Philosophy & Ethics

People Who Don't Subscribe To Moral Relativism Support Harsher Criminal Punishments

Our belief in evil influences our feelings about capital punishment, according to Donald Saucier, associate professor of psychology at Kansas State University and Russell Webster at St. Mary's College of Maryland. They drew their conclusion after abo ...

Article - News Staff - May 20 2015 - 10:43am

Blue Buffalo Admits Its Pet Food Contains The Poultry Byproduct It Ridicules In Competitors

If you have been purchasing Blue Buffalo pet food based on its rather suspicious claims about being "byproduct free", well, that is the power of marketing, no different than organic- and gluten-free manufacturers have created a similar health hal ...

Article - News Staff - May 19 2015 - 8:00am

The Real Ghost Of Kubrick's Version Of "The Shining"- Franz Kafka

I have a wife, three children, three dogs, seven cats. I’m not a Franz Kafka, sitting alone and suffering. So wrote Stanley Kubrick in 1972. And indeed, Kafka and Kubrick may not seem to have a whole lot in common. Kafka is Czech, Kubrick American. ...

Article - The Conversation - May 30 2015 - 10:00am

Public Universities Shouldn't Be Making Political Donations

It was recently revealed that the University of Wollongong has spent around A$20,000 over the past five years on lunches and dinners with politicians, including several fundraising events for the Liberal Party. Usually only one person attended these funct ...

Article - The Conversation - Jun 3 2015 - 11:00am

Disabled People Pay For Sex Too: What Happens When Buying It Is Criminalized But Selling Isn't?

Northern Ireland recently changed the law to criminalize the act of paying for sex. This follows a trend set in Sweden, where selling sex is legal but buying it is criminalized. ...

Article - The Conversation - Jun 11 2015 - 11:30am

Sometimes Arguments Are Not Just “Semantics”

I’m a philosopher, working in logic and related issues. This means that I spend a lot of my time working with words and arguments. And sometimes, when I’m not feeling so good about things, it can seem like it doesn’t matter, that it’s all just words. Argu ...

Article - The Conversation - Jun 14 2015 - 8:00am

Reflexes of the Quantum Realities

In this short note physiological terms of unconditioned and conditioned reflexes are suggested for description of the sensitive active reflexive feature of quantum reality related to the impact of observational device. Those new in quantum physics terms in ...

Blog Post - Emmanuel Lipmanov - Jun 19 2015 - 8:20pm

Ethics Complaint Brought Against NY Forensic Science Commissioners

Keeping the Gate is the first to announce that an anonymous complaint addressed to the New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) has been made against famed O.J. Simpson defense attorneys Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, who are the cofounders of ...

Blog Post - John M. Collins - Jul 9 2015 - 9:35am

Atheism Peaks, While Spiritual Groups Move Toward Convergence

Globalized data shows hardliners on all sides losing, and points to emergence of open-minded pro-science, pro-spiritual outlook * ...

Blog Post - Nury Vittachi - Jul 14 2015 - 5:01am

What If We Can 'Pre-Diagnose' Autism In Babies?

For children with autism, early intervention is critical. Therapies and education – especially in the first two years of life – can facilitate a child’s social development, reduce familial stress and ultimately improve quality of life. But while we can re ...

Article - The Conversation - Aug 2 2015 - 8:00am