Philosophy & Ethics

Are The Ethics Of Informed Consent Different When It Comes To Minorities?

Remarkable improvements in the quality of life, prevention and treatment of disease have been made possible through advancements in biomedical research, including clinical trials involving human subjects. ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 6 2013 - 10:00am

Debate: Mandatory Flu Vaccinations For Health Care Workers

When the Supreme Court was debating the legal foundation of the Affordable Care Act in the United States, Justice Antonin Scalia challenged the Obama administration claim that the controversial individual mandate provision was Constitutionally legitimate, ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 14 2013 - 1:58pm

Liverpool Care Pathway: A Flawed Death Plan Or A Scapegoat?

After a series of media stories about the Liverpool Care Pathway being systematic malnutrition, dehydration and premature death in patients across a wide age-range, it was subjected to review by a panel which delivered their findings on 15 July 2013 sayin ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 17 2013 - 8:30am

A Deadly Proof Is Published But Is Your Mind Stable Enough To Read It?

“Should I kill myself? May the artificial intelligence (AI), which humankind will depend on, ponder such questions, decide rationally, and drag us with it in a mercy killing?” ...

Article - Sascha Vongehr - Dec 21 2013 - 12:45pm

The Pseudoscience Black Hole

As I’ve mentioned on other occasions, my most recent effort in philosophy of science actually concerns what my collaborator Maarten Boudry and I call the philosophy of pseudoscience. During a recent discussion we had with some of the contributors to our bo ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Dec 23 2013 - 5:52pm

The Dark Side Of The Enlightenment

People who identify with the various versions of the skeptic / atheist / rationalist / freethinking movement(s) hold up the Enlightenment, the famous “Age of Reason,” to be the pinnacle of human civilization, as well as a model for future progress. ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Dec 30 2013 - 7:00am

Is There Such A Thing As Moral Expertise?

Is there such a thing as moral expertise? Good question, right? I’ve been thinking more about it for a few weeks now as a result of an interesting talk by Gopal Sreenivasan (Duke University) entitled “Moral expertise and the proto-authority of affect,” whi ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Jan 6 2014 - 6:30am

Medical Students Still Concerned About Desensitization To Dying Patients

The imminent death of a family member is riddled with emotions for family family members. The reasons are obvious.  But it's not just them.  ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 31 2013 - 2:23pm

Aitzaz, 14 Years, Hero

The 14 year old kid in the picture on the right was named Aitzaz Hasan Bangash. His name is a difficult one to remember for westerners, but that is a pity, because he ended his life as a true hero. Last Monday Aitzaz was lingering out of school with two fr ...

Blog Post - Tommaso Dorigo - Jan 10 2014 - 6:01am

Post-Affirmative Action: Racism Occurs Less Often In College Admissions

For decades, some minority students (blacks, Latinos, native Americans) were given preferential treatment in college admissions while other minorities (Asians) were penalized. This posed a legal and cultural dilemma. Stipulating that recruitment must occu ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 13 2014 - 7:04pm