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Killing With Drones, Proportionality, and Trolley Problems
Reports of killing by drones are increasing. Initially they were exceptional, now they are commonplace. Every few weeks there is a report of another killing, invariably by the US, in some far off country. With the rapid pace of technological development, the investment being made into more and more autonomous systems, and little sign of
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On the summary execution of murderous tyrants and the good of a timely accounting.
Despite my dislike of capital punishment I find it hard to object to the summary execution of murderous tyrants such as Gaddafi. A short period of terror followed by a swift ignominious death is much less than they deserve. What they deserve are the torments of hell. Nor is the absence of a trial an
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Overpopulation or Underpopulation
This year will see the world’s population reach 7 billion, and there is considerable media interest (e.g. six articles on it in today’s Guardian). However, almost all of the press focuses on the downsides of population growth but neglects the upsides. These upsides may even outweigh the downsides, making a larger population a good thing
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Ban on ES Cell Patents Deeply Immoral
Procedures that involve human embryonic stem cells cannot be patented, the European Court of Justice recently declared. Apparently on the basis that patents “would be contrary to ethics and public policy” “The decision from the European court of justice is a legal clarification for a court case brought by Greenpeace against a German scientist, Oliver
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Gaddafi is dead—but don’t cheer
By Brian Earp Gaddafi is dead. Dragged from a concrete drain pipe, the loathed Libyan dictator—crying, according to reports, “Don’t shoot!”—was executed by rebel soldiers today before a baying crowd. His bloody corpse, manhandled, paraded, and filling up cell phone video frames, now stars in newsy apparitions across the internet. So cue the celebrations. Bloomberg
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My son’s dyslexic, and I’m glad
By Charles Foster My son is dyslexic, and I’m glad. Most people think that I am deranged or callous. But I have two related reasons, both of which seem to me to be good. The first is that his dyslexia is an inextricable part of him. I can’t say: ‘This is the pathological bit, which
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Has Violence Declined? John Gray on Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker, the well-known Harvard evolutionary psychologist, has a new book just out, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence has Declined, published by Viking. The claim which Pinker defends, that violence is declining and has declined over the course of human history will come as a surprise to many readers who are used
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JOB: postdoc in law for the “Enhancing Responsibility” project- TU Delft and University of Oxford
**Deadline: 31 October 2011** Applicants are sought for a law postdoc position of 2.5 year duration to work on the international interdisciplinary research project “Enhancing Responsibility: the effects of cognitive enhancement on moral and legal responsibility” funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). A brief description of this project’s aims and inter-disciplinary approach
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Meat is Murder?
Katherine Viner of the Guardian has just chosen The Smiths’ Meat is Murder as her favourite album. The album came out in 1985, in the middle of a decade in which I myself was an enthusiastic advocate of vegetarianism. I began by being swayed by the arguments of Stephen Clark, but it was the horrible
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Settling the Final Reckoning for Organ Donors
In the news this week, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics suggests that the NHS should test the idea of paying for the funerals of organ donors who have previously signed the organ donor register, in order to try to encourage more of the public to sign up. When I was asked to write about this