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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
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The unbearable asymmetry of bullshit
By Brian D. Earp (@briandavidearp) Introduction Science and medicine have done a lot for the world. Diseases have been eradicated, rockets have been sent to the moon, and convincing, causal explanations have been given for a whole range of formerly inscrutable phenomena. Notwithstanding recent concerns about sloppy research, small sample sizes, and challenges in replicating major
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Video Series: Walter Sinnott-Armstrong on Group Responsibility
Professor Walter Sinnott-Armstrong (Duke University and Oxford Martin Visiting Fellow) argues that a group can be responsible for its actions even if no individual from within that group is responsible for those actions.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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Why edited embryos won’t 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