Philosophy & Ethics

Should There Be Presumed Consent For Organ Donation?

Introducing presumed consent or opt-out system may increase organ donation rates, suggests a new systematic review published in the BMJ (British Medical Journal). There is currently insufficient supply of donor organs to meet the demand for organ transplan ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 17 2009 - 3:38pm

God and Government

Conservatives "cling to their guns and god" and Liberals cling to their "good will" and government ...

Blog Post - Delian Valeriani - Jan 23 2009 - 5:11pm

Linguistic Voodoo- Making Leprosy Less Of A Problem By Stopping Use Of The Word 'Leper'

Mr Yohei Sasakawa, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for the Elimination of Leprosy and Japanese Government Goodwill Ambassador for the Human Rights of People Affected by Leprosy, has called for an end to the common use of the word leper. Speaking at the launch in ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 28 2009 - 5:51pm

Strong Inference And The Distinction Between Soft And Hard Science

In doing some research for my next book (on the differences between science and pseudoscience), I re-read this rather stunning piece of writing: “Scientists these days tend to keep up a polite fiction that all science is equal. Except for the work of the ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Jan 29 2009 - 2:44pm

Food Or Energy? The Biofuel Food Crisis Debate

Taking up valuable land and growing edible crops for biofuels poses a dilemma: Is it ethical to produce inefficient renewable energies at the expense of an already malnourished population? David Pimentel and colleagues from Cornell University highlight the ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 28 2009 - 10:47am

Strong Inference And The Distinction Between Soft And Hard Science (Part II)

Continuing our discussion of biophysicist John R. Platt's classical paper on “ strong inference ” and, more broadly, the difference between soft and hard science, another reason for the difference between these two types of science mentioned but left ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Jan 30 2009 - 1:39pm

Cool Thought Experiments II: Ship Of Theseus

Throughout history, scientists, philosophers, mathematicians and PhD students lacking funding for actual research have turned to the thought experiment in hopes of discovering something publishable, thereby retaining tenure and/or attracting the admiration ...

Article - Garth Sundem - Feb 3 2009 - 12:56pm

Cool Thought Experiments V: Achilles And The Tortoise—Zeno's Paradox

Throughout history, scientists, philosophers, mathematicians and PhD students lacking funding for actual research have turned to the thought experiment in hopes of discovering something publishable, thereby retaining tenure and/or attracting the admiration ...

Article - Garth Sundem - Feb 6 2009 - 6:36pm

Introduction

What is it, this life that we are presented with? Human history has brought us from bands roaming, hunting, each day guided by mere survival, through villages and great empires of mortar and steel. It has brought us to this electronic specialized abstract ...

Blog Post - Delian Valeriani - Feb 3 2009 - 7:38pm

Is Personalized Medicine Just Hype?

We may be a long way off from using genetics to reliably gauge our risks for specific diseases, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Yet, many companies currently offer personalized genetic testing for diseases ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 6 2009 - 4:55pm