Philosophy & Ethics

Telling Right From Wrong: Why Is Utilitarianism Under Attack?

Is morality and happiness determined by how you affect the people around you? Credit: Shutterstock By Peter Bowden, University of Sydney It is a word we hear from time to time, but few of us know what it means. ...

Article - The Conversation - Aug 29 2014 - 9:47pm

Ethno-Psychiatry: How The British Treated "Hardcore" Women In The Mau Mau Rebellion

New research on the treatment of 'hardcore' female Mau Mau prisoners by the British in the late 1950s sheds new light on how ideas about gender, deviancy and mental health shaped colonial practices of punishment. The treatment of the Mau Mau by t ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 31 2014 - 1:00pm

Misogyny Wins With Hacking Of Intimate Celebrity Pictures – But You Can Choose Not To Look

Jennifer Lawrence at the 83rd Academy Awards. CC BY-SA 2.0 By Emma Rees, University of Chester ...

Article - The Conversation - Sep 2 2014 - 2:00pm

We Don’t Need No (moral) Education? 5 Things You Should Learn About Ethics

The word morality makes people uneasy – but not ethics. What is the basis of a moral education? Credit: Flood G/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND By Patrick Stokes, Deakin University ...

Article - The Conversation - Sep 7 2014 - 9:01pm

More People Can Donate Tissue Than Organs – So Why Do We Know So Little About It?

Eyes – windows on the soul?Credit: Ángelo González, CC BY-SA By Tracy Long-Sutehall, University of Southampton ...

Article - The Conversation - Sep 9 2014 - 2:30am

In The 21st Century, Bioethics Literacy Matters

From government control of health care to new reproductive technologies in this century, we'll need to be able identify key issues, articulate their values and concerns, deliberate openly and find ways forward. The Hastings Center and the Presidentia ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 17 2014 - 4:30pm

Organ Donations: Making Them Opt-Out Might Lead To More Availability

In the future, new organs will be created from a patient's own stem cells and they will require no waiting lists, no immunosuppressive drugs, and no stickers on drivers licenses making people available for organ donations. Currently, organ transplant ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 24 2014 - 11:01am

Something New On The Illusion Of Time

Look at a fan rotating its blades. Now look somewhat to the side of it. It seems to rotate slower now. Now shift your gaze slowly back toward the center of the fan. The fan seems to pick up speed. There are not just two appearances of its speed, one fast ...

Article - Sascha Vongehr - Oct 3 2014 - 5:39pm

When Are Randomized Controlled Trials Unethical? When Disease Gets News Coverage

It is difficult for pharmaceutical companies to have good public relations in an immediate news and social media world- no matter how many trials are done, people can still have adverse effects or even suffer real harm- and social media detractors can just ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 10 2014 - 3:09pm

To Tweet Or Not To Tweet: Academic Freedom And Social Media

Should academics be disciplined by their universities for things said over Twitter? Credit: Opensource.com / Flickr, CC BY-SA By Janna Thompson, La Trobe University Academic freedom has been put in the spotlight with two universities recently coming down ...

Article - The Conversation - Oct 15 2014 - 6:30pm