End, a red deer in the West Highlands
- [Consciousness, memory and value](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/10/consciousness-memory-and-value/) - HBO’s new show Westworld has been getting a lot of attention. As the AV Club pointed out, it was HBO’s highest-rated premiere since ‘the good True Detective’ (i.e., since season one). The first episode involved a robot with human-like intelligence going through a truly horrible day to cater to the whims of actual humans, and then having her
- [The Clickbait Candidate](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/10/the-clickbait-candidate/) - What happens to politics when technology helps our impulses trump our intentions?
- [The goodness of being multi-planetary](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/10/the-goodness-of-being-multi-planetary/) - The Economist has a leader "For life, not for an afterlife", in which it argues that Elon Musk's stated motivation to settle Mars - making humanity a multi-planetary species less likely to go extinct - is misguided: "Seeking to make Earth expendable is not a good reason to settle other planets". Is it misguided, or is the
- [Genome editing – the key ethical issues](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/10/genome-editing-the-key-ethical-issues/) - Written by Dr Christopher Gyngell This article originally appeared on the OMS website The Nuffield Council of Bioethics released a report last Friday outlining the key ethical issues raised by genome editing technologies. Genome editing (GE) is a powerful, and extremely rapidly developing technology. It uses engineered enzymes to make precise, controlled modification to DNA.
- [Guest Post: Epigenetics: Barriers to the translation of scientific knowledge into public policies](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/10/guest-post-epigenetics-barriers-to-the-translation-of-scientific-knowledge-into-public-policies/) - Written by Charles Dupras and Vardit Ravitsky Bioethics Programs, School of Public Health, University of Montreal Environmental epigenetics is a rising field of scientific research that has been receiving much attention. It explores how exposure to various physical and social environments (e.g. pollution or social adversity) affects gene expression and, eventually, our health. Environmental
- [Cross Post: What do sugar and climate change have in common? Misplaced scepticism of the science](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/10/cross-post-what-do-sugar-and-climate-change-have-in-common-misplaced-scepticism-of-the-science/) - Written by Professor Neil Levy, Senior Research Fellow, Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford This article was originally published on The Conversation Why do we think that climate sceptics are irrational? A major reason is that almost none of them have any genuine expertise in climate science (most have no scientific expertise at
- [Anybody Out There?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/09/anybody-out-there/) - By Guy Kahane These days it seems as if every couple of weeks or so we get reports about newly discovered planets that are ever more similar to Earth. The most recent discovery, planet Proxima b, is the closest planet found so far; Scientific American called it ‘the Earth next door’. Last October, an amateur
- [DNA papers, please](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/09/dna-papers-please/) - Kuwait is planning to build a complete DNA database of not just citizens but all other residents and temporary visitors. The motivation is claimed to be antiterrorism (the universal motivation!) and fighting crime. Many are outraged, from local lawyers over a UN human rights committee to the European Society of Human Genetics, and think that it will not be very
- [Our special treatment of patients in a vegetative state is a form of cruel and unusual punishment](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/09/our-special-treatment-of-patients-in-a-vegetative-state-is-a-form-of-cruel-and-unusual-punishment/) - by Professor Dominic Wilkinson, @Neonatalethics Professor of Medical Ethics, Consultant Neonatologist Our society has good reason to provide special treatment to people with severe brain injuries and their families. But our current “special treatment” for a group of the most severely affected people with brain injuries leads to devastating, agonising, protracted and totally preventable
- [The Tale of the Ethical Neonatologist - And Why There Shouldn't Be a Legal Right of Conscientious Objection](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/09/the-tale-of-the-ethical-neonatologist-and-why-there-shouldnt-be-a-legal-right-of-conscientious-objection/) - Doctors have values. These are sometimes described as their conscience. Those values can conflict with what has evolved to be medical practice. Where that practice is consistent with principles, concept and norms of medical ethics, their values should not compromise patient care. The place for doctors to express their values and seek to revise the
- [Philosophers Take on The World: David Edmonds](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/09/philosophers-take-on-the-world-david-edmonds/) - We are pleased to announce the publication of David Edmonds' Philosophers Take on the World, an edited collection of short essays, many of which are by our bloggers. Every day the news shows us provoking stories about what's going on in the world, about events which raise moral questions and problems. In Philosophers Take On the
- [The Chinese pleasure room: ethics of technologically mediated interaction](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/09/the-chinese-pleasure-room-ethics-of-technologically-mediated-interaction/) - The author of the webcomic Left Over Soup proposed a sexual equivalent (or parody?) of Searle's Chinese Room argument, posing some interesting questions about what it means to have sex, consent and relationships if there is technological mediation: Imagine a complex assembly of vibrators, hoses, and mechanical arms, designed to stimulate a human body in every conceivable
- [Carissa Véliz on how our privacy is threatened when we use smartphones, computers, and the internet.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/09/carissa-veliz-on-how-our-privacy-is-threatened-when-we-use-smartphones-computers-and-the-internet/) - Smartphones are like spies in our pocket; we should cover the camera and microphone of our laptops; it is difficult to opt out of services like Facebook that track us on the internet; IMSI-catchers can ‘vacuum’ data from our smartphones; data brokers may sell our internet profile to criminals and/or future employees; and yes, we
- [Invited Guest Post: Healthcare professionals need empathy too!](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/09/invited-guest-post-healthcare-professionals-need-empathy-too/) - Written by Angeliki Kerasidou & Ruth Horn, The Ethox Centre, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford Recently, a number of media reports and personal testimonies have drawn attention to the intense physical and emotional stress to which doctors and nurses working in the NHS are exposed on a daily basis. Medical professionals
- [Cross Post: We have a moral obligation to allow drug analysis at music festivals](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/09/cross-post-we-have-a-moral-obligation-to-allow-drug-analysis-at-music-festivals/) - This article was originally published in The Conversation Written by Julian Savulescu Sir Louis Matheson Distinguishing Visiting Professor at Monash University, Uehiro Professor of Practical Ethics, University of Oxford Connor Rochford Medical Student, Monash University Daniel D'Hotman Medical Student, Monash University Drug analysis would be a safe, ethical and cost-effective way to reduce harm to
- [Does late parenthood deprive children of grandparental love?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/09/does-late-parenthood-deprive-children-of-grandparental-love/) - By Hannah Maslen In a new post, published by Aeon, I argue that, even if there are moral reasons for and against intentionally delaying parenthood (including, amongst other things, the reduced opportunity for grandparental relationships as a reason against), older parents should not feel guilty if their late parenthood means that their child does not
- [Veterinarians and the best interests of animals](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/09/veterinarians-and-the-best-interests-of-animals/) - By Charles Foster English law has traditionally, for most purposes, regarded animals as mere chattels. There is now animal welfare legislation which seeks to prevent or limit animal suffering, but provided that legislation is complied with, and that no other relevant laws (eg those related to public health) are broken, you are free to do
- [CONSENSUS STATEMENT ON CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION IN HEALTHCARE](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/08/consensus-statement-on-conscientious-objection-in-healthcare/) - On the 7th, 8th, and 9th of June 2016 a group of philosophers and bioethicists gathered at the Brocher Foundation in Geneva, Switzerland, to participate in a workshop on healthcare practitioners’ conscience and conscientious objection in healthcare. Conscientious objection is the refusal by a healthcare practitioner to provide a certain medical service, for example an
- [Abortion Should Be Decriminalised](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/08/abortion-should-be-decriminalised/) - Abortion remains a crime in Queensland and NSW in Australia. Queensland Parliament has just decided against decriminalising abortion. However, laws are obsolete and unclear, dating back over 100 years. Around 100,000 abortions are performed around Australia every year. In practice, early abortion is available on demand. Abortion should be decriminalised. Early abortion should be freely
- [Should we watch the Olympics?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/08/should-we-watch-the-olympics/) - Arthur Caplan and Brendan Parent Cross-posted from OUP Blog, Ethics of Sport: Essential Readings We used to have to take time off from work –or at least leave work early– to watch the Olympics on TV. Now we can thank the engineering marvels of DVR and web replay for protecting our love affair with the Games
- [Announcement: Research Fellow - Global Terrorism and Collective Moral Responsibility](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/08/announcement-research-fellow-global-terrorism-and-collective-moral-responsibility/) - Applications are invited for a full-time Research Fellow in Philosophy to conduct research and related activities for the ERC Advanced Grant Research Project Global Terrorism and Collective Moral Responsibility: Redesigning Military, Police and Intelligence Institutions in Liberal Democracies (the ‘Project’) under the supervision and direction of Professor Seumas Miller (Principal Investigator). The Fellow will conduct
- [Choosing one’s own (sexual) identity: Shifting the terms of the ‘gay rights’ debate](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2012/01/can-you-be-gay-by-choice/) - Former “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon says she is gay by “choice” – a statement that has riled many gay rights activitists who insist that people don’t choose their sexual orientation.
- [The AAP report on circumcision: Bad science + bad ethics = bad medicine](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2012/08/the-aap-report-on-circumcision-bad-science-bad-ethics-bad-medicine/) - The AAP report on circumcision is replete with non-sequiturs, self-contradiction, and a blatant cherry-picking of essential evidence. Its recommendations are scientifically unfounded and ethically bankrupt. I call for its immediate retraction.
- [Should Russian athletes really be banned from competing in the Rio Olympics?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/07/should-russian-athletes-really-be-banned-from-competing-in-the-rio-olympics/) - Julian Savulescu Originally posted in The Conversation The audience vote is a resounding yes, all Russian track and field athletes should be banned from competing. But is the International Olympic Committee (IOC) justified in giving individual sports federations the right to decide whether athletes can participate in Rio 2016? In the run-up to the IOC’s decision, anti-doping
- [The Unfairness of Unattractiveness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/07/the-unfairness-of-unattractiveness/) - In the job market being attractive is advantageous. According to economist Daniel Hamermesh, an attractive man can earn, over a life time, $230,000 more than an unattractive one[1]. Attractive solicitors raise more money for charities[2]. Very attractive individuals are less likely to engage in criminal activities, whereas unattractive ones have higher propensity for crime[3]. Attractive
- [Bring Your Own Boundaries: Pokémon GO and the Challenge of Ambient Fun](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/07/bring-your-own-boundaries-pokemon-go-and-the-challenge-of-ambient-fun/) - By James Williams (@WilliamsJames_) (Words: 2500 | Reading time: 12 minutes | Gross misuses of the 'Poké-' prefix: 6) 1. I’m not a Pokémaster; I haven’t ‘caught them all.’ If you were to hold a gun to my head and force me to answer Poké-trivia (as one does), my strategy would probably consist of murmuring ‘Pikachu?’ in varied
- [Why ‘smart drugs’ can make you less clever](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/07/why-smart-drugs-can-make-you-less-clever/) - Nadira Faber Originally posted at The Conversation It is an open secret: while athletes dope their bodies, regular office workers dope their brains. They buy prescription drugs such as Ritalin or Provigil on the internet’s flourishing black market to boost their cognitive performance. It is hard to get reliable data on how many people take such “smart drugs” or
- [Cross Post: Women’s-Only Swimming Hours: Accommodation Is Not Discrimination](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/07/cross-post-womens-only-swimming-hours-accommodation-is-not-discrimination/) - Written by Miriam Rosenbaum and Sajda Ouachtouki This article was originally published in First Things. Women’s-only hours at swimming pools are nothing new. Many secular institutions have long hosted separate swim hours for women and girls who, for reasons of faith or personal preference, desire to swim without the presence of men. The list includes
- [Article Announcement: Should a human-pig chimera be treated as a person?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/07/article-announcement-should-a-human-pig-chimera-be-treated-as-a-person/) - Professor Julian Savulescu has recently published an article on the treatment of Human-Pig Chimera in the online Aeon Magazine. To read the full article and join in the conversation please follow this link: http://bit.ly/29NUj1c Professor Savulescu has written on this topic in the Practical Ethics in the News blog previously: https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/06/organ-mules/.
- [Video: Professor Julian Savulescu speaks in the DNA Manipulation Debate at The Oxford Union](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/07/video-professor-julian-savulescu-speaks-in-the-dna-manipulation-debate-at-the-oxford-union/) - The Oxford Union. The Motion: This House Believes the Manipulation of Human DNA is an Ethical Necessity. The Speakers: Julian Savulescu closed the case for the Proposition, as the fifth speaker of six in the debate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q9CMCTJdL0&index=5&list=PLOAFgXcJkZ2wU2oFwftqcAgdup3U4_HmN
- [Won't Someone Think of the Children?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/07/wont-someone-think-of-the-children/) - Andrea Leadsom’s suggestion that being a mother made her a better candidate for being a leader than Theresa May, because it gave her a stake in the future that May lacked, seems to have sunk her leadership bid. The horrified responses to her remarks were motivated in important part by the observation that Leadsom was trading on
- [Cross Post: If you can screen for brown eyes, you should be able to edit out genetic disease](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/07/cross-post-if-you-can-screen-for-brown-eyes-you-should-be-able-to-edit-out-genetic-disease/) - Written by Dr Christopher Gyngell, This Article was originally published in The Conversation It has long been known that cognitive diversity is important to collective performance. Diverse groups are more productive, more innovative and better at solving complex problems than less diverse groups. And recent research suggests that cognitive diversity also drives scientific progress. Such research
- [Brexit: lessons from the law](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/06/since-the-brexit-vote-decided-nothing-it-is-merely-interesting/) - 37% of the UK electorate voted to leave the European Community – slightly more than voted to remain. There is evidence that some of them regret their votes. The former editor of the Sun, Kelvin Mackenzie, who voted ‘Leave’, has spoken publicly about his ‘buyer’s remorse’. Others have indicated that they would not vote ‘leave’
- [Cross Post: Next time you ask the doctor for some antibiotics – consider whether you’re being immoral](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/06/cross-post-next-time-you-ask-the-doctor-for-some-antibiotics-consider-whether-youre-being-immoral/) - Written by Alberto Giubilini, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics This article was originally published in The Conversation Antimicrobial resistance is the ability of microorganisms causing infections to survive exposure to antimicrobial drugs such as antibiotics. This is considered by some to be a slowly emerging disaster. According to the recently released Review on
- [Announcement: 2016 Effective Altruism Global Research Meeting Call for Abstracts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/06/announcement-2016-effective-altruism-global-research-meeting-call-for-abstracts/) - Location: August 5th to 7th, University of California, Berkeley Abstract Deadline: July 10th Contact: researchmeeting@centerforeffectivealtruism.org Overview The 2016 Effective Altruism Global Research Meeting is an opportunity for Postgraduate students and early stage academics from a variety of disciplines to present research relevant to Effective Altruism. The meeting will take place on August 5th to 7th,
- [On the supposed distinction between culture and religion: A brief comment on Sir James Munby's decision in the matter of B and G (children)](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/02/on-the-supposed-distinction-between-culture-and-religion-a-comment-on-sir-james-munbys-decision-in-the-matter-of-b-and-g-children/) - On the supposed distinction between culture and religion: A brief comment on Sir James Munby's decision in the matter of B and G (children) By Brian D. Earp (@briandavidearp) Introduction What is the difference between "culture" and "religion" … ? From a legal standpoint, this question is important: practices which may be described as being
- [Why is chemical castration being used on offenders in some countries?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/06/why-is-chemical-castration-being-used-on-offenders-in-some-countries/) - Following a horrific act of sexual violence against a 14-year-old girl, the president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, recently signed a decree into law, which, among other things, authorised the death penalty for convicted child sex offenders, and also the use of chemical castration of such offenders. The main justification cited by Widodo was that castration
- [Three Black Teenagers](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/06/three-black-teenagers/) - Written by Dr Joshua Shepherd Yesterday the term ‘three black teenagers’ trended heavily on twitter. (see https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/09/three-black-teenagers-anger-as-google-image-search-shows-police-mugshots) The trend began when @iBeKabir tweeted the results of two Google searches. A search for three white teenagers turned up images of wholesome smiling white teenagers. A search for three black teenagers turned up images of mugshots. (Google
- [Organ Mules](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/06/organ-mules/) - Julian Savulescu While politicians wring their hands about sensible solutions to the organ shortage, scientists are progressing with genetic manipulations that may see human organs grown in pigs. US scientists are creating novel life forms: "human pig chimeras". These are a blend of human and pig characteristics. They are like mules who will provide organs
- [Affirmative Action for Women in Mathematics: Fighting Discrimination with Discrimination?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/06/affirmative-action-for-women-in-mathematics-fighting-discrimination-with-discrimination/) - The University of Melbourne (the most prestigious university in my hometown) has advertised three senior positions in mathematics. Like some (but not all) other STEM subjects, mathematics has a low proportion of female academics. In part, this is a pipeline problem: women are significantly less likely to do mathematics degrees than men (28% of maths
- [Hide your face?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/06/hide-your-face/) - A start-up claims it can identify whether a face belongs to a high-IQ person, a good poker player, a terrorist, or a pedophile. Faception uses machine-learning to generate classifiers that signal whether a face belongs in one category or not. Basically facial appearance is used to predict personality traits, type, or behaviors. The company claims
- [Love by design: when science meets sex, lust, attraction and attachment](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/06/love-by-design-when-science-meets-sex-lust-attraction-and-attachment/) - A version of this post was originally published in the Conversation You are on holiday with your partner of several years. Your relationship is going pretty well, but you wonder if it could be better. It’s Valentine’s Day and you find a bottle on the beach. You rub it. A love genie appears. He (or
- [Video Series: Dominic Wilkinson on Conscientious Objection in Healthcare](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/05/video-series-dominic-wilkinson-on-conscientious-objection-in-healthcare/) - Associate Professor and Consultant Neonatologist Dominic Wilkinson (Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics) argues that medical doctors should not always listen to their own conscience and that often they should do what the patient requests, even when this conflicts with their own values. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz09lp-nebA
- [Crosspost: Bring back the dead](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/05/crosspost-bring-back-the-dead/) - A version of this post was originally published at The Conversation. A trial to see if it is possible to regenerate brains in patients that have been declared clinically dead has been approved. Reanima Advanced Biosciences aims at using stem cells, injections of peptides, and nerve stimulation to cause regeneration in brain dead patients. The
- [Is the Zika panic over? Ethics of diagnosis and misdiagnosis](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/05/is-the-zika-panic-over-ethics-of-diagnosis-and-misdiagnosis/) - By Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics and Keyur Doolabh, Medical Student, Monash University Towards the end of last year, and over the first months of 2016, there were alarming reports of the explosive spread of Zika virus infection in South America. As many as 1.5m Brazilians were thought to have contracted the virus. More, worrying still, there
- [Event: St Cross Special Ethics Seminar: The role of therapeutic optimism in recruitment to a clinical trial: an empirical study, presented by Dr Nina Hallowell](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/05/event-st-cross-special-ethics-seminar-the-role-of-therapeutic-optimism-in-recruitment-to-a-clinical-trial-an-empirical-study-presented-by-dr-nina-hallowell/) - On Thursday 12 May 2016, Dr Nina Hallowell delivered the first St Cross Special Ethics Seminar of Trinity Term. The talk is available to listen to here http://media.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/uehiro/TT16_STX_Hallowell.mp3 Title: The role of therapeutic optimism in recruitment to a clinical trial: an empirical study Abstract: Hope, or therapeutic optimism, is an important aspect of the provision
- [Cross Post: How psychology can help us solve climate change](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/05/cross-post-how-psychology-can-help-us-solve-climate-chang/) - Written by Rachel New, researcher University of Oxford, and Nadira Faber, Research Fellow University of Oxford. This article was originally published by The Conversation The Paris agreement on climate change calls for a global responsibility to cooperate. As we are often reminded, we urgently and drastically need to limit our use of one shared
- [Whose lifestyle benefits?  Regulatory risk-benefit assessment of enhancement devices](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/05/whose-lifestyle-benefits-regulatory-risk-benefit-assessment-of-enhancement-devices/) - Nearly everyone would agree that a device or drug that relieves pain, or alleviates symptoms of depression confers a benefit – plausibly, a substantial benefit – on its user. No matter what your goals are, no matter what you enjoy, you are likely to agree that your life will go better if you are not
- [Cross Post: Want to be popular? You’d better follow some simple moral rules](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/05/cross-post-want-to-be-popular-youd-better-follow-some-simple-moral-rules/) - This article was originally published by The Conversation Written by Jim A.C. Everett, PhD Candidate, University of Oxford and Molly Crockett, Associate Professor of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford Imagine that an out of control trolley is speeding towards a group of five people. You are standing on a footbridge above, next to a large man. If you push him
- [Private education: in defence of hypocrisy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/05/private-education-in-defence-of-hypocrisy/) - (Photo: Daily Telegraph) I am a bitter opponent of private education. All my political hackles rise whenever the subject is mentioned. Yet of my four currently school-aged children, one (‘A’) is educated privately (at a specialist choir school), and another (‘B’, who is dyslexic) will shortly be in private education (at a hip, Indian-cotton swathed,
- [Guest Post: Abortion, punishment and moral consistency](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/04/guest-post-abortion-punishment-and-moral-consistency/) - Written by: Rajiv Shah, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge Donald Trump suggested that women who have abortions should face punishment. For that he was criticised by both the pro-choice side and the pro-life side. The latter claimed that their view is that women should not face punishment for having abortions but that only providers should.
- [The Panama Papers: How much financial privacy should the super rich be allowed to enjoy?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/04/the-panama-papers-how-much-financial-privacy-should-the-super-rich-be-allowed-to-enjoy/) - How much financial privacy should the super rich be allowed to enjoy?
- [Striking out? Should we ban doctors strikes?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/04/striking-out-should-we-ban-doctors-strikes/) - by Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics Consultant neonatologist, Director of Medical Ethics Next week, junior doctors in England and Wales will be taking part in industrial action for 15 hours over two successive days. This is the latest in a series of stoppages since late last year, and relates to a dispute over proposed changes to
- [Guest Post: Scientists aren’t always the best people to evaluate the risks of scientific research](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/04/guest-post-scientists-arent-always-the-best-people-to-evaluate-the-risks-of-scientific-research/) - Written by Simon Beard, Research Associate at the Center for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge How can we study the pathogens that will be responsible for future global pandemics before they have happened? One way is to find likely candidates currently in the wild and genetically engineer them so that they gain the
- [Announcement: New Publication: Philosophers Take On the World](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/04/announcement-new-publication-philosophers-take-on-the-world/) - Philosophers Take On the World is based on this blog, 'Practical Ethics in the News', and edited by David Edmonds. It is published by OUP and is due out in September 2016. Every day the news shows us provoking stories about what's going on in the world, about events which raise moral questions and problems. In
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: "How should vegetarians actually live? A reply to Xavier Cohen." Written by Thomas Sittler](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-how-should-vegetarians-actually-live-a-reply-to-xavier-cohen-written-by-thomas-sittler/) - This essay is a joint winner in the Undergraduate Category of the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by University of Oxford student, Thomas Sittler "How should vegetarians actually live? A reply to Xavier Cohen." Ethical vegetarians abstain from eating animal flesh because they care about the harm done to farmed animals. More precisely,
- [Empathy ethics: How to get a lung for your child](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2013/06/pushethics-how-to-get-a-lung-for-your-child/) - By Julian Savulescu & Brian D. Earp [updated version - as of 17 April 2016] Sarah Murnaghan is a 10-year-old from Pennsylvania. Suffering from cystic fibrosis, she was likely to die without a lung transplant. Her situation was deteriorating. But because of a rule that says that children under the age of 12 have the
- [Cross Post: Ideas for Australia: Rethinking funding and priorities in IVF – should the state pay for people to have babies?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/04/cross-post-ideas-for-australia-rethinking-funding-and-priorities-in-ivf-should-the-state-pay-for-people-to-have-babies/) - Written by Professor Julian Savulescu and Professor Kelton Tremellen This is a cross posting of an article which was originally published at The Conversation How much should the state spend on helping people to have children? At present, government support for infertility treatment is approximately A$240 million a year. The success of fertility treatments such
- [Video Series: Tom Douglas on Asbestos, a Serious Public Health Threat](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/04/video-series-tom-douglas-on-asbestos-a-serious-public-health-threat/) - Asbestos kills more people per year than excessive sun exposure, yet it receives much less attention. Tom Douglas (Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics) explains why asbestos is still a serious public health threat and what steps should be undertaken to reduce this threat. And yes, the snow in The Wizard of Oz was asbestos! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_87AowqV-4
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Are offensive jokes more permissible if they’re funny? Written by Raphael Hogarth](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-are-offensive-jokes-more-permissible-if-theyre-funny-written-by-raphael-hogarth/) - This essay received an Honourable Mention in the Undergraduate Category of the Oxford Uehiro Prize of Practical Ethics Written by New College Oxford student Raphael Hogarth Three moral agents walk into a bar. They get to joking and, with each round, their banter becomes more risqué. After the second pint, Agent A ventures a humourless
- [Guest Post: Should you give to beggars? Yes, you should.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/03/guest-post-should-you-give-to-beggars-yes-you-should/) - Written by Richard Christian. In a stimulating and controversial post on this blog, and later in a paper published in Think, Ole Martin Moen has argued that you should not give to beggars. His argument is simple and familiar. It is that the beggar one encounters in the rich world is, in the scheme
- ["Cognitive Enhancement: Defending the Parity Principle", St Cross Special Ethics Seminar by Neil Levy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/03/cognitive-enhancement-defending-the-parity-principle-st-cross-special-ethics-seminar-by-neil-levy/) - Last Thursday Professor Neil Levy has defended his Parity Principle for analysing the ethics of cognitive enhancement at the St Cross Special Ethics Seminar. Such principle would oppose a common form of objection against enhancement which claims that there is a worrying asymmetry between enhancement and traditional means to human improvement. Conversely, Neil contends that
- [Animal suffering and the pointlessness of moral philosophy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/03/animal-suffering-and-the-pointlessness-of-moral-philosophy/) - Most philosophical discussion of animal suffering is (a) a mere restatement of the relevant science and/or (b) a mere statement of the relevant intuitions
- [Should Rhodes stay or should he go? On the ethics of removing controversial statues](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/03/should-rhodes-stay-or-should-he-go-on-the-ethics-of-removing-controversial-statues/) - This is an unedited version of an article originally published by The Conversation. Picture this: it’s 20 April 2021 and the charming Austrian village of Braunau am Inn - Hitler’s birth place - reveals a new statue of Adolf Hitler on the main square. In his inauguration speech, the mayor stresses that although Hitler obviously
- [Shame on Sharapova? Time to Rethink the Banned List](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/03/shame-on-sharapova-time-to-rethink-the-banned-list/) - Professor Julian Savulescu further discusses this subject at The Conversation Maria Sharapova has been caught taking the banned performance enhancing drug Mildonium (Mildronate). It was added to the ever growing list of banned substances by WADA in January 2016. She claims to have not read the information sent via email informing athletes of the change of
- [Alcohol, pregnancy, experts, and evidence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/03/alcohol-pregnancy-experts-and-evidence/) - In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control recently released a new advisory regarding the use of alcohol during or around pregnancy. According to the CDC, any drinking by women ‘who are pregnant or might be pregnant’ constitutes ‘drinking too much.' The primary reason for the label is the risk of a fetus developing
- [Announcement: Winners of the 2nd Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/03/announcement-winners-of-the-2nd-annual-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics/) - It is with great pleasure that we can announce the winners of the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2016. The joint winners of the Undergraduate Category are Carolina Flores Henrique, with her essay 'Should feminists in rich countries shift their focus to international development?' and Thomas Sittler with his essay 'How should vegetarians actually live?
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: "Should You Switch to an Altruistic Career?" Written by Benjamin Lange](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-should-you-switch-to-an-altruistic-career-written-by-benjamin-lange/) - This essay was awarded second place in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics graduate category. Written by University of Oxford student, Benjamin Lange 1. INTRODUCTION Consider Important Decision: Imagine that you are about to finish your philosophy PhD and are faced with the following two choices: You can either accept a postdoctoral position at a prestigious university or
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: "Should feminists in rich countries shift their focus to international development?" written by Carolina Flores Henrique](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-should-feminists-in-rich-countries-shift-their-focus-to-international-development-written-by-carolina-flores-henrique/) - This essay is a joint winner in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics undergraduate category. Written by University of Oxford student, Carolina Flores Henrique I will argue that feminists should move some of their attention to evidence-based, cost-effective interventions targeted at improving the lives of women in poor countries. In particular, feminists in rich countries should shift
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: "What justifies parents’ influence on their children?" written by Yutang Jin](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-what-justifies-parents-influence-on-their-children-written-by-yutang-jin/) - This essay was a finalist in the Graduate Category of the 2nd Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by University of Oxford Student, Yutang Jin In a family, parents can exert enormous influence on their children. Parents tend to implant in their children’s mind, for good or ill, values and ideas which go on
- [A Second Response to Professor Neil Levy's Leverhulme Lectures.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/03/a-second-response-to-professor-neil-levys-leverhulme-lectures/) - Written by Richard Ngo , an undergraduate student in Computer Science and Philosophy at the University of Oxford. Neil Levy’s Leverhulme Lectures start from the admirable position of integrating psychological results and philosophical arguments, with the goal of answering two questions: (1) are we (those of us with egalitarian explicit beliefs but conflicting implicit attitudes) racist?
- [Announcement: 2nd Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Finalists and Honourable Mentions](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/announcement-2nd-annual-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-finalists-and-honourable-mentions/) - The 2nd Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics was announced on this blog on the 11th November 2015. By the 25th January 2016 a large number of high quality essays had been submitted and the judges had a difficult time narrowing the field down to 5 finalists and 6 Honourable Mentions, which are now
- [2nd Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Finals Announcement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/2nd-annual-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-finals-announcement/) - The 2nd Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Final Presentation and Reception HT16 Week 7, Wednesday 2nd March, 4.00 – 5.50 pm. The Presentation will be held in Seminar Room 1, Oxford Martin School (corner of Catte St and Broad St), followed by a drinks reception in Seminar room 2 until 6.45 pm. We are
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: "The Justice of Punitive Wars" written by Benjamin Koons](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/03/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-the-justice-of-punitive-wars-written-by-benjamin-koons/) - This essay received an Honourable Mention in the graduate category of the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics. Written by University of Oxford, Oriel College student Benjamin Koons Introduction Contemporary just war theory has largely abandoned punishment as one of the just causes for war, but I intend to show that if one accepts the
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Is Graffiti Ever Morally Permissible? written by Areti Theofilopoulou](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-is-graffiti-ever-morally-permissible-written-by-areti-theofilopoulou/) - This essay received an Honourable Mention in the graduate category of the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Written by University of Oxford Dphil candidate Areti Theofilopoulou Introduction On March 4th 2015, the graffiti team “Icos & Case” covered the National Technical University of Athens with an enormous black and white mural[i]. The graffiti
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Should We Take Moral Advice From Our Computers? written by Mahmoud Ghanem](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics-should-we-take-moral-advice-from-our-computers-written-by-mahmoud-ghanem/) - This essay received an Honourable Mention in the undergraduate category of the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics. Written by University of Oxford student, Mahmoud Ghanem The Case For Computer Assisted Ethics In the interest of rigour, I will avoid use of the phrase "Artificial Intelligence", though many of the techniques I will discuss, namely statistical
- [Why it matters if people are racist: A Response to Neil Levy’s Leverhulme Lectures](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/why-it-matters-if-people-are-racist-a-response-to-neil-levys-leverhulme-lectures/) - Author: Fergus Peace, BPhil student, University of Oxford Podcasts of Prof. Levy's Leverhulme lectures are available here: http://media.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/uehiro/HT16_LL_LEVY1.mp3 and http://media.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/uehiro/HT16_LL_LEVY2.mp3 It’s only a little more than forty years ago that George Wallace won the contest for Governor of Alabama by running ads with slogans like “Wake up Alabama! Blacks vow to take over Alabama” and “Do
- [Response to Fergus Peace](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/response-to-fergus-peace/) - Author: Neil Levy, Leverhulme Visiting Professor Podcasts of Prof Levy's Leverhulme Lectures can be found here: http://media.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/uehiro/HT16_LL_LEVY1.mp3 and http://media.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/uehiro/HT16_LL_LEVY2.mp3 Fergus Peace’s responses to my lecturers are interesting and challenging. As he notes, in my lectures I focused on two questions: (1) are we (those of us with egalitarian explicit beliefs but conflicting implicit attitudes) racist?
- [Video Series: Walter Sinnott-Armstrong on Moral Artificial Intelligence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/video-series-walter-sinnott-armstrong-on-moral-artificial-intelligence/) - Professor Walter Sinnott-Armstrong (Duke University and Oxford Martin Visiting Fellow) plans to develop a computer system (and a phone app) that will help us gain knowledge about human moral judgment and that will make moral judgment better. But will this moral AI make us morally lazy? Will it be abused? Could this moral AI take
- [Naughty words What makes swear words so offensive? It’s not their meaning or even their sound. Is language itself a red herring here?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/naughty-words-what-makes-swear-words-so-offensive-its-not-their-meaning-or-even-their-sound-is-language-itself-a-red-herring-here/) - Dr Rebecca Roache, former Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics staff member, and lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, has recently published an essay on swearing in the online Aeon Magazine. To read the full article and join in the conversation please follow this link: https://aeon.co/essays/where-does-swearing-get-its-power-and-how-should-we-use-it. Dr Roache has previously spoken on this topic, as
- [Does the desire to punish have any place in modern justice?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/does-the-desire-to-punish-have-any-place-in-modern-justice/) - Professor Neil Levy, visiting Leverhulme Lecturer, University of Oxford, has recently published a provocative essay at Aeon online magazine: Human beings are a punitive species. Perhaps because we are social animals, and require the cooperation of others to achieve our goals, we are strongly disposed to punish those who take advantage of us. Those who
- [The Allure of Donald Trump](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/the-allure-of-donald-trump/) - The primary season is now well underway, and the Trump bandwagon continues to gather pace. Like most observers, I thought it would run out of steam well before this stage. Trump delights in the kinds of vicious attacks and stupidities that would derail any other candidate. His lack of shame and indifference to truth give
- [Using birth control to combat Zika virus could affect future generations](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/using-birth-control-to-combat-zika-virus-could-affect-future-generations/) - Written by Simon Beard Research Fellow in Philosophy, Future of Humanity Institute, University of Oxford This is a cross post of an article which originally appeared in The Conversation. In a recent article, Oxford University’s director of medical ethics, Dominic Wilkinson, argued that birth control was a key way of tackling the Zika virus’s apparently
- [A jobless world—dystopia or utopia?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/a-jobless-world-dystopia-or-utopia/) - There is no telling what machines might be able to do in the not very distant future. It is humbling to realise how wrong we have been in the past at predicting the limits of machine capabilities. We once thought that it would never be possible for a computer to beat a world champion in
- [What is the relationship between science and morality?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/what-is-the-relationship-between-science-and-morality/) - Quick announcement: A podcast interview between Brian D. Earp (a.k.a. myself) and J. J. Chipchase for Naturalistic Philosophy has just been released: we talk about the relationship between science and morality, the is/ought distinction, free will, the replication crisis in science and medicine, problems with peer review, bullshit in academia, and Sam Harris's The Moral Landscape, among other things. Check it
- [Video Series: Walter Sinnott-Armstrong on Group Responsibility](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/video-series-walter-sinnott-armstrong-on-group-responsibility/) - Walter Sinnott-Armstrong on Group Responsibility
- [Guest Post: Does Humanity Want Computers Making Moral Decisions?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/guest-post-does-humanity-want-computers-making-moral-decisions/) - Albert Barqué-Duran Department of Psychology CITY UNIVERSITY LONDON A runaway trolley is approaching a fork in the tracks. If the trolley is allowed to run on its current track, a work crew of five will be killed. If the driver steers the train down the other branch, a lone worker will be killed. If you
- [Mindfulness and morality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/mindfulness-and-morality/) - Every day, for about thirty-five minutes, I sit cross-legged on a cushion with my eyes shut. I regulate my breath, titrating its speed against numbers in my head; I watch my breath surging and trickling in and out of my chest; I feel the air at the point of entry and exit; I export my
- [Five ways to become a really effective altruist](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/five-ways-to-become-a-really-effective-altruist/) - Written by Professor Julian Savulescu and Professor Walter Sinnott-Armstrong This is a cross-post of an article which was originally published in The Conversation Effective altruism is a philosophy and social movement which aims not only to increase charitable donations of time and money (and indeed more broadly to encourage leading a lifestyle which does good in
- [Podcast: Steve Hyman, Loebel Lecturer 2015, on categorising mental disorders](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/podcast-steve-hyman-loebel-lecturer-2015-on-categorising-mental-disorders/) - Oxford Loebel Lecturer 2015, Prof. Steve E. Hyman (Broad Institute at Harvard/MIT), discusses the challenges surrounding the categorisation of mental disorder and the widely-used DSM-V on Philosophy Bites.
- [Video Series: Dr Christopher Gyngell on Genetic Modification of Embryos](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/video-series-dr-christopher-gyngell-on-genetic-modification-of-embryos/) - Dr Christopher Gyngell (Oxford) comments on the HFEA's decision to give green light to UK researchers to genetically modify human embryos for research. A clear analysis of the most common concerns, and a suggestion for what direction the debate should take. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPU4DRiR0hI
- [Why edited embryos won’t lead to designer babies or eugenics (unless we want it too)](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/why-edited-embryos-wont-lead-to-designer-babies-or-eugenics-unless-we-want-it-too/) - The UK became the first country to officially approve gene editing research in human embryos on Monday. The HFEA decision means experiments in which the genes of embryos are manipulated will likely begin at the Francis Crick Institute within the next few months. Gene editing (GE) technologies are immensely powerful. They have already been used
- [Should we prevent Zika microcephaly using birth control?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/02/zika/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford, @Neonatalethics The World Health Organisation is to hold an emergency meeting after considerable concern about the zika virus in South America. The epidemic has been of considerable concern particularly because it has been linked to microcephaly (unusually small heads) in newborn babies that can lead to potentially devastating brain problems.
- [Not content with temporal parochialism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/01/not-content-with-temporal-parochialism/) - By Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatal Ethics, Director of medical ethics Why should we care about what happens to future generations? What reason do we have to sacrifice our own well-being and interests for the sake of people who will exist after we are dead? Last night Professor Sam Scheffler from NYU gave the first of the
- [Announcement: Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/11/announcement-oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics/) - Graduate and undergraduate students currently enrolled at the University of Oxford in any subject are invited to enter the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics by submitting an essay of up to 2000 words on any topic relevant to practical ethics. Eligibility includes visiting students who are registered as recognized students, and paying fees, but
- [Video Series: Professor Julian Savulescu Discusses Conscientious Objection in Healthcare](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/01/video-series-professor-julian-savulescu-discusses-conscientious-objection-in-healthcare/) - In an interview with Dr Katrien Devolder, Professor Julian Savulescu (Oxford) argues that doctors should not impose their religious or non-religious values on patients if this conflicts with the delivery of basic public healthcare. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nllvjS1_4gM
- [Video Series: Dr Steve Clarke Discusses Conscientious Objection in Healthcare.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/01/video-series-dr-steve-clarke-discusses-conscientious-objection-in-healthcare/) - Dr Steve Clarke (Charles Sturt University) argues that we should use military tribunals for conscientious objectors in the military as a model for dealing with conscientious objection in healthcare. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9cqqC2b_Ic
- [Video Series: Professor Walter Sinnott-Armstrong on Conscientious Objection in Healthcare](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/01/video-series-professor-walter-sinnott-armstrong-on-conscientious-objection-in-healthcare/) - Professor Walter Sinnott-Armstrong (Duke University and Oxford Martin School Visiting Fellow) proposes to use the market forces to solve problems of conscientious objection in healthcare in the US. (He also has a suggestion for how to deal with conscientious objection in a public healthcare system + gives a controversial answer to my question regarding discriminatory
- [Guest Post: Are dilemmas really useful for analysing moral judgment?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/01/guest-post-are-dilemmas-really-useful-for-analysing-moral-judgment/) - Pedro Jesús Pérez Zafrilla. Lecturer in Moral Philosophy. Department of Moral Philosophy. (University of Valencia) The development of neurosciences has had a major impact on the field of philosophy. In this respect, Spanish philosophy is no exception. In particular, the Valencia School led by Adela Cortina has played a leading part in the momentum of
- [A fatal irony: Why the “circumcision solution” to the AIDS epidemic in Africa may increase transmission of HIV](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2012/05/when-bad-science-kills-or-how-to-spread-aids/) - A fatal irony: Why the “circumcision solution” to the AIDS epidemic in Africa may increase--not decrease--transmission of HIV
- [Why It's OK to Block Ads](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/why-its-ok-to-block-ads/) - Over the past couple of months, the practice of ad blocking has received heightened ethical scrutiny. (1,2,3,4) If you’re unfamiliar with the term, “ad blocking” refers to software—usually web browser plug-ins, but increasingly mobile apps—that stop most ads from appearing when you use websites or apps that would otherwise show them. Arguments against ad blocking
- [Families shouldn’t be allowed to veto organ donation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2016/01/12066/) - Written By William Isdale and Prof. Julian Savulescu This article was originally published by The Conversation Last year, an estimated 12 to 15 registered organ donors and candidates for donation had their decision thwarted by relatives. This was due to the so-called family veto, which enables family members to prevent organ donation even if the
- [Asbestos neglect](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/12/asbestos-neglect/) - Written by Tom Douglas This is an unedited version of an article originally published by The Conversation ‘Calais Jungle Camp littered with asbestos’, ‘Buckingham Palace could be vacated to remove asbestos’, ‘Safety concerns for refugees and workers as Nauru asbestos removal program kicks off’. Headlines such as these occur with monotonous regularity. Widespread asbestos use throughout
- [Should vegans eat meat to be ethically consistent? And other moral puzzles from the latest issue of the Journal of Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/12/should-vegans-eat-meat-to-be-ethically-consistent-and-other-moral-puzzles-from-the-latest-issue-of-the-journal-of-practical-ethics/) - The latest issue of the Journal of Practical Ethics is now online!
- [Are Corporations Moral Agents?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/12/are-corporations-moral-agents/) - Joshua Shepherd Misbehaving corporations are in the news again. In the New York Times, Jack Ewing and Graham Bowley provide an interesting look into the ‘corporate culture’ behind Volkswagen’s emissions-cheating scandal. As Ewing and Bowley note, Volkswagen has blamed “a small group of engineers.” But as their reporting suggests, any anatomy of blame in the Volkswagen
- [Video Series: Jeff McMahan Excerpt on Conscientious Objection](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/12/video-series-jeff-mcmahan-excerpt-on-conscientious-objection/) - Jeff McMahan speaking at the closing session of the "Conscience and Conscientious Objection Conference in Healthcare" event, November 2015 (Oxford) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqhBRQro8Ug
- [Video Interview with Professor Jeff McMahon on Increasing Airstrikes in Syria -- The Ethics of War](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/12/interview-with-professor-jeff-mcmahan-by-dr-katrien-devolder/) - In the first of a series of video interviews by Dr Katrien Devolder hosted by the Practical Ethics in the News blog, Jeff McMahan discusses the war in Syria. In the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks, the US and France increased the number of airstrikes in Syria. Is this increase justified? See the full interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd3-YrtVMoU
- [Video Interview with Alberto Giubilini on conscientious objection in healthcare](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/12/interview-with-alberto-giubilini-on-conscientious-objection-in-healthcare/) - In the second of a series of interviews by Dr Katrien Devolder which the Practical Ethics in the News blog is currently hosting Alberto Giubilini argues against conscientious objection in healthcare. See the interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY2XY7uXUfA Please see here to read further on this issue, and to see information on the recent conference on conscience and conscientious objection
- [Cross Post - Most powerful lesson from Ebola: We do not learn our lessons](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/12/cross-post-most-powerful-lesson-from-ebola-we-do-not-learn-our-lessons/) - BY MAXWELL J. SMITH & ROSS E.G. UPSHUR This article is cross posted from the OUPblog. To see the original article please follow this link: http://bit.ly/1mjAg0Z ‘Ebola is a wake-up call.’ This is a common sentiment expressed by those who have reflected on the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa. It is a
- [Announcement: Future of Humanity Institute advertises four research positions](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/12/announcement-future-of-humanity-institute-advertises-four-research-positions/) - The Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford invites applications for four research positions. We seek outstanding applicants with backgrounds that could include computer science, mathematics, economics, technology policy, and/or philosophy. The Future of Humanity Institute is a leading research centre in the University of Oxford looking at big-picture questions for human civilization. We
- [When People Work Together is Less More or Less (and is More Less or More)?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/12/when-people-work-together-is-less-more-or-less-and-is-more-less-or-more/) - Written by Andreas Kappes This is an unedited version of Andreas Kappes' article which was originally published on The Conversation Twitter:@ankappes Doping in sports often gives us intriguing insights not only into how we think about right and wrong1, but also into our intuitions about performance. In the aftermath of the latest doping scandal, for instance, Arsene
- [Reporting on a Recent Event: Conscience And Conscientious Objection In Healthcare Conference](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/12/reporting-on-a-recent-event-conscience-and-conscientious-objection-in-healthcare-conference/) - The Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics (University of Oxford) and the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (Charles Sturt University) hosted a conference on conscientious objection in medicine and the role of conscience in healthcare practitioners’ decision making; The Conscience And Conscientious Objection In Healthcare Conference. It was held at the Oxford Martin School
- [If abolishing China’s one child policy led to more children, would it be so bad?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/12/if-abolishing-chinas-one-child-policy-led-to-more-children-would-it-be-so-bad/) - Written by Simon Beard This is an unedited version of a paper which was originally published on The Conversation: please see here to read the original article After 35 years, the Chinese government recently announced the abolition of its controversial one child policy for one that will allow all Chinese citizens to have up to two
- [Gene Editing: A CBC Interview of Margaret Somerville and Julian Savulescu](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/12/gene-editing-a-cbc-interview-of-margaret-somerville-and-julian-savulescu/) - The following is a transcript of an interview conducted by Jim Brown from Canadian Broad Casting Corporation’s program, The 180, on 3 December between Margaret Somerville and Julian Savulescu Margaret Somerville is the Founding Director of the Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law, the Samuel Gale Chair in Law and Professor in the Faculty of
- [Engineering a Consensus:   Edit Embryos for Research, Not Reproduction](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/12/engineering-a-consensus-edit-embryos-for-research-not-reproduction/) - Written by Dr Chris Gyngell, Dr Tom Douglas and Professor Julian Savulescu A crucial international summit on gene editing continues today in Washington DC. Organised by the US National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the U.K.'s Royal Society, the summit promises to be a pivotal point in the history of
- [Defaults, status quo, and disagreements about sex](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/12/defaults-status-quo-and-disagreements-about-sex/) - Scott Alexander has a thoughtful piece about who gets to set the default in disagreements about what is reasonable. He describes a couple therapy session where one member is bored with his sex life and goes kinky clubbing, to the anger of his strongly monogamous partner. Yet both want to stay together at least for
- [The Ethics of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes and Gene-Drive Technology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/12/the-ethics-of-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-and-gene-drive-technology/) - Written by Jonathan Pugh This is an unedited version of a paper by Dr Pugh which was originally published on The Conversation: please see here to read the original article In a startling development in ‘gene-drive’ technology, a team of researchers at the University of California have succeeded in creating hundreds of genetically modified mosquitoes that
- [Podcast: Justifications for Non-Consensual Medical Intervention: From Infectious Disease Control to Criminal Rehabilitation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/11/podcast-justifications-for-non-consensual-medical-intervention-from-infectious-disease-control-to-criminal-rehabilitation/) - Dr Jonathan Pugh’s St Cross Special Ethics Seminar on 12 November 2015 is now available at http://media.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/uehiro/MT15_STX_Pugh.mp3 Speaker: Dr Jonathan Pugh Although a central tenet of medical ethics holds that it is permissible to perform a medical intervention on a competent individual only if that individual has given informed consent to that intervention, there are
- [Loebel Lectures and Workshop, Michaelmas Term 2015, Lecture 1 of 3: Neurobiological materialism collides with the experience of being human](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/11/loebel-lectures-and-workshop-michaelmas-term-2015-lecture-1-of-3-neurobiological-materialism-collides-with-the-experience-of-being-human/) - The 2015 Loebel Lectures in Psychiatry and Philosophy were delivered by Professor Steven E. Hyman, director of the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard as well as Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology. Both the lecture series and the one-day workshop proved popular
- [How much would you pay to live an extra year?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/11/how-much-would-you-pay-to-live-an-extra-year/) - Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford @Neonatalethics Medical science continues to push at the boundaries of life and death with new drugs and technologies that can extend life or improve health. But these advances come at a cost. And that inevitably raises difficult questions about whether public health systems should pay for such treatments – and,
- [Loebel Lecture 3 of 3: What is the upshot?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/11/loebel-lecture-3-of-3-what-is-the-upshot/) - Lecture 3 Audio [MP3] | YouTube link [MP4] Grove Auditorium, Magdalen College, Longwall Street, Oxford 5 November 2015, 6-8pm i. The emerging scientific picture of psychiatric illness and treatment is gaining in truth value (within the nexus of scientific understandings). ii. Explanations of distress and psychopathology based on introspection and phenomenological observations of others generally lacks
- [Lecture 2 of 3: Science is quietly, inexorably eroding many core assumptions underlying psychiatry](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/11/lecture-2-of-3-science-is-quietly-inexorably-eroding-many-core-assumptions-underlying-psychiatry/) - Lecture 2 Audio [MP3] | YouTube link [MP4] Grove Auditorium, Magdalen College, Longwall Street, Oxford 4 November 2015, 6-8pm i. A half-century of stasis in psychiatric therapeutics reflects the enormous scientific hurdles posed by psychiatric disorders. ii. However, it also reveals the need for new ways of thinking and a more honest response to evidence. iii.
- [Doping: Russian Cheats or a Failed System?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/11/doping-russian-cheats-or-a-failed-system/) - A stunning report from a WADA Commission, led by former head of WADA Dick Pound has made a series of allegations against Russian athletes and authorities, including that 1400 samples were deliberately destroyed ahead of a visit by WADA. It recommends the suspension of all Russian athletes over the period including the Rio Olympics, and
- [Pre-marital cohabitation endangers your marriage](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/11/pre-marital-cohabitation-endangers-your-marriage/) - By Charles Foster Marriage is not well served by its defenders. The loudest and best reported of them are often fundamentalist bigots. It’s a shame, for marriage has a lot going for it. Even if you think that marriage is an anachronistic/bourgeois/theologically contaminated institution, you’ll probably agree that the breakdown of marriages is best avoided.
- [Guest Post: KILLER ROBOTS AND THE ETHICS OF WAR IN THE 21th CENTURY](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/11/guest-post-killer-robots-and-the-ethics-of-war-in-the-21th-century/) - Written by Darlei Dall’Agnol[1] I attended, recently, the course Drones, Robots and the Ethics of Armed Conflict in the 21st Century, at the Department for Continuing Education, Oxford University, which is, by the way, offering a wide range of interesting courses for 2015-6 (https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/). Philosopher Alexander Leveringhaus, a Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for
- [Guest Post: “Gambling should be fun, not a problem”: why strategies of self-control may be paradoxical.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/11/guest-post-gambling-should-be-fun-not-a-problem-why-strategies-of-self-control-may-be-paradoxical/) - Written by Melanie Trouessin University of Lyon Faced with issues related to gambling and games of chance, the Responsible Gambling program aims to promote moderate behaviour on the part of the player. It is about encouraging risk avoidance and offering self-limiting strategies, both temporal and financial, in order to counteract the player's tendency to lose
- [Guest Post: What puts the ‘mental’ in mental illness?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/11/guest-post-what-puts-the-mental-in-mental-illness/) - Written by Anke Snoek Macquarie University I have a 3 year old who doesn’t eat. He seems not to be interested in food in general. We were offered many explanations for why he doesn’t eat and most specialists suspect a psychological source for his lack of appetite. But recently a friend suggested that maybe there
- [Virtually reality? The value of virtual activities and remote interaction](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/virtually-reality-the-value-of-virtual-activities-and-remote-interaction/) - By Hannah Maslen The Oxford Martin School recently held a two-day symposium on virtual reality and immersive technologies. The aim was to examine a range of technologies, from online games to telepresence via a robot avatar, to consider the ways in which such technologies might affect our personal lives and our interactions with
- [Guest Post: An Unfortunate State Of Affairs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/guest-post-an-unfortunate-state-of-affairs/) - Hilary Greaves, University of Oxford Ashley Madison is an online extramarital dating service, running with the succinct subtitle “Life is short. Have an affair.” On July 20, 2015, the service announced that hackers had breached its data security defences, and obtained identifying details for the site’s 37 million members. In the months that have since
- [ANNOUNCEMENT: Journal of Medical Ethics now accepting longer papers](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/announcement-journal-of-medical-ethics-now-accepting-longer-papers/) - The Journal of Medical Ethics is now accepting longer submissions
- [Guest Post: Is social media bad for friendship?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/guest-post-is-social-media-bad-for-friendship/) - By Rebecca Roache Royal Holloway Follow Rebecca on Twitter here I run a practical ethics course at Royal Holloway for second- and third-year undergraduates, and today our topic was friendship and social media. More specifically, we considered whether the increasing tendency for our friendships to be mediated and maintained through the use of
- [Guest Post: Vampire Judges and Blood Money: Blood Donation as Criminal Sanction?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/guest-post-vampire-judges-and-blood-money-blood-donation-as-criminal-sanction/) - Written by Christopher Chew Monash University Early one September morning, plaintiffs at a rural Alabama County court in the US, were greeted with an unexpected and highly unusual offer. To quote presiding Judge Marvin Wiggins: “There’s a blood drive outside, and if you don’t have any money, and you don’t want to go to jail,
- [The reproducibility problem and the status of bioethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/the-reproducibility-problem-and-the-status-of-bioethics/) - There is a long overdue crisis of confidence in the biological and medical sciences. It would be nice – though perhaps rather ambitious - to think that it could transmute into a culture of humility. A recent comment in Nature observes that: ‘An unpublished 2015 survey by the American Society for Cell Biology found that
- [From Self-Interest to Morality: How Moral Progress Might Be Possible](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/from-self-interest-to-morality-how-moral-progress-might-be-possible/) - One of the most stunning successes I have personally seen in my life is the emergence of the Effective Altruism movement. I remember when Will Crouch (now MacAskill) first presented 80 000 hours to our Graduate Discussion Group and Toby Ord was still a grad student. From their ideas a whole movement has emerged of
- [Treatment and Understanding in Psychiatry](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/treatment-and-understanding-in-psychiatry/) - Understanding is a fundamental concept in medical ethics. I want to discuss two contrasting senses in which medical treatments require understanding on behalf of the patient. The first of these is very familiar, and much discussed. The second is less so. The first and most familiar sense in which medical treatment requires a patient’s understanding
- [Liberalism and inequality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/inequality/) - by Joao Fabiano Why inequality matters Philosophers who argue that we should care about inequality often have some variation of a prioritarian view. For them, well-being matters more for those who are worse off, and we should prioritise improving their lives over the lives of others. Several others believe we should care about inequality because
- [Gene-free: Can parents refuse genetic testing for their child?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/gene-free-can-parents-refuse-genetic-testing-for-their-child/) - by Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics A critically ill infant in intensive care (let us call him Jonas) has serious congenital abnormalities affecting his liver and brain.1 Doctors looking after Jonas suspect that he may have a major genetic problem. They have recommended testing for Jonas, to help determine whether he does have this problem. However, Jonas’
- [Event announcement: European Neonatal Ethics Conference](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/european-neonatal-ethics/) - by Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics The second European Neonatal Ethics Conference is taking place next June (1-2nd) here in Oxford. I'm very pleased to have been asked to chair the conference, and there is a great line-up of speakers including Margot Brazier, Sofia Moratti, Ingrid Miljeteig, Mirjam de Vos, John Wyatt, Neil Marlowe. Those with
- [Living With Other Hominids](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/living-with-other-hominids/) - Written by Professor Neil Levy The recent discovery of what is claimed to be a distinct species of the genus Homo, our genus, raises to three the number of species that may have co-existed with Homo Sapiens. Homo naledi is yet to be dated, but it may be only tens of thousands of years old;
- [Guest Post: VW cheating like Obama](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/guest-post-vw-cheating-like-obama/) - Written by Dr Nicholas Shackel Cardiff University Nothing annoys the plunderers more than when the producers try to get away with the tricks that they have reserved to themselves. I pointed out one such instance some time ago (Penzions and Politicians https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2011/01/politicians-and-penzions/) and we have another one before us in the VW scandal. What VW
- [Guest Post: The moral lessons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/guest-post-the-moral-lessons-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki/) - Written by William Isdale University of Queensland This year is the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Are there any moral lessons we can learn from that historical episode? I think so. Recently I delivered a talk on radio about this topic. I argue that one key reason to study history
- [Guest Post: Is it Time for Ethics Experts in Lack of Consent Cases?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/is-it-time-for-ethics-experts-in-lack-of-consent-cases/) - Written by Daniel Sokol barrister and medical ethicist at 12 King’s Bench Walk, Temple, London This article was first published in the Personal Injury Brief Update Law Journal on 12th October 2015 (http://www.pibriefupdate.com) Following the landmark case of Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015] UKSC 11, I have been instructed on several cases of alleged
- [Guest Post: Self defence and getting sacked](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/guest-post-self-defence-and-getting-sacked/) - Written by Dr Nicholas Shackel Cardiff University If you were attacked at a work party you would expect the person who attacked you to get sacked. In this case (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11846084/London-Zoo-love-rivals-in-vicious-fight-over-llama-keeper.html) it seems to be the person attacked who got sacked, apparently because the boss doesn't understand the right of self defence. First of all,
- [If I were you then I wouldn’t say that: The perils of giving and taking advice](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/if-i-were-you-then-i-wouldnt-say-that-the-perils-of-giving-and-taking-advice/) - Written by Andreas Kappes The school year just started, but surprisingly, the half-term break is already lurking around the corner, when children have a week off. For a lot of parents this implies seeing their own parents, having them take care of the kids. And whenever families come together, there will be many sentences starting
- [Sartre vs The Selfie: An Existentialist Critique of Selfie- Taking](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/sartre-vs-the-selfie-an-existentialist-critique-of-selfie-taking/) - Selfie-sticks are notoriously ubiquitous in modern society, and the art of ‘selfie-taking’ may well be something that future analysts identify as being one of the defining sociological trends of this period of history. In this post, I will discuss some passages from Sartre that help to explain my feeling of unease at this rampant ‘selfie-ism’.
- [What's the moral difference between ad blocking and piracy?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/whats-the-moral-difference-between-ad-blocking-and-piracy/) - On 16 September Marco Arment, developer of Tumblr, Instapaper and Overcast, released a new iPhone and iPad app called Peace. It quickly shot to the top of the paid app charts, but Arment began to have moral qualms about the app, and its unexpected success, and two days after its release, he pulled it from
- [Why are unethical neonatal trials still taking place in developing countries?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/why-are-unethical-neonatal-trials-still-taking-place-in-developing-countries/) - By Dominic Wilkinson, @Neonatalethics Earlier this year, the Lancet published a trial (the ‘ACT’ trial) involving 100,000 babies at risk of being born prematurely in developing countries. Half of the mothers in the ACT trial did not receive a simple cheap medicine that has been previously shown in multiple trials and meta-analysis to reduce the
- [Guest Post: Should the army abandon their zero-tolerance policy on substance use?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/guest-post-should-the-army-abandon-their-zero-tolerance-policy-on-substance-use/) - Written by Anke Snoek Macquarie University In the UK around 500 soldiers each year get fired because they fail drug-testing. The substances they use are mainly recreational drugs like cannabis, XTC, and cocaine. Some call this a waste of resources, since new soldiers have to be recruited and trained, and call for a revision of
- [Gene editing and eugenics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/gene-editing-and-eugenics/) - A study published last week in the journal Cell has led to speculation that a powerful new gene editing technique is about to be developed. Gene editing has received widespread media coverage over the past few months. Most of the excitement has centred on a specific gene editing technique, the CRISPR-cas9 system. Research conducted with
- [Don't write evil algorithms](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/dont-write-evil-algorithms/) - Google is said to have dropped the famous “Don’t be evil” slogan. Actually, it is the holding company Alphabet that merely wants employees to “do the right thing”. Regardless of what one thinks about the actual behaviour and ethics of Google, it seems that it got one thing right early on: a recognition that it
- [Guest Post: What (if anything) makes extinction bad?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/guest-post-what-if-anything-makes-extinction-bad/) - Catia Faria, Pompeu Fabra University Follow Catia on Twitter here Throughout history, countless species have come into existence only to later become extinct. Whether extinction is caused by natural processes or human agency, environmental scientists and the general public seem to agree that extinction is a bad thing and that, therefore, conservation efforts should be
- [Mandatory submission of patient information about FGM: a pointless, damaging, discriminatory mess](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/mandatory-submission-of-patient-information-about-fgm-a-pointless-damaging-discriminatory-mess/) - Brenda Kelly and Charles Foster Female Genital Mutilation (‘FGM’) is a term covering various procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons (WHO, 2012). It can be associated with immediate and long-term physical and psychological health problems. FGM is prevalent in
- [Rugby and the Love of the Underdog](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/rugby-and-the-love-of-the-underdog/) - The Rugby World Cup is now well underway in England and Wales, and rugby fans have possibly already seen one of its most surprising results and entertaining games. On the second day of the tournament, Japan defied the odds to earn a narrow 34-32 victory over South Africa. The result stunned the rugby world –
- [Some thoughts on reparations](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/10/some-thoughts-on-reparations/) - What do descendants of wrongdoers owe to the descendants of the wronged?
- [1 in 4 women: How the latest sexual assault statistics were turned into click bait by the New York Times](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/1-in-4-women-how-the-latest-sexual-assault-statistics-were-turned-into-click-bait-by-the-new-york-times/) - How the New York Times turned serious sexual assault statistics into misleading click bait.
- [In defence of drinking alone](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/in-defence-of-drinking-alone/) - By Rebecca Roache and Hannah Maslen Yes they're sharing a drink they call loneliness But it's better than drinking alone - Billy Joel, Piano Man Drinking alone is often frowned upon. Those who do it can be quite defensive about it—as illustrated by a Reddit thread entitled ‘Why do people think drinking
- [Guest Post: Performance enhancers and smart drugs in e-sports](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/guest-post-performance-enhancers-and-smart-drugs-in-e-sports/) - Written by Toni Gibea Research Center in Applied Ethics, University of Bucharest My aim is to show that the decision made by ESL (Electronic Sports League) to ban Adderall in e-sport competitions is not the outcome of a well-reasoned ethical debate. There are some important ethical arguments that could be raised against the ESL decision
- ["The medicalization of love" - podcast interview](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/the-medicalization-of-love-podcast-interview/) - A podcast interview for Smart Drug Smarts between host Jesse Lawler and interviewee Brian D. Earp on "The Medicalization of Love"
- [Drinking at Schiphol with the fount of bioethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/drinking-at-schiphol-with-the-fount-of-bioethics/) - A couple of weeks ago, in an airport bar, I met the foundation of modern bioethics. I was crawling back to London: he was heading to JFK. ‘I usually fly First’, was his opening, as we sat on those vertiginous stools. ‘So I’m usually in the Lounge. But it’s good to be reminded how the
- [Vagueness and Making a Difference](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/vagueness-and-making-a-difference/) - Do you make the world a worse place by purchasing factory-farmed chicken, or by paying for a seat on a transatlantic flight? Do you have moral reason to, and should you, refrain from doing these things? It is very unlikely that any individual act of either of these two sorts would in fact bring about
- [Guest Post: Mental Health Disorders in Prison: Neuroethical and Societal Issues](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/guest-post-mental-health-disorders-in-prison-neuroethical-and-societal-issues/) - Guest post by Barbara Sahakian, FMedSci, DSc, a professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, and president of the International Neuroethics Society. This article was originally published on the Dana Foundation Blog, and can be read here: http://danablog.org/2015/07/28/mental-health-disorders-in-prison-neuroethical-and-societal-issues/ More than half of all prison and jail inmates have a mental health problem.[i] In
- [Guest Post: ENHANCING WISDOM](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/guest-post-enhancing-wisdom/) - Written by Darlei Dall’Agnol[1] Stephen Hawking has recently made two very strong declarations: Philosophy is dead; Artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. I wonder whether there is a close connection between the two. In fact, I believe that the second will be true only if the first
- [Guest Post: The food environment, obesity, and primary targets of intervention](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/guest-post-the-food-environment-obesity-and-primary-targets-of-intervention/) - Written By Johanna Ahola-Launonen University of Helsinki Chronic diseases, their origins, and issues of responsibility are a prevalent topic in current health care ethics and public discussion; and obesity is among one of the most discussed themes. Usually the public discussion has a tendency to assume that when information about health lifestyle choices exist, the
- [Judging a person by their friends.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/judging-a-person-by-their-friends/) - Is it a legitimate strategy to infer an person’s ethics through their friends?
- [Sex and death among the robots: when should we campaign to ban robots?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/sex-and-death-among-the-robots-when-should-we-campaign-to-ban-robots/) - Today, I noticed two news stories: BBC future reported about the Korean work on killer robots (autonomous gun turrets that can identify, track and attack) and BBC news reported on the formation of a campaign to ban sex robots, clearly mirrored on the existing campaign to stop killer robots. Much of the robot discourse is
- [Behavioral Science, Public Policy, Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/behavioral-science-public-policy-ethics/) - The President of the United States has issued an executive order (see here) - government agencies are to use ‘insights’ from behavioral sciences to better serve the American people. In my view this is a good thing. Science is our friend. Obama’s heart is in the right place. Nonetheless, the order raises a number of
- [Assisted Dying and Protecting the Vulnerable](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/assisted-dying-and-protecting-the-vulnerable/) - Sadly, though unsurprisingly, Rob Marris’s assisted dying bill has been rejected overwhelmingly by British MPs. The most widely accepted argument in favour of rejecting the bill seems to have been that doing so would protect the vulnerable. Which vulnerable people did the proponents of this argument have in mind? Those who would feel under pressure
- [The Virtuous Homophobe](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/the-virtuous-homophobe/) - A few days ago, Kim Davis was released from jail, where she had spent the past few days. Davis, as you probably recall, is the Kentucky county clerk who was jailed for her refusal to issue marriage licenses to gay couples (more technically, for contempt for refusing to obey an order to grant such licenses).
- [Post-Vacation Musings: How rude should I be to my mother?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/post-vacation-musings-how-rude-should-i-be-to-my-mother/) - Written by Andreas Kappes A couple of years ago, my mother flew in from Germany to visit and help us with looking after my daughter during a school break. One night, I can’t remember the exact circumstances, she angrily told me: “Stop being so polite”. I might have thanked her for something that in her
- [Guest Post: Bullying in Medicine](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/bullying-in-medicine/) - Written by Christopher Chew Monash University Today, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), the peak representative organization for the surgical profession in Australia, released the results of the Expert Advisory Group convened to investigate allegations of bullying, harassment, and sexual assault earlier this year. Shockingly, of nearly half its members who responded to a
- [Guest Post: Pervitin instead of coffee? Change in attitudes to cognitive enhancement in the 50's and 60's in Brazil   ](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/guest-post-pervitin-instead-of-coffee-change-in-attitudes-to-cognitive-enhancement-in-the-50s-and-60s-in-brazil/) - Written by Marcelo de Araujo State University of Rio de Janeiro CNPq - The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development How does our attitude to drugs in general shape our reaction to "smart drugs" in particular? Ruairidh Battleday and Anna-Katharine Brem have recently published a systematic review of 24 studies on the
- [The moral limitations of in vitro meat](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/the-moral-limitations-of-in-vitro-meat/) - By Ben Levinstein and Anders Sandberg Almost everybody agrees factory farming is morally outrageous, with several billions of animals living lives that are likely not worth living. One possible solution to this moral disaster is to make in vitro meat technologically and commercially viable. In vitro meat is biologically identical to real meat but cultured
- [Less cooperation, please](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/less-cooperation-please/) - Written by Joao Fabiano Since the idea of enhancing human morality was proposed – and perhaps long before then - there has been a great deal of scientific research directly or indirectly inspired by the goal of improving human moral dispositions. Manipulations which result in increased levels of cooperation, prosociality or altruism are often seen
- [Guest Post: Must we throw out the brain with the bathwater? Marc Lewis on addiction](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/guest-post-must-we-throw-out-the-brain-with-the-bathwater-marc-lewis-on-addiction/) - Written by Anke Snoek Macquarie University When neuroscience started to mingle into the debate on addiction and self-control, people aimed to use these insights to cause a paradigm shift in how we judge people struggling with addictions. People with addictions are not morally despicable or weak-willed, they end up addicted because drugs influence the brain
- [Guest Post: Smart drugs, Smart choice](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/guest-post-smart-drugs-smart-choice/) - Written by Benjamin Pojer and Daniel D'Hotman Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science, Monash University Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford A recent review published in the European Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology (1) on the efficacy and safety of modafinil in a population of healthy people has found that the drug
- [Psychology is not in crisis? Depends on what you mean by "crisis"](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/psychology-is-not-in-crisis-depends-on-what-you-mean-by-crisis/) - Questionable research practices, sloppy (or just plain wrong) statistics, and ineffective peer review are all serious problems.
- [The Ethics of Compulsory Chemical Castration: Is Non-Consensual Treatment Ever Permissible?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/the-ethics-of-compulsory-chemical-castration-is-non-consensual-treatment-ever-permissible/) - By Jonathan Pugh Tory Grant, the justice minister for New South Wales (NSW) in Australia, has announced the establishment of a task force to investigate the potential for the increased use of anti-libidinal treatments (otherwise known as chemical castration) in the criminal justice system. Such treatments aim to reduce recidivism amongst sexual offenders by dramatically
- [Guest Post: Why Don't We Do More to Help the Global Poor?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/guest-post-why-dont-we-do-more-to-help-the-global-poor/) - Simon Keller, Victoria University of Wellington Read more in the current issue of the Journal of Practical Ethics There is good reason to believe that people living comfortable lives in affluent countries should do more to help impoverished people in other parts of the world. Billions of people lack the nutrition, medicines, shelter, and safety
- [Why ethicists should read Middlemarch and despise Simon Cowell](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/why-ethicists-should-read-middlemarch-and-denigrate-simon-cowell/) - There are a few ethicists who are interested in encouraging right behaviour, rather than simply discussing it. Here is something for them from A.L. Kennedy: ‘As Vonnegut mentioned, Nazi Germany trained a population to be blind to the dignity and humanity of some others. A diet of soft porn, cheap sentimentality and hate proved effective.
- [Guest Post: JABBING, PLAYING, AND PAYING – HIGH SEASON ON ANTI-VAXXERS](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/guest-post-jabbing-playing-and-paying-high-season-on-anti-vaxxers/) - Christopher Chew Monash University In the strange, upside-down world of the Southern Hemisphere, cold and gloomy Winter is quietly slinking away, and raucous Spring in all his glory begins to stir. Ah, Spring! The season of buds and blooms and frolicking wildlife. One rare species of wildlife, however, finds itself subject to an open hunting
- [Vote Selling Versus Vote Swapping](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/vote-selling-versus-vote-swapping/) - Joseph Bowen (@joe_bowen_1) Lets begin with a pair of cases: Pub Swap. Suppose Ann endorses Political Party A and Ben endorses Political Party B. Both would place Party C as their last choice. Ann lives in constituency 1 and Ben lives in constituency 2. In constituency 1 there is a close race between Party B
- [Clone me up, Scotty: A brief satirical history of cloning and ethical progress](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/clone-me-up-scotty-a-brief-history-of-cloning-and-ethical-progress/) - Julian Savulescu @juliansavulescu The 90s was a terrifying decade. Boris Yeltsin with his finger on the button. Fortunately he was too drunk some of the time to move. The Spice Girls. And Y2K. I bought plenty of water. Civilisation came to the brink in 1997 when Ian Wilmut managed to play God and clone a
- [Brain in a Vat: 5 Challenges for the In Vitro Brain](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/brain-in-a-vat-5-challenges-for-the-in-vitro-brain/) - Julian Savulescu @juliansavulescu In Roald Dahl's short story, William and Mary, William dies of cancer. But a novel procedure allows his brain, with one eye attached, to be kept functioning in a clear plastic vat. His wife convinces William's neurosurgeon to allow her to take William (or rather his brain and eye) home with her.
- [Guest Post: No fortune of birth](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/guest-post-no-fortune-of-birth/) - Nick Shackel Cardiff University Suppose you are born with valuable talents or to wealthy parents. What is added if we say that your talents or wealth are a fortune of birth? I say, nothing! This is merely a misleading way of repeating that you were born with good possessions. It is misleading because it seeks
- [Does it benefit a person to bring them into being?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/does-it-benefit-a-person-to-bring-them-into-being/) - Over the last four decades or so, philosophers have spent a good deal of time on this somewhat peculiar question. Why? After all, it’s not a question that people ordinarily ask, like ‘Do animals have rights?’ or ‘Is abortion permissible?’.The reason is that the answer one gives may have important implications for many such ordinary
- [Facebook and political polarization.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/facebook-and-political-polarization/) - There has been a lot of concern expressed about the role that social media might play in political polarization. The worry is that social media users might only expose themselves to news stories with which they agree and have friends that reinforce their own views, and thereby become more extreme in their views and less
- [Speculating about technology in ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/05/speculating-about-technology-in-ethics/) - Many important discussions in practical ethics necessarily involve a degree of speculation about technology: the identification and analysis of ethical, social and legal issues is most usefully done in advance, to make sure that ethically-informed policy decisions do not lag behind technological development. Correspondingly, a move towards so-called ‘anticipatory ethics’ is often lauded as commendably
- [Solving the Organ Crisis Ethically](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/solving-the-organ-crisis-ethically/) - Julian Savulescu and William Isdale An editorial in the Lancet earlier this month report on the first fall in UK organ transplants in a decade. Key statistics included that “the number of people who chose or were able to donate their organs in 2014 fell, and that 224 fewer people in the UK received an organ transplant
- [Guest Post: ‘I don’t want to die, but I am too scared to be anything different’: The role of identity in mental illness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/guest-post-i-dont-want-to-die-but-i-am-too-scared-to-be-anything-different-the-role-of-identity-in-mental-illness/) - Anke Snoek Macquarie University If you break a leg or have a cold, it probably wouldn’t affect your identity at all. But when you have an invasive, chronic illness, it will probably change your way of being in the world, and the way you perceive yourself. Our body is the vehicle with which we interact
- [Doping in Hollywood](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/doping-in-hollywood/) - For his role in the new movie Southpaw, Jake Gyllenhaal gained 45 lbs (20 kgs) of muscle in six months. Many praised Gyllenhall for his dedication in undergoing this remarkable physical transformation. Few have questioned whether this achievement was aided by the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). Some in the bodybuilding community claim that
- [Pinker Bioethics: What Should We Learn?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/pinker-bioethics-what-should-we-learn/) - Julian Savulescu Twitter @juliansavulescu Steven Pinker has recently written an op-ed questioning the contribution of bioethics to the safe and efficient regulation of research. This has been widely misinterpreted and criticised, though Alice Dreger has written a recent accurate blog in support of Pinker. Pinker provocatively said that bioethics should get out of the way
- [Guest Post: Agree to disagree? Why not?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/guest-post-agree-to-disagree-why-not/) - Pedro Jesus Perez Zafrilla. (University of Valencia) In a previous post on this blog, David Aldridge questions the social convention of ending arguments by “agreeing to disagree.”, arguing that doing so “ends the dialogue at precisely the point where what is really at issue is beginning to emerge” . He also questions the motivations of
- [Left, Right, and Belief Formation.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/left-right-and-belief-formation/) - A recent article by Jeff Sparrow on the Australian writer Helen Dale/Darville/Demidenko has left me pondering the way that we form beliefs. Under the penname ‘Helen Demidenko’, Dale published a novel that told the story of a Ukrainian family, members of whom were perpetrators of crimes against Jews during the Holocaust. The novel was instantly
- [Guest Post: The Moral Imperative for Bioethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/08/guest-post-the-moral-imperative-for-bioethics/) - By Daniel K. Sokol Daniel Sokol, PhD, is a bioethicist and lawyer at 12 King’s Bench Walk, London. He has sat on several ethics committees, including the UK’s Ministry of Defence’s Research Ethics Committee. In a recent Opinion piece in the Boston Globe, Professor Steven Pinker made the surprising suggestion that the primary moral goal
- [Guest Post: Caring for Our Home](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/guest-post-caring-for-our-home/) - Darlei Dall’Agnol Professor of Ethics, Federal University of Santa Catarina. Many nations are already preparing for the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Paris in December. One of the main goals of the Conference is to reach an agreement on climate change, especially on greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit the
- [ASMR and Absurdity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/asmr-and-absurdity/) - by Hannah Maslen and Rebecca Roache In the past five years or so, a new phenomenon has emerged on the internet. ASMR videos allow you to spend around 40 minutes watching someone carefully unpack and repack a box, or listen to a detailed demonstration of ten different notebooks, or observe the careful folding of several
- [Stripping Addicts of Benefits – Coercion, Consent, and the Right to Benefits](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/stripping-addicts-of-benefits-coercion-consent-and-the-right-to-benefits/) - The UK government has announced plans to review the possibility of stripping drug addicts, alcoholics and obese individuals of benefits if they refuse treatment for their conditions. In support of the review, a consultation paper claims that the review is intended to ". . . consider how best to support those suffering from long-term yet
- [Stop Orientalism?: On Boston MFA’s ‘Kimono Wednesdays’](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/stop-orientalism-on-boston-mfas-kimono-wednesdays/) - By Kei Hiruta ‘STOP ORIENTALISM’. So says the banner of the protest group, ‘Stand Against Yellow Face’ (SAYF), campaigning against a weekly event at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston. The event, called ‘Kimono Wednesdays’, originally encouraged museum visitors to ‘interact’ with Claude Monet’s ‘La Japonaise’ by trying on a replica of the kimono
- [Is this really me? Parasites and other humans’ cells in our brains change our psychology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/is-this-really-me-parasites-and-other-humans-cells-in-our-brains-change-our-psychology/) - Many people are suspicious about being manipulated in their emotions, thoughts or behaviour by external influences, may those be drugs or advertising. However, it seems that – unbeknown to most of us - within our own bodies exist a considerable number of foreign entities. These entities can change our psychology to a surprisingly large degree.
- [#IminworkJeremy – the ethics of 24/7 consultant cover](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/iminworkjeremy-the-ethics-of-247-consultant-cover/) - By Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics At the bedside of a critically ill infant at 5am this morning I was tempted to tweet the latest meme, adding my voice to a chorus of NHS clinicians over the weekend. Last week, in a speech to the King’s fund, Health Minister Jeremy Hunt launched a drive towards 7
- [Could PhD students solve the replication crisis in psychology?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/could-phd-students-solve-the-replication-crisis-in-psychology/) - @JimACEverett www.jimaceverett.com As many readers of this blog may know, in the last few years a “replication crisis” has caused intense soul searching in psychology – and particularly in social psychology. This crisis was sparked when several widely cited findings in psychology subsequently failed to replicate when tested by independent researchers (for some background see
- [On the Appropriate Place of Self-Interest in Our Actions](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2014/12/on-the-appropriate-place-of-self-interest-in-our-actions/) - Guest Post by Jos Philips With Christmas and the new year fast approaching, Jos Philips reconsiders what role self-interest may legitimately play in what we are doing. Recently, a class of students of mine were discussing a well-known article by Peter Singer (‘The Singer Solution to World Poverty,’ New York Times Sunday Magazine, 1999). In
- [Guest Post: The Immorality of Fox Hunting](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/guest-post-the-immorality-of-fox-hunting/) - Catia Faria, PhD Candidate Department of Law, Universitat Pompeu Fabra In 2004, the Hunting Act banned fox hunting with dogs from England and Wales. More than ten years later, 80% of Britons still believe that it should remain illegal. Strictly speaking, the Act did not establish an absolute ban on fox hunting with dogs (or the
- [The Tunnel Problem](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/the-tunnel-problem/) - Driverless or autonomous cars will almost certainly be commonplace quite soon. Imagine you are sitting in such a car, approaching a tunnel on a single-lane mountain road. A child wanders into the middle of the road, blocking the entrance to the tunnel. How should such cars be programmed to react? Two options are: to keep
- [Usable ethics: user design and ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/usable-ethics-user-design-and-ethics/) - by Anders Sandberg and Ben Levinstein Over the past week we have been subsumed by the intense, final work phase just before the deadline of a big, complex report. The profanity-density has been high, mostly aimed at Google, Microsoft and Apple. Not all of it was deserved, but it brought home the issue that designing
- [Is the NHS surcharge just?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/is-the-nhs-surcharge-just/) - Not long ago the UK implemented an NHS surcharge – an extra fee that non-EEA nationals (Australia and New Zealand are also exempt) applying for leave to remain in the UK must pay. It costs £200 per year, and must be paid up front. So, for example, if you are applying for a work visa
- [Effort, psychological continuity, human enhancement and superintelligence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/effort-psychological-continuity-human-enhancement-and-superintelligence/) - One argument against human enhancement is that it is cheating. Cheating others and oneself. One may be cheating oneself for various reasons; because one took the easy path instead of actually acquiring a certain capacity, because once one enhances one is no longer oneself, because enhancements are superficial among others. I would like to try
- [A Code of Conduct for Peer Reviewers in the Humanities and Social Sciences](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/a-code-of-conduct-for-peer-reviewers-in-the-humanities-and-social-sciences-2/) - 1. The fact that you disagree with the author’s conclusion is not a reason for advising against publication. Quite the contrary, in fact. You have been selected as a peer reviewer because of your eminence, which means (let’s face it), your conservatism. Accordingly if you think the conclusion is wrong, it is far more likely
- [Guest Post: Agree to disagree?  Let's not.](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/guest-post-agree-to-disagree-lets-not/) - Written by David Aldridge Oxford Brookes University Recently a colleague offered in conversation that we should agree to disagree. This led me to some observations about the role of agreement and disagreement in dialogue. Some conversations involve a sort of perpetual agreement or mutual affirmation. These are instances where we're really just 'shooting the breeze',
- [If you want to do the most good, maybe you shouldn’t work for Wall Street](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/if-you-want-to-do-the-most-good-maybe-you-shouldnt-work-for-wall-street/) - If you want to do the most good, maybe you shouldn’t work for Wall Street.
- [There is a duty not to be boring](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/06/there-is-a-duty-not-to-be-boring/) - Someone has just said to me: 'You're really boring today'. It is, of course, something I commonly hear. And it was undoubtedly true. But it made me wonder if there was any moral significance to my personal boringness. Should I repent of it, or is it morally neutral? I've concluded, I'm afraid, that it's culpable.
- [Doping: Alive and Well in the Tour But You Won't Hear About It](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/doping-alive-and-well-in-the-tour-but-you-wont-hear-about-it/) - Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with my argument for legalising doping in sport, aiming to focus resources on harm reduction rather than zero tolerance. Key safeguards in this approach are (1) doping carried out under the supervision of a doctor, and (2 ) checks on athletes to ensure they maintain normal physiological
- [Reincarnation and discrimination](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/reincarnation-and-discrimination/) - by Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics In California, in the last week, there have been further motions in a long running lawsuit relating to a brain-dead child. Oakland teenager Jahi McMath died after a tonsillectomy in December 2013. However, her parents rejected the medical diagnosis of brain death, and despite a Californian court providing judicial backing for
- [Guest Post: Housing in Australia– Investment Vehicle or Social Institution?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/guest-post-housing-in-australia-investment-vehicle-or-social-institution/) - Written by Christopher Chew Monash University JOURNALIST: Treasurer, do you accept that housing in Sydney is unaffordable and the only way we’re going to make it affordable is if real house prices in real terms actually fall over the near term? TREASURER JOE HOCKEY: No. Look, if housing were unaffordable in Sydney, no one would
- [Guest Post: Genetics education, genetic determinism, and the trickle-down effect](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/guest-post-genetics-education-genetic-determinism-and-the-trickle-down-effect/) - Written By Johanna Ahola-Launonen University of Helsinki In bioethical discussion, it is often debated whether or not some studies espouse genetic determinism. A recent study by Tuomas Aivelo and Anna Uitto[1] give important insight to the matter. They studied main genetics education textbooks used in Finnish upper secondary school curricula and compared the results to
- [Guest Post: A feminist defence of the nanny state](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/guest-post-a-feminist-defence-of-the-nanny-state/) - Written by Anke Snoek Macquarie University In Australia Senator David Leyonhjelm http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/david-leyonhjelm-declares-war-on-nanny-state/story-fn59niix-1227415288323 has won support for a broad-ranging parliamentary inquiry into what he calls the 'nanny state'. A committee will test the claims of public health experts about bicycle helmets, alcohol laws, violent video games, the sale and use of alcohol, tobacco and pornography. “If
- [Guest Post: Impractical ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/guest-post-impractical-ethics/) - Written by Constantin Vica Postdoctoral Fellow, Romanian Academy Iasi Branch Research Center in Applied Ethics, University of Bucharest This post is not, as one might expect, about that part of ethics which is not concerned about practical issues, e.g. meta-ethics. Neither is it about moral philosophical endeavors which are incomprehensible, highly conceptual and without any adherence
- [Guest Post: Real change in food systems needs real ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/07/guest-post-real-change-in-food-systems-needs-real-ethics/) - Written By Paul B. Thompson W.K. Kellogg Professor of Agricultural, Food and Community Ethics at Michigan State University This blog is a cross-posting from the OUPblog. Please see the original post here: http://blog.oup.com/2015/06/food-systems-need-real-ethics/ In May, we celebrated the third annual workshop on food justice at Michigan State University. Few of the people who come to these
- [Announcement: Journal of Practical Ethics Volume 3, Issue 1](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/06/announcement-journal-of-practical-ethics-volume-3-issue-1/) - Journal of Practical Ethics. Volume 3, Issue 1. June 2015 Cost Effectiveness Analysis and Fairness F. M. Kamm Journal of Practical Ethics, 3(1): 1-14 Read Online | Download PDF The Elements of Well-Being Brad Hooker Journal of Practical Ethics, 3(1): 15-35 Read Online | Download PDF | Podcast Motives to Assist and Reasons to Assist: the
- [Adding Happy People](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/06/adding-happy-people/) - Almost every week there’s a headline about our planet’s population explosion. For instance Indian officials confirmed recently that India is projected to overtake China in just over a decade – to become the most populous country on Earth. Many are worried that the planet is becoming increasingly overpopulated. Whether it is overpopulated, underpopulated, or appropriately
- [Guest Post: CARING ROBOTS](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/06/guest-post-caring-robots/) - CARING ROBOTS Written by Darlei Dall’Agnol[1] Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina As we humans find ways of enhancing our physical, intellectual, emotional and other capabilities and, as a result, our lifespan expands, caring for the elderly becomes more challenging and complex too. We may postpone aging, but perhaps not forever and serious care will be
- [Guest Post : Synthetic Biology: Taking care of the public image](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/2015/06/guest-post-synthetic-biology-taking-care-of-the-public-image/) - Written by Prof. Antonio Diéguez Universidad de Malaga The public image of science is usually subjected to distortions tending to blur the nuances and to generate monolithic assessments. The mass media contribute to a large extent to the creation of disproportionate expectations in the next and spectacular benefits provided by scientific research, or on the

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- [Public Health](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/public-health/)
- [David Shipley's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/david-shipleys-posts/)
- [Research Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/research-ethics/)
- [Zack Beauchamp's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/zack-beauchamps-posts/)
- [Information Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/information-ethics/)
- [Bennett Foddy's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/bennett-foddys-posts/)
- [Genetics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/genetics/)
- [Critical Care](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/critical-care/)
- [Regulation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/regulation/)
- [Abortion](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/abortion/)
- [Lachlan de Crespigny's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/lachlan-de-crespignys-posts/)
- [Professional Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/professional-ethics/)
- [Jahel Queralt-Lange's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/jahel-queralt-langes-posts/)
- [Julian Savulescu's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/julian-savulescus-posts/)
- [Reproductive Technologies](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/reproductive-technologies/)
- [Religion](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/religion/)
- [Steve Clarke's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/steve-clarkes-posts/)
- [Stem Cell Research](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/stem-cell-research/)
- [Synthetic biology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/synthetic-biology/)
- [Disability, Chronic Conditions and Rehabilitation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/disability-chronic-conditions-and-rehabilitation/)
- [Mark Sheehan's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/mark-sheehans-posts/)
- [Behavioural Genetics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/behavioural-genetics/)
- [Roger Crisp's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/roger-crisps-posts/)
- [Rebecca Roache's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/rebecca-roaches-posts/)
- [Environmental Bioethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/environmental-bioethics/)
- [Food and Drink](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/food-and-drink/)
- [Russell Powell's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/russell-powells-posts/)
- [Lisa Furberg's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/lisa-furbergs-posts/)
- [Dominic Wilkinson's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/dominic-wilkinsons-posts/)
- [Television](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/television/)
- [Books](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/books/)
- [Pharmaceutical Industry](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/pharmaceutical-industry/)
- [Neil Levy's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/neil-levys-posts/)
- [Biotechnology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/biotechnology/)
- [Simon Rippon's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/simon-rippons-posts/)
- [Tom Douglas' Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tom-douglas-posts/)
- [Francesca Minerva's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/francesca-minervas-posts/)
- [Environmental Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/environmental-ethics/)
- [Toby Ord's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/toby-ords-posts/)
- [Rosaria Taddeo's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/rosaria-taddeos-posts/)
- [Roman Gaehwiler's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/roman-gaehwilers-posts/)
- [Addiction](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/addiction/)
- [Pandemic Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/pandemic-ethics/)
- [Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/euthanasia-and-assisted-suicide/)
- [Bridget Williams' Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/bridget-williams-posts/)
- [Invited Guest posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/invited-guest-posts/)
- [Lena Groeger's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/lena-groegers-posts/)
- [Stephanie Malik's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/stephanie-maliks-posts/)
- [Janet Radcliffe- Richards' Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/janet-radcliffe-richards-posts/)
- [Guy Kahane's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/guy-kahanes-posts/)
- [Shlomit Harrosh's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/shlomit-harroshs-posts/)
- [Games](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/games/)
- [Katrien Devolder's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/katrien-devolders-posts/)
- [Bioterrorism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/bioterrorism/)
- [geoengineering](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/geoengineering/)
- [Nuffield Consultation Organ Tissue Donation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/nuffield-consultation-organ-tissue-donation/)
- [Travel](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/travel/)
- [Sandrine Blanc's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/sandrine-blancs-posts/)
- [Barbro Bjorkman's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/barbro-bjorkmans-posts/)
- [Barbro Fröding's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/barbro-frodings-posts/)
- [Cloning](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/cloning/)
- [Weblogs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/weblogs/)
- [Davinia Talbot's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/davinia-talbots-posts/)
- [Fritz Allhoff's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/fritz-allhoffs-posts/)
- [Pablo Stafforini's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/pablo-stafforinis-posts/)
- [Nick Bostrom's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/nick-bostroms-posts/)
- [S. Matthew Liao's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/s-matthew-liaos-posts/)
- [Rafaela Hillerbrand's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/rafaela-hillerbrands-posts/)
- [Peter Taylor's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/peter-taylors-posts/)
- [Pedro Perez's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/pedro-perezs-posts/)
- [Clinical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/clinical-ethics/)
- [Politics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/politics/)
- [Moral Enhancement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/neuroethics/moral-enhancement-neuroethics/)
- [Regina Rini's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/regina-rinis-posts/)
- [Announcements](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/announcements/)
- [punishment](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/punishment/)
- [Podcasts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/)
- [Crime](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/crime-2/)
- [Jonny Pugh's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/jonny-pughs-posts/)
- [Nadira Faber's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/nadirafaberposts/)
- [Stuart Armstrong's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/stuartarmstrongposts/)
- [Kei Hiruta's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/keihirutaposts/)
- [Political Philosophy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/political-philosophy-2/)
- [Circumcision](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/circumcision-2/)
- [Brian D. Earp's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/brian-d-earps-posts/)
- [Kate Hicks' Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/kate-hicks-posts/)
- [Christian Brown's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/christian-browns-posts/)
- [Paula Boddington's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/paula-boddingtons-posts/)
- [Luke Davies' Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/luke-davies-posts/)
- [Anke Snoek's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/anke-snoeks-posts/)
- [Joshua Shepherd's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/joshua-shepherds-posts-2/)
- [Journal of Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/journal-of-practical-ethics/)
- [Jim Everett's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/jim-everetts-posts/)
- [Anders Herlitz's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/anders-herlitzs-posts/)
- [Andreas Kappes's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/andreas-kappess-posts/)
- [Gulzaar Barn's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/gulzaar-barns-posts/)
- [Lauren Nunes' posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/lauren-nunes-posts/)
- [Chris Chew's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/chris-chews-posts/)
- [By Daniel K Sokol and Aidan O'Donnell](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/by-daniel-k-sokol-and-aidan-odonnell/)
- [Johanna Ahola-Launonen's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/johanna-ahola-launonens-posts/)
- [Guest Post](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/guest-post/)
- [End of life decisions](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/end-of-life-decisions/)
- [Animal Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/animal-ethics-2/)
- [Theron Pummer's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/theron-pummers-posts/)
- [Carissa Veliz's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/carissa-velizs-posts/)
- [Hannah Maslen's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/hannah-maslens-posts/)
- [Owen Schaefer's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/owen-schaefers-posts/)
- [Will Isdale's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/will-isdales-posts/)
- [Joseph Bowen's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/joseph-bowens-posts/)
- [Catia Faria's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/catia-farias-posts/)
- [Will Davies' Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/will-davies-posts/)
- [Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/oxford-uehiro-prize-in-practical-ethics/)
- [Ulturism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/ulturism/)
- [Walter Sinnott-Armstrong's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/walter-sinnott-armstrongs-posts/)
- [Peter Singer's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/peter-singers-posts/)
- [Darlei Dall'Agnoll's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/darlei-dallagnolls-posts/)
- [Daniel D'Hotman De Villiers' Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/daniel-dhotman-de-villiers-posts/)
- [Cecile Fabre's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/cecile-fabres-posts/)
- [Jeff McMahan's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/jeff-mcmahans-posts/)
- [Allen Buchanan's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/allen-buchanans-posts/)
- [Seth Lazar's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/seth-lazars-posts/)
- [Tony Coady's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tony-coadys-posts/)
- [Christopher Gyngell's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/christopher-gyngells-posts/)
- [David Aldridge's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/david-aldridges-posts/)
- [Constantin Vica's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/constantin-vicas-posts/)
- [James Williams' Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/james-williams-posts/)
- [Cross Post](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/cross-post/)
- [Dr Nicholas Shackel's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/dr-nicholas-shackels-posts/)
- [Loebel Lectures](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/loebel-lectures/)
- [Simon Beard's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/simon-beards-posts/)
- [Event Summary](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/event-summary/)
- [Youtube interview](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/youtube-interview/)
- [Katrien Devolder Interview](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/katrien-devolder-interview/)
- [Uehiro Lectures](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/uehiro-lectures/)
- [Albert Barque-Duran's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/albert-barque-durans-posts/)
- [Artificial Intelligence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/artificial-intelligence/)
- [Collective Responsibility](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/collective-responsibility/)
- [Video Series](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/video-series/)
- [Leverhulme Lecture](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/leverhulme-lecture/)
- [Response](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/response/)
- [Alberto Giubilini's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/alberto-giubilinis-posts/)
- [Aeon Magazine Articles](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/aeon-magazine-articles/)
- [The Conversation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/the-conversation/)
- [Rebecca Brown's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/rebecca-browns-posts/)
- [Michael Robillard's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/michael-robillards-posts/)
- [Stephen Rainey's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/stephen-raineys-posts/)
- [Audio Files](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/audio-files/)
- [Adam Shriver's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/adam-shrivers-posts/)
- [Emily Feng-Gu's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/emily-feng-gus-posts/)
- [Hazem Zohny's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/hazem-zohnys-posts/)
- [Doug McConnell's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/doug-mcconnells-posts/)
- [Tena Thau's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tena-thaus-posts/)
- [Gabriel De Marco's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/gabriel-de-marcos-posts/)
- [César Palacios-González's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/cesar-palacios-gonzalezs-posts/)
- [Press Statements](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/press-statements/)
- [Tess Johnson's Post](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tess-johnsons-post/)
- [Public Engagement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/public-engagement/)
- [Festival of Arguments](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/festival-of-arguments/)
- [Lisa Forsberg's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/lisa-forsbergs-posts/)
- [Amna Whiston's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/amna-whistons-posts/)
- [Max Kiener's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/max-kieners-posts/)
- [David Lyreskog's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/david-lyreskogs-posts/)
- [Mette Hoeeg's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/mette-hoeegs-posts/)
- [Muriel Leuenberger's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/muriel-leuenbergers-posts/)
- [Media](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/media/)
- [Joseph Moore's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/joseph-moores-posts/)
- [Expanding Autonomy Project](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/expanding-autonomy-project/)
- [Annual Oxford Uehiro Lecture](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/annual-oxford-uehiro-lecture/)
- [Ethox-Uehiro Lecture](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/ethox-uehiro-lecture/)
- [MSt Student Post](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/mst-student-post/)
- [Daniel Villiger's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/daniel-villigers-posts/)
- [Uehiro Oxford Institute](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/uehiro-oxford-institute/)
- [population ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/population-ethics/)
- [Parfit Memorial Lecture](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/parfit-memorial-lecture/)
- [DARCA](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/darca/)
- [FGM](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/fgm/)
- [Nudging](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/nudging/)
- [Manipulation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/manipulation/)
- [Open Access](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/open-access/)

## Tags

- [ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ethics-2/)
- [DIY surgery](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/diy-surgery/)
- [biohacking](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/biohacking/)
- [morphological freedom](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/morphological-freedom/)
- [Lepht Anonym](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/lepht-anonym/)
- [surgery](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/surgery/)
- [self harm](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/self-harm/)
- [DIY](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/diy/)
- [trepanation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/trepanation/)
- [sex selection](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sex-selection/)
- [australia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/australia/)
- [IVF](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ivf/)
- [medical law](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/medical-law/)
- [genetic selection](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/genetic-selection/)
- [eugenics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/eugenics/)
- [procreative beneficence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/procreative-beneficence/)
- [enhancement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/enhancement-2/)
- [germany](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/germany/)
- [Dioxin](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dioxin/)
- [Food](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/food/)
- [embryos](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/embryos/)
- [right to life](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/right-to-life/)
- [abortion](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/abortion-2/)
- [Rape](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/rape/)
- [Autonomy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/autonomy/)
- [Forgiveness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/forgiveness/)
- [Sovereignty](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sovereignty/)
- [gamification](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/gamification/)
- [games](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/games-2/)
- [incentives](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/incentives/)
- [reasons](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/reasons/)
- [publication ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/publication-ethics/)
- [chronic fatigue](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/chronic-fatigue/)
- [homeopathy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/homeopathy/)
- [environment](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/environment/)
- [fishing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/fishing/)
- [animal ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/animal-ethics/)
- [supermarkets](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/supermarkets/)
- [Bowlderization](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bowlderization/)
- [Sventon](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sventon/)
- [Huckleberry Finn](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/huckleberry-finn/)
- [books](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/books-2/)
- [children](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/children/)
- [textual integrity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/textual-integrity/)
- [racism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/racism/)
- [intolerance](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/intolerance/)
- [pseudoscience](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pseudoscience/)
- [woo](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/woo/)
- [tolerance](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/tolerance/)
- [Beddington](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/beddington/)
- [epistemology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/epistemology/)
- [future generations](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/future-generations/)
- [milk](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/milk/)
- [ice cream](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ice-cream/)
- [human milk](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/human-milk/)
- [icecreamists](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/icecreamists/)
- [harm principle](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/harm-principle/)
- [yuck factor](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/yuck-factor/)
- [mother's milk](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mothers-milk/)
- [food ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/food-ethics/)
- [moral enhancement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/moral-enhancement/)
- [fukushima](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/fukushima/)
- [chernobyl](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/chernobyl/)
- [nuclear incidents](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nuclear-incidents/)
- [sendai earthquake](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sendai-earthquake/)
- [open society](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/open-society/)
- [transparency](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/transparency/)
- [media](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/media/)
- [dignity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dignity/)
- [research ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/research-ethics-2/)
- [medical ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/medical-ethics-2/)
- [Agledahl](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/agledahl/)
- [Forde](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/forde/)
- [Wifstad](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/wifstad/)
- [placebo](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/placebo/)
- [clinical ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/clinical-ethics-2/)
- [supererogation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/supererogation/)
- [duty](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/duty/)
- [Christian ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/christian-ethics/)
- [screening](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/screening/)
- [preconception screening](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/preconception-screening/)
- [carriers](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/carriers/)
- [antenatal](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/antenatal/)
- [human genetics commission](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/human-genetics-commission/)
- [choice](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/choice/)
- [uk](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/uk/)
- [intergenerational](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/intergenerational/)
- [Nicolas Espinoza](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nicolas-espinoza/)
- [Martin Peterson](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/martin-peterson/)
- [climate](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/climate/)
- [astronomical waste](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/astronomical-waste/)
- [non-identity problem](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/non-identity-problem/)
- [catastrophe](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/catastrophe/)
- [end of world](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/end-of-world/)
- [sentience](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sentience/)
- [value theory](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/value-theory/)
- [discontinuity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/discontinuity/)
- [royal wedding](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/royal-wedding/)
- [Prince William](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/prince-william/)
- [Kate Middleton](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/kate-middleton/)
- [heir](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/heir/)
- [reproduction](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/reproduction/)
- [royal line](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/royal-line/)
- [evidence based medicine](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/evidence-based-medicine/)
- [advertising](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/advertising/)
- [nudge](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nudge/)
- [deterrence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/deterrence/)
- [skipping](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/skipping/)
- [dump diving](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dump-diving/)
- [smoking](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/smoking/)
- [behaviour](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/behaviour/)
- [media ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/media-ethics/)
- [public discourse](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/public-discourse/)
- [sexual ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sexual-ethics/)
- [Dominique Strauss-Kahn](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dominique-strauss-kahn/)
- [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/arnold-schwarzenegger/)
- [interviews](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/interviews/)
- [announcements](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/announcements-2/)
- [bio-ethics bites](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bio-ethics-bites/)
- [care homes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/care-homes/)
- [vulnerable people](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/vulnerable-people/)
- [abuse](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/abuse/)
- [Paul Troop's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/paul-troops-posts/)
- [euthanasia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/euthanasia/)
- [alzheimer's disease](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/alzheimers-disease/)
- [bees](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bees/)
- [emotions](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/emotions/)
- [honeybees](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/honeybees/)
- [Current Biology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/current-biology/)
- [Melissa Bateson](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/melissa-bateson/)
- [Jeri Wright](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/jeri-wright/)
- [cognitive states](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cognitive-states/)
- [pessimistic](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pessimistic/)
- [pessimism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pessimism/)
- [cognition](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cognition/)
- [animal](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/animal/)
- [species](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/species/)
- [evolution](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/evolution/)
- [Sam Harris](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sam-harris/)
- [Peter Singer](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/peter-singer/)
- [Pavlov](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pavlov/)
- [feelings](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/feelings/)
- [happiness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/happiness/)
- [qualia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/qualia/)
- [Newcastle University](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/newcastle-university/)
- [pain](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pain/)
- [harm](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/harm/)
- [suffering](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/suffering/)
- [eyes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/eyes/)
- [privacy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/privacy/)
- [moral condemnation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/moral-condemnation/)
- [surveillance](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/surveillance/)
- [Archbishop Timothy Dolan](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/archbishop-timothy-dolan/)
- [human dignity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/human-dignity/)
- [FDA](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/fda/)
- [smoker](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/smoker/)
- [cigarette](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cigarette/)
- [cigarettes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cigarettes/)
- [warning](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/warning/)
- [warning labels](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/warning-labels/)
- [labels](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/labels/)
- [packaging](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/packaging/)
- [reactance](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/reactance/)
- [backfire](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/backfire/)
- [ironic](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ironic/)
- [no-smoking signs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/no-smoking-signs/)
- [pink elephant](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pink-elephant/)
- [wear out](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/wear-out/)
- [video games](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/video-games/)
- [Supreme Court](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/supreme-court/)
- [torture](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/torture/)
- [violence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/violence/)
- [ban](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ban/)
- [doping](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/doping/)
- [sports](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sports-2/)
- [beets](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/beets/)
- [nitrate](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nitrate/)
- [nitrite](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nitrite/)
- [cycling](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cycling/)
- [performance enhancement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/performance-enhancement/)
- [etiquette](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/etiquette/)
- [Carolyn Bourne](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/carolyn-bourne/)
- [Heidi Withers](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/heidi-withers/)
- [morality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/morality/)
- [R.M. Hare](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/r-m-hare/)
- [progressive neuroethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/progressive-neuroethics/)
- [Transport. seat-belts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/transport-seat-belts/)
- [government](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/government/)
- [Dublin Bike](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dublin-bike/)
- [Barclay's cycle hire](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/barclays-cycle-hire/)
- [Boris Bikes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/boris-bikes/)
- [responsibility](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/responsibility/)
- [safety](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/safety/)
- [helmets](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/helmets/)
- [traumatic brain injury](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/traumatic-brain-injury/)
- [road safety](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/road-safety/)
- [Internet](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/internet/)
- [Security](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/security/)
- [consequentialism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/consequentialism/)
- [Superman](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/superman/)
- [sverigedemokraterna](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sverigedemokraterna/)
- [massacre](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/massacre/)
- [terrorism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/terrorism/)
- [xenophobia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/xenophobia/)
- [Breivik](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/breivik/)
- [Norway](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/norway/)
- [social psychology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/social-psychology/)
- [bias](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bias/)
- [in-group](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/in-group/)
- [out-group](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/out-group/)
- [genetics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/genetics-2/)
- [Equality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/equality/)
- [Priority](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/priority/)
- [Justice](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/justice/)
- [Rights](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/rights/)
- [nymwars](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nymwars/)
- [google+](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/google/)
- [identity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/identity/)
- [nyms](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nyms/)
- [pseudonyms](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pseudonyms/)
- [anonymity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/anonymity/)
- [identity metasystem](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/identity-metasystem/)
- [integrity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/integrity/)
- [name](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/name/)
- [facebook](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/facebook/)
- [circumcision](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/circumcision/)
- [San Francisco](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/san-francisco/)
- [California](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/california/)
- [mutilation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mutilation/)
- [genital](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/genital/)
- [penis](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/penis/)
- [newborn](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/newborn/)
- [intactivist](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/intactivist/)
- [ballot initiative](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ballot-initiative/)
- [medical](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/medical/)
- [religion](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/religion-2/)
- [culture](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/culture/)
- [human rights](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/human-rights/)
- [bioethical principles](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bioethical-principles/)
- [health](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/health-2/)
- [HIV](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/hiv/)
- [AIDS](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/aids/)
- [STDs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/stds/)
- [Daniel Halperin](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/daniel-halperin/)
- [foreskin](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/foreskin/)
- [survey](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/survey/)
- [the philosopher's arms](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/the-philosophers-arms/)
- [bbc](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bbc/)
- [plagiarism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/plagiarism/)
- [turnitin](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/turnitin/)
- [writecheck](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/writecheck/)
- [infringement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/infringement/)
- [virtue](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/virtue-2/)
- [language processing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/language-processing/)
- [education](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/education/)
- [saving lives](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/saving-lives/)
- [disasters](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/disasters/)
- [impartiality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/impartiality/)
- [utilitarianism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/utilitarianism/)
- [moral sentiments](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/moral-sentiments/)
- [Ron Paul](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ron-paul/)
- [heroin](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/heroin/)
- [marijuana](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/marijuana/)
- [legalization](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/legalization/)
- [addiction](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/addiction-2/)
- [liberty](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/liberty/)
- [libertarianism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/libertarianism/)
- [federalism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/federalism/)
- [Jon Stewart](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/jon-stewart/)
- [Ralph Steinman](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ralph-steinman/)
- [Nobel Prize](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nobel-prize/)
- [Stuart Armstrong's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/stuart-armstrongs-posts/)
- [objective morality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/objective-morality/)
- [subjective morality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/subjective-morality/)
- [meta-ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/meta-ethics/)
- [vegetarianism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/vegetarianism/)
- [farming](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/farming/)
- [non-human animals](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/non-human-animals/)
- [animal rights](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/animal-rights/)
- [jobs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/jobs/)
- [Gaddafi](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/gaddafi/)
- [Muammar Gaddafi](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/muammar-gaddafi/)
- [celebration](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/celebration/)
- [bloodshed](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bloodshed/)
- [death](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/death/)
- [assassination](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/assassination/)
- [wvs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/wvs/)
- [swb](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/swb/)
- [subjective wellbeing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/subjective-wellbeing/)
- [world values survey](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/world-values-survey/)
- [Harvey S. James](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/harvey-s-james/)
- [personality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/personality/)
- [AI](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ai/)
- [risk](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/risk/)
- [mitigation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mitigation/)
- [implementation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/implementation/)
- [model](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/model/)
- [censorship](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/censorship/)
- [SOPA](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sopa/)
- [PROTECT IP](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/protect-ip/)
- [accountability](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/accountability/)
- [law](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/law/)
- [Oxford council](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/oxford-council/)
- [taxis](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/taxis/)
- [cabs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cabs/)
- [information](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/information/)
- [power](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/power/)
- [PVS](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pvs/)
- [withdrawal life-sustaining treatment](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/withdrawal-life-sustaining-treatment/)
- [healthcare](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/healthcare/)
- [resource allocation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/resource-allocation/)
- [Bland](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bland/)
- [science](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/science-2/)
- [Dawkins](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dawkins/)
- [Richard Dawkins](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/richard-dawkins/)
- [philosophy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/philosophy/)
- [neuroscience](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/neuroscience/)
- [The Moral Landscape](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/the-moral-landscape/)
- [lying](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/lying/)
- [careers](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/careers/)
- [banking](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/banking/)
- [philanthropy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/philanthropy/)
- [charity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/charity/)
- [future](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/future/)
- [technology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/technology/)
- [water](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/water/)
- [energy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/energy/)
- [sustainable](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sustainable/)
- [ecology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ecology/)
- [London 2012](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/london-2012/)
- [olympics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/olympics/)
- [public expenditure](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/public-expenditure/)
- [dual use](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dual-use/)
- [research](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/research/)
- [H5N1](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/h5n1/)
- [existential risk](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/existential-risk/)
- [information hazard](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/information-hazard/)
- [influenza](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/influenza/)
- [Christmas](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/christmas/)
- [communitarianism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/communitarianism/)
- [Epicureanism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/epicureanism/)
- [is-ought gap](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/is-ought-gap/)
- [epidemiology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/epidemiology/)
- [pandemic](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pandemic/)
- [NSABB](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nsabb/)
- [oversight](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/oversight/)
- [pathogens](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pathogens/)
- [biotechnology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/biotechnology-2/)
- [institutional epistemology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/institutional-epistemology/)
- [evolutionary epistemology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/evolutionary-epistemology/)
- [gay marriage](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/gay-marriage/)
- [gay](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/gay/)
- [Rick Santorum](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/rick-santorum/)
- [polygamy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/polygamy/)
- [marriage rights](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/marriage-rights/)
- [marriage equality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/marriage-equality/)
- [New Hampshire](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/new-hampshire/)
- [GOP](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/gop/)
- [Republican](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/republican/)
- [presidential candidate](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/presidential-candidate/)
- [president](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/president/)
- [marriage](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/marriage/)
- [stuart_armstrong_posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/stuart_armstrong_posts/)
- [piercing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/piercing/)
- [tattoo](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/tattoo/)
- [tattooing foreskin](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/tattooing-foreskin/)
- [Georgia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/georgia/)
- [Gaquan Napier](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/gaquan-napier/)
- [Chuntera Napier](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/chuntera-napier/)
- [parental consent](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/parental-consent/)
- [homosexual](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/homosexual/)
- [Sex and the City](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sex-and-the-city/)
- [Cynthia Nixon](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cynthia-nixon/)
- [gay rights](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/gay-rights/)
- [sexual orientation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sexual-orientation/)
- [activist](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/activist/)
- [poverty](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/poverty/)
- [uncertainty](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/uncertainty/)
- [Alan Haworth's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/alan-haworths-posts/)
- [private schools](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/private-schools/)
- [school funding](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/school-funding/)
- [Gonski review](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/gonski-review/)
- [Australian schools](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/australian-schools/)
- [love](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/love/)
- [drugs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/drugs/)
- [neuroenhancement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/neuroenhancement/)
- [Savulescu](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/savulescu/)
- [Sandberg](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sandberg/)
- [divorce](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/divorce/)
- [voting](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/voting/)
- [electoral reform](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/electoral-reform/)
- [political philosophy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/political-philosophy/)
- [spying](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/spying/)
- [crime](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/crime/)
- [birth control](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/birth-control/)
- [Catholic](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/catholic/)
- [Catholic Church](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/catholic-church/)
- [priest](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/priest/)
- [sex](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sex/)
- [God](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/god/)
- [C. A. J. Coady](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/c-a-j-coady/)
- [hubris](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/hubris/)
- [doctorow](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/doctorow/)
- [transparent society](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/transparent-society/)
- [chilling effects](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/chilling-effects/)
- [self-censorship](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/self-censorship/)
- [terror](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/terror/)
- [Eric Holder](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/eric-holder/)
- [George Bush](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/george-bush/)
- [President Obama](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/president-obama/)
- [liberties](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/liberties/)
- [civil liberties](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/civil-liberties/)
- [constitution](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/constitution/)
- [war](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/war/)
- [war on drugs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/war-on-drugs/)
- [war on terror](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/war-on-terror/)
- [free speech](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/free-speech/)
- [social media](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/social-media/)
- [apple](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/apple/)
- [mac](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mac/)
- [iphone](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/iphone/)
- [ipad](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ipad/)
- [foxconn](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/foxconn/)
- [climate change](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/climate-change/)
- [human engineering](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/human-engineering/)
- [smaller children](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/smaller-children/)
- [S. Matthew Liao](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/s-matthew-liao/)
- [risks](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/risks/)
- [nuclear war](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nuclear-war/)
- [free will](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/free-will/)
- [Paul Bloom](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/paul-bloom/)
- [Dan Dennett](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dan-dennett/)
- [John Bargh](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/john-bargh/)
- [Brian Earp](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/brian-earp/)
- [Jerry Coyne](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/jerry-coyne/)
- [creationism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/creationism/)
- [psychology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/psychology/)
- [causation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/causation/)
- [conception](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/conception/)
- [sexual child abuse](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sexual-child-abuse/)
- [intentions](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/intentions/)
- [nhs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nhs/)
- [priority setting](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/priority-setting/)
- [Thaler and Sunstein](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/thaler-and-sunstein/)
- [nudge drugs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nudge-drugs/)
- [limits of healthcare](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/limits-of-healthcare/)
- [freedom](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/freedom/)
- [propranolol](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/propranolol/)
- [intoxication](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/intoxication/)
- [duty of care](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/duty-of-care/)
- [conscientious objection](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/conscientious-objection/)
- [antibiotics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/antibiotics/)
- [language](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/language/)
- [hen](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/hen/)
- [pronouns](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pronouns/)
- [sexism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sexism/)
- [neutrality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/neutrality/)
- [sweden](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sweden/)
- [nakedness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nakedness/)
- [individuality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/individuality/)
- [J.S. Mill](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/j-s-mill/)
- [experiments of living](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/experiments-of-living/)
- [change](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/change/)
- [sustainability](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sustainability/)
- [ageing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ageing-2/)
- [life extension](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/life-extension/)
- [reprotech](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/reprotech/)
- [sperm donation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sperm-donation/)
- [gamete donation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/gamete-donation/)
- [genetic conditions](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/genetic-conditions/)
- [sperm](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sperm/)
- [sperm banks](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sperm-banks/)
- [parenthood](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/parenthood/)
- [genetic fitness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/genetic-fitness/)
- [importance](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/importance/)
- [key moments](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/key-moments/)
- [space exploration](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/space-exploration/)
- [space](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/space/)
- [SpaceX](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/spacex/)
- [Africa](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/africa/)
- [epidemic](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/epidemic/)
- [transmission](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/transmission/)
- [condoms](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/condoms/)
- [clinical trials](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/clinical-trials/)
- [bad science](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bad-science/)
- [intention](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/intention/)
- [double effect](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/double-effect/)
- [Cardinal Newman](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cardinal-newman/)
- [WADA](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/wada/)
- [FIFA](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/fifa/)
- [soccer](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/soccer/)
- [football](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/football/)
- [cognitive enhancement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cognitive-enhancement/)
- [referee](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/referee/)
- [refereeing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/refereeing/)
- [Charles Camosy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/charles-camosy/)
- [Beyond Polarization](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/beyond-polarization/)
- [Ethical Theory](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ethical-theory/)
- [Common Ground](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/common-ground/)
- [infanticide](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/infanticide/)
- [race](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/race/)
- [census](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/census/)
- [teaching](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/teaching/)
- [pornography](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pornography/)
- [private life](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/private-life/)
- [professional role](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/professional-role/)
- [categorization](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/categorization/)
- [predictions](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/predictions/)
- [monarchy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/monarchy/)
- [jubilee](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/jubilee/)
- [obesity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/obesity/)
- [diversity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/diversity/)
- [politics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/politics-2/)
- [academia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/academia/)
- [neuroethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/neuroethics-2/)
- [love drugs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/love-drugs/)
- [ecstasy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ecstasy/)
- [MDMA](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mdma/)
- [relationships](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/relationships/)
- [Earp](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/earp/)
- [counseling](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/counseling/)
- [cyberwarfare](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cyberwarfare/)
- [just war theory](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/just-war-theory/)
- [computer ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/computer-ethics/)
- [belief](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/belief/)
- [heaven](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/heaven/)
- [hell](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/hell/)
- [Shariff](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/shariff/)
- [unmoral behaviour](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/unmoral-behaviour/)
- [minors](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/minors/)
- [German](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/german/)
- [Jewish](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/jewish/)
- [Judaism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/judaism/)
- [cutting](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cutting/)
- [moral](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/moral/)
- [Cologne](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cologne/)
- [ruling](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ruling/)
- [north carolina](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/north-carolina/)
- [extrapolation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/extrapolation/)
- [sea level](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sea-level/)
- [legislation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/legislation/)
- [female genital mutilation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/female-genital-mutilation/)
- [FGM](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/fgm/)
- [atheism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/atheism/)
- [religious freedom](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/religious-freedom/)
- [multiculturalism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/multiculturalism/)
- [Steve Mann](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/steve-mann/)
- [sousveilance](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sousveilance/)
- [McDonald's](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mcdonalds/)
- [documentary](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/documentary/)
- [cyborg](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cyborg/)
- [cameras](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cameras/)
- [dementia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dementia/)
- [personal identity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/personal-identity/)
- [authenticity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/authenticity/)
- [personhood](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/personhood/)
- [selfhood](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/selfhood/)
- [self](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/self/)
- [rationalism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/rationalism/)
- [trade-off](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/trade-off/)
- [gender segregation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/gender-segregation/)
- [professional sports](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/professional-sports/)
- [doctrine of double effect](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/doctrine-of-double-effect/)
- [civil rights](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/civil-rights/)
- [big data](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/big-data/)
- [data analytics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/data-analytics/)
- [machine learning](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/machine-learning/)
- [discrimination](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/discrimination/)
- [data](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/data/)
- [euthansia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/euthansia/)
- [voluntary](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/voluntary/)
- [Nicklinson](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nicklinson/)
- [High Court](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/high-court/)
- [Aarathi Prasad](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/aarathi-prasad/)
- [synthetic sperm](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/synthetic-sperm/)
- [virgin birth](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/virgin-birth/)
- [legitimate rape](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/legitimate-rape/)
- [Todd Akin](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/todd-akin/)
- [pregnancy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pregnancy/)
- [Lance Armstrong](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/lance-armstrong/)
- [Tour de France](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/tour-de-france/)
- [Drugs in Sport](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/drugs-in-sport/)
- [AAP](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/aap/)
- [evidence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/evidence/)
- [medicine](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/medicine/)
- [American Academy of Pediatrics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/american-academy-of-pediatrics/)
- [Pediatrics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pediatrics/)
- [benefit](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/benefit/)
- [doctors](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/doctors/)
- [HPV](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/hpv/)
- [Doctors Opposing Circumcision](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/doctors-opposing-circumcision/)
- [genital integrity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/genital-integrity/)
- [infants](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/infants/)
- [UTI](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/uti/)
- [urinary tract infections](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/urinary-tract-infections/)
- [policy statement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/policy-statement/)
- [Royal Dutch Medical Association](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/royal-dutch-medical-association/)
- [Canadian Pediatric Society](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/canadian-pediatric-society/)
- [randomized controlled trials](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/randomized-controlled-trials/)
- [progress](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/progress/)
- [liberalism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/liberalism/)
- [China](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/china/)
- [Japan](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/japan/)
- [South Korea](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/south-korea/)
- [East Asia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/east-asia/)
- [Europe](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/europe/)
- [universalism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/universalism/)
- [relativism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/relativism/)
- [Kei Hiruta's posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/kei-hirutas-posts/)
- [peer review](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/peer-review/)
- [Michael Rosen](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/michael-rosen/)
- [academic publishing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/academic-publishing/)
- [castration homosexuality misconduct cyprostat](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/castration-homosexuality-misconduct-cyprostat/)
- [collective cognition](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/collective-cognition/)
- [sciencem](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sciencem/)
- [spin](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/spin/)
- [hype](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/hype/)
- [science reporting](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/science-reporting/)
- [hillsborough](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/hillsborough/)
- [heysel](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/heysel/)
- [police](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/police/)
- [cognitive biases](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cognitive-biases/)
- [availability heuristic](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/availability-heuristic/)
- [imprisonment](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/imprisonment/)
- [public protection](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/public-protection/)
- [extended sentences](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/extended-sentences/)
- [legal system](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/legal-system/)
- [sentencing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sentencing/)
- [trial](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/trial/)
- [murder](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/murder/)
- [juveniles](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/juveniles/)
- [prioritisation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/prioritisation/)
- [decision-making](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/decision-making-2/)
- [Hall](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/hall/)
- [Johansson](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/johansson/)
- [Strandberg](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/strandberg/)
- [choice-blindness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/choice-blindness/)
- [attitude reversals](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/attitude-reversals/)
- [inchoate offences](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/inchoate-offences/)
- [dangerous driving](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dangerous-driving/)
- [homosexuality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/homosexuality/)
- [conversion therapy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/conversion-therapy/)
- [beneficence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/beneficence/)
- [consent](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/consent/)
- [mathematics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mathematics/)
- [rationality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/rationality/)
- [junk food](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/junk-food/)
- [injury](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/injury/)
- [Yamanaka](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/yamanaka/)
- [Gurdon](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/gurdon/)
- [Stem Cells](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/stem-cells/)
- [iPS](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ips/)
- [Bike helmets](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bike-helmets/)
- [Assisted Suicde](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/assisted-suicde/)
- [bodily harm](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bodily-harm/)
- [Kierkegaard](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/kierkegaard/)
- [Muslim](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/muslim/)
- [Rabbi](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/rabbi/)
- [Islam](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/islam/)
- [genital cutting](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/genital-cutting/)
- [bible](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bible/)
- [Hebrew](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/hebrew/)
- [cloning](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cloning-2/)
- [conjoined twins](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/conjoined-twins/)
- [clonism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/clonism/)
- [breastfeeding](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/breastfeeding/)
- [UNICEF](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/unicef/)
- [Sean OHeigeartaigh's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sean-oheigeartaighs-posts/)
- [Camosy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/camosy/)
- [earthquakes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/earthquakes/)
- [best interests](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/best-interests/)
- [informed consent](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/informed-consent/)
- [Patient L](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/patient-l/)
- [Sex education](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sex-education/)
- [artificial intelligence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/artificial-intelligence/)
- [prediction](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/prediction/)
- [LGBT](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/lgbt/)
- [Jacques Rousseau](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/jacques-rousseau/)
- [Simon LeVay](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/simon-levay/)
- [AMERICAblog](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/americablog/)
- [John Aravosis](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/john-aravosis/)
- [science of sexuality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/science-of-sexuality/)
- [doping in sports](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/doping-in-sports/)
- [synthetic biology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/synthetic-biology-2/)
- [biowarfare](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/biowarfare/)
- [disposition matrix](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/disposition-matrix/)
- [biometrics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/biometrics/)
- [stuxnet](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/stuxnet/)
- [flame](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/flame/)
- [EMP](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/emp/)
- [drones](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/drones/)
- [health reporting](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/health-reporting/)
- [journalism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/journalism/)
- [anti-love](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/anti-love/)
- [incest](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/incest/)
- [cults](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cults/)
- [child labour](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/child-labour/)
- [work](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/work/)
- [boycott](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/boycott/)
- [Feminism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/feminism/)
- [Women's Health](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/womens-health/)
- [Ireland's Abortion Policy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/irelands-abortion-policy/)
- [Savita Halappanavar](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/savita-halappanavar/)
- [John Stuart Mill](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/john-stuart-mill/)
- [suffrage](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/suffrage/)
- [women's rights](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/womens-rights/)
- [Uehiro Lecture](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/uehiro-lecture/)
- [Golden Rule](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/golden-rule/)
- [Binta Jobe](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/binta-jobe/)
- [deportation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/deportation/)
- [asylum seekers](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/asylum-seekers/)
- [dyslexia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dyslexia/)
- [disability](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/disability/)
- [moral duty](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/moral-duty/)
- [Kant](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/kant/)
- [Aristotle](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/aristotle/)
- [Ritalin](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ritalin/)
- [methylphenidate](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/methylphenidate/)
- [ADHD](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/adhd/)
- [attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/)
- [criminality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/criminality/)
- [crime prevention](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/crime-prevention/)
- [Measure B](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/measure-b/)
- [Los Angeles](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/los-angeles/)
- [Election](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/election/)
- [ideas](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ideas/)
- [moral progress](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/moral-progress/)
- [Arab Spring](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/arab-spring/)
- [professional philanthropy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/professional-philanthropy/)
- [public deliberation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/public-deliberation/)
- [Radcliffe Richards](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/radcliffe-richards/)
- [Mill](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mill/)
- [psychopaths](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/psychopaths/)
- [antisocial](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/antisocial/)
- [cambridge](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cambridge/)
- [silliness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/silliness/)
- [cognitive bias](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cognitive-bias/)
- [heuristics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/heuristics/)
- [cosmetic surgery](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cosmetic-surgery/)
- [Brown](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/brown/)
- [Maintenance](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/maintenance/)
- [Ethics and Technology](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ethics-and-technology/)
- [Infrastructure](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/infrastructure/)
- [fredrik saker](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/fredrik-saker/)
- [art](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/art/)
- [aesthetics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/aesthetics/)
- [driving licence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/driving-licence/)
- [passport](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/passport/)
- [photograph](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/photograph/)
- [painting](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/painting/)
- [Turing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/turing/)
- [pardon](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pardon/)
- [clemency](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/clemency/)
- [restitution](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/restitution/)
- [prank calls](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/prank-calls/)
- [moral luck](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/moral-luck/)
- [nature of morality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nature-of-morality/)
- [Saldanha](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/saldanha/)
- [breast screening](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/breast-screening/)
- [Bolam](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bolam/)
- [Sidaway](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sidaway/)
- [Brain-computer interface](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/brain-computer-interface/)
- [embodied agency](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/embodied-agency/)
- [Medical Exception](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/medical-exception/)
- [Criminal Law](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/criminal-law/)
- [Stalking Cat](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/stalking-cat/)
- [Body Modfication](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/body-modfication/)
- [mental health](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mental-health/)
- [guns](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/guns/)
- [Newtown](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/newtown/)
- [human nature](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/human-nature/)
- [Impulse control](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/impulse-control/)
- [taxes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/taxes/)
- [infidelity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/infidelity/)
- [advance directives](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/advance-directives/)
- [promises](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/promises/)
- [Javier Marías](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/javier-marias/)
- [A Heart so White](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/a-heart-so-white/)
- [Money](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/money/)
- [Request](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/request/)
- [Persuasion](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/persuasion/)
- [Explanation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/explanation/)
- [Reason](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/reason/)
- [MPs' salaries](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mps-salaries/)
- [parliament](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/parliament/)
- [pay](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pay/)
- [desert](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/desert/)
- [cognitive impairment](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cognitive-impairment/)
- [lead](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/lead/)
- [anthropomorphising](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/anthropomorphising/)
- [remorse; moral emotions; personal identity; memory](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/remorse-moral-emotions-personal-identity-memory/)
- [thought](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/thought/)
- [conformity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/conformity/)
- [snow](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/snow/)
- [paedophilia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/paedophilia/)
- [pedophilia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/pedophilia/)
- [Higher education](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/higher-education/)
- [fairness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/fairness/)
- [financial guarantees](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/financial-guarantees/)
- [bird flu](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bird-flu/)
- [sleep deprivation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sleep-deprivation/)
- [EU](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/eu/)
- [decisionmaking](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/decisionmaking/)
- [meetings](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/meetings/)
- [summits](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/summits/)
- [alcohol](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/alcohol/)
- [killing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/killing/)
- [just war](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/just-war/)
- [double stadard](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/double-stadard/)
- [ethics of war](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ethics-of-war/)
- [proportionality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/proportionality/)
- [killing in war](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/killing-in-war/)
- [international law](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/international-law/)
- [Jeff McMahan](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/jeff-mcmahan/)
- [Astor Lecture](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/astor-lecture/)
- [lesser aggressors](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/lesser-aggressors/)
- [rights of self-defence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/rights-of-self-defence/)
- [asteroids](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/asteroids/)
- [impactors](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/impactors/)
- [NEOs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/neos/)
- [2012 DA14](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/2012-da14/)
- [Chelyabinsk](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/chelyabinsk/)
- [password security](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/password-security/)
- [Twitter](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/twitter/)
- [Burger King](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/burger-king/)
- [Jeep](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/jeep/)
- [online security](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/online-security/)
- [decision making](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/decision-making-3/)
- [biases](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/biases/)
- [memory](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/memory/)
- [international](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/international/)
- [one world government](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/one-world-government/)
- [uniformity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/uniformity/)
- [dominance](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dominance/)
- [Brain Activity Map](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/brain-activity-map/)
- [self-understanding](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/self-understanding/)
- [humility](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/humility/)
- [ethical careers](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ethical-careers/)
- [gay conversion therapy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/gay-conversion-therapy/)
- [mike davidson](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mike-davidson/)
- [core issues trust](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/core-issues-trust/)
- [stonewall](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/stonewall/)
- [bus adverts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bus-adverts/)
- [homophobia](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/homophobia/)
- [imagination](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/imagination/)
- [fantasy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/fantasy/)
- [Gilberto Valle](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/gilberto-valle/)
- [serial killer](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/serial-killer/)
- [intent](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/intent/)
- [Native Americans](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/native-americans/)
- [Stereotypes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/stereotypes/)
- [Ethnicity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ethnicity/)
- [name change](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/name-change/)
- [practical ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/practical-ethics/)
- [applied ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/applied-ethics/)
- [likes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/likes/)
- [Anthony Skelton's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/anthony-skeltons-posts/)
- [effective charity](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/effective-charity/)
- [Sean O hEigeartaigh's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sean-o-heigeartaighs-posts/)
- [Cultural Evolution](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cultural-evolution/)
- [Memes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/memes/)
- [Dangers](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dangers/)
- [journalism ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/journalism-ethics/)
- [Leveson](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/leveson/)
- [Phil Harding](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/phil-harding/)
- [After Leveson?](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/after-leveson/)
- [ethical training](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ethical-training/)
- [teaching ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/teaching-ethics/)
- [ag-gag](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/ag-gag/)
- [animals](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/animals/)
- [animal abuse](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/animal-abuse/)
- [animal torture](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/animal-torture/)
- [meat](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/meat/)
- [veganism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/veganism/)
- [slaughterhouse](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/slaughterhouse/)
- [CCTV](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cctv/)
- [strict liability; law](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/strict-liability-law/)
- [activism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/activism/)
- [laughtivism](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/laughtivism/)
- [satire](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/satire/)
- [social movement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/social-movement/)
- [democracy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/democracy/)
- [background checks](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/background-checks/)
- [popular opinion](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/popular-opinion/)
- [Moral beliefs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/moral-beliefs/)
- [Paracetamol](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/paracetamol/)
- [Anxiety](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/anxiety/)
- [Mortality Salience](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mortality-salience/)
- [Terror Management Theory](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/terror-management-theory/)
- [smart drones](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/smart-drones/)
- [smallest robot](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/smallest-robot/)
- [robot](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/robot/)
- [camera](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/camera/)
- [spying privacy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/spying-privacy/)
- [Brian Earp's Posts](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/brian-earps-posts/)
- [mental illness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mental-illness/)
- [depression](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/depression/)
- [exercise](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/exercise/)
- [controllability](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/controllability/)
- [mPFC](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mpfc/)
- [parenting](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/parenting/)
- [upbringing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/upbringing/)
- [market](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/market/)
- [conflict](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/conflict/)
- [Syria](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/syria/)
- [3D printing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/3d-printing/)
- [handgun](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/handgun/)
- [needlestick](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/needlestick/)
- [testing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/testing/)
- [Offensiveness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/offensiveness/)
- [suicide](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/suicide/)
- [poisoning](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/poisoning/)
- [abjecthood](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/abjecthood/)
- [Sri Lanka](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/sri-lanka/)
- [anthropology and ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/anthropology-and-ethics/)
- [precariousness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/precariousness/)
- [bioethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bioethics-2/)
- [theoretical philosophy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/theoretical-philosophy/)
- [Journal of Medical Ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/journal-of-medical-ethics/)
- [Svoboda](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/svoboda/)
- [cultural bias](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cultural-bias/)
- [robots](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/robots/)
- [UN](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/un/)
- [Christof Heyns](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/christof-heyns/)
- [military](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/military/)
- [dogs](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dogs/)
- [military ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/military-ethics/)
- [moral proxies](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/moral-proxies/)
- [moral agents](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/moral-agents/)
- [Kakavas](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/kakavas/)
- [casino](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/casino/)
- [gambling](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/gambling/)
- [implicit racial bias; discrimination; virtual reality](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/implicit-racial-bias-discrimination-virtual-reality/)
- [fatherhood](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/fatherhood/)
- [Laurie Shrage](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/laurie-shrage/)
- [obligations](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/obligations/)
- [action](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/action/)
- [attention](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/attention/)
- [neurolaw](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/neurolaw/)
- [Dicey Jennings](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dicey-jennings/)
- [problem of other minds](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/problem-of-other-minds/)
- [consciousness](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/consciousness/)
- [finance](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/finance/)
- [23andme](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/23andme/)
- [direct consumer genetic testing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/direct-consumer-genetic-testing/)
- [genetic testing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/genetic-testing/)
- [illegitimacy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/illegitimacy/)
- [genealogy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/genealogy/)
- [databases](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/databases/)
- [Madeleine McCann](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/madeleine-mccann/)
- [child abduction](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/child-abduction/)
- [virtue ethics](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/virtue-ethics/)
- [nation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nation/)
- [national curriculum](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/national-curriculum/)
- [Gove](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/gove/)
- [property](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/property/)
- [family](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/family/)
- [parents](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/parents/)
- [genetic manipulation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/genetic-manipulation/)
- [MP](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mp/)
- [deception](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/deception/)
- [CPR](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cpr/)
- [life-sustaining treatment](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/life-sustaining-treatment/)
- [mechanical ventilation](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mechanical-ventilation/)
- [david cameron](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/david-cameron/)
- [desire](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/desire/)
- [furries](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/furries/)
- [infrastructure of desire](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/infrastructure-of-desire/)
- [cultural capital](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/cultural-capital/)
- [bullshit](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/bullshit/)
- [NSA](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/nsa/)
- [trust](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/trust/)
- [Magdelena Luczak](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/magdelena-luczak/)
- [Mariusz Krezolek](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mariusz-krezolek/)
- [Daniel Pelka](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/daniel-pelka/)
- [child abuse](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/child-abuse/)
- [life sentence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/life-sentence/)
- [death sentence](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/death-sentence/)
- [time](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/time/)
- [lifespan enhancement](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/lifespan-enhancement/)
- [mind uploading](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/mind-uploading/)
- [dangerous dogs act 1991](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dangerous-dogs-act-1991/)
- [Jane Austen](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/jane-austen/)
- [property rights](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/property-rights/)
- [export](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/export/)
- [national identiy](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/national-identiy/)
- [dying](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/dying/)
- [end of life care](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/end-of-life-care/)
- [Millennials](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/millennials/)
- [open access](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/open-access/)
- [Research Gate](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/research-gate/)
- [Academia.edu](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/academia-edu/)
- [New Scientist](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/new-scientist/)
- [publishing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/publishing/)
- [open access publishing](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/open-access-publishing/)
- [science communication](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/science-communication/)
- [subscriptions](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/subscriptions/)
- [Chemical weapons](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/chemical-weapons/)
- [war crimes](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/war-crimes/)
- [Geneva Protocol](https://blog.uehiro.ox.ac.uk/tag/geneva-protocol/)