Ethics

My friend stopped subscribing from BBC Knowledge this February. This means I loss another source of Knowledge from the Scientific World. I used to borrow books from my friends nowadays. Why not purchasing them myself? Obviously, lack of money. An encyclopedia cost me at least RM 100 here in Malaysia. An ordinary science book, say Einstein Relatively Simple from one of our members, Ira Mark Egdall, here in the SFN, cost me RM 60. Something like 2 decades ago, a similar book would have cost RM 30-I borrowed one from my tuition teacher. You my argue such things are rare in the West as books there can be much cheaper. But in Malaysia, this is definitely not the case. We rely …

Hi, l have previously been very pro animal experimentation based on a utilitarian argument. Recently I have however come across the animal rights argument of Gary Francione that as animals are sentient and have interests, these interests deserve to be protected to the same degree as we protect the interests of humans of comparative sentience, ie. babies or the mentally disabled. To conduct animal research therefore seems to disregard the interest of animals to not be treated as property (that is have their interests to continue to live be subservient to our own interests). Do you have any argument to refute this? Do you think animal research is justifiable, …

Can you even cuss on this site. Btw, im a visionary and im smart

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/mothers-amazing-response-son-came-facebook-154700421.html What are your thoughts to this story? Should we be bowled over with cheer that this mother 'still' loves her son unconditionally? When will we get to a point in our society that being gay is acceptable, and kids/adults don't need to 'fear' coming out? If this is not the appropriate spot to post this, please relocate it.

1. Yes, Why do some churches allow birth control and not stem cell research, especially the type that involves somatic cell nulcear transport (SCNT). Both subjects involve the destruction of the "embryo" (and I use quotes because SMNT is a synthetic process) at the blastocyst stage. The combined oral contraceptives are the only hormonal forms that stop ovulation. When seeking hormonal birth control, religious indivuals probably will not be aware of this and take their doctor's advice. We need pleasure but we also are desperate for curative measures. So are some churches guilty of pleasing it's congregation, do they just say they allow birth control and not specify, are th…

Its my personal belief that a human have the right to do with their own boddies as they wish. Criminalising people who choose to take a particular substances is an injustice on freedom and only creates a negative stigma towards particular chemicals. Ovcourse theres the social aspect to take into account but countries like holland and portugal have decriminalised all drugs have seen reductions in drug abuse. Im only writting this because my government has banned access to any psychoactive chemicals which i strongly disagree with. Ethically speaking aslong as you cause no harm to others then there should be no problem. Infact its a slap in the face when you consider ho…

INSURANCE ROULETTE: THE EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENT EXCLUSION & DESPERATE PATIENTS by Natalie L Regoli http://www.quinnipiac.edu/prebuilt/pdf/SchoolLaw/LawReviewLibrary/34_22QLR697(2003-2004).pdf I've begun reading it. Although it has a legal focus, it has me wondering about the effect of such health insurance exclusions on scientific advancement. From page numbers 703 and 707, it looks like experimental treatments aren't covered even if they're part of an FDA funded trial, unless your condition is life threatening. This makes sense for the insurer since they want you to get better in the most monetarily efficient way possible. Indeed they only cover them for life…

In DP debates It is often pointed out the the DP does not form an effective deterrent. That is over a long period the statistics show that the murder rate remains the same with it or without it. Here is a quote from a novel I have been reading about the hunt for a particularly unpleasant serial killer. Today we have learned that the French discontinued surveillance of the perpetrators of the Charlie Hebdo massacre about six months ago. There are good people in France, needing help medical or otherwise, that there was no money to help whilst at the same time expensive resources were being spent of surveillance and finally combating such monsters. Let …

How far away are we from human cloning ? And is it really ethical if we reach this ? Please express your opinions. (taking into account social mores / scientific hurdles / religious restrictions etc.)

My thoughts on the following are not entirely flushed out so please bare with.. Is there any value for society as a whole in privacy, secrecy, and lying? Following the Sony hacks many people felt due to the private nature of the emails Amy Pascal and others should be absolved publically of criticism. Following Julian Assange's wiki leaks the argument was made that such breaks in secrecy endangered people. And of course wealth individuals and corperations feel it is their free speech right to out right lie and climate science and the environment. Is any of that true? Sony Hacks were happened during a time when across the United States minority were protesting unequal …

Do you believe Eugenics can ever be morally justified? If so, are there any caveats that you think should be adhered to? (i.e. should you only be able to alter certain genes?) Also, aside from your personal views on the ethical implications of Eugenics, what do you think will be the fate of Eugenics in the future of society?

Lately I have become more active in market investing. In the past I have invested in solar and wind turbine industries. Things I was hopeful about for the future. Mostly I have gained percentages on my investments not much greater than a typical savings account. More recently I have been putting money into industries that I view as far less desirable. Industries that are bad for the environment and that produce products I believe are bad for society. These investments have been exceedingly profitable. Thus far I have justified this in my own mind with the following equivalency; an athlete who disagrees with a specific set of rules that govern a sport still must play the…

Hi guys Just a self-imagined theoretical topic to open discussion and debates. Consider a wall. A huge wall over which you can throw any item, but over which, nor around which one can go. Now consider, at one side of this wall, a family: a man, his wife, a son and a daughter (how stereotypical). The children are underaged, should this have influence on the result. This family does not know who, or what is behind the wall, or IF someone or something is behind the wall. Along with this family, at this one side of the wall, is a bomb. A bomb that will erase all life in the system at one side of the wall. The wall will survive that blast, as well as everything or…

Not many thousands of years ago, there were two human like beings. One type being more savage than the other was able to dominate and reproduce. We are decendants from these more savage, hostile beings. Humans kill more of their own kind than any other animal. Does anyone disagree that nature has designed humans to be the most hostile animals on our world and only through how humans are raised do we seem to have anything like caring and kindness?

I got some Tin Foil hat questions about science research funding and Ethics... When it comes to scientific research from federal and private institutions around the world. How much do politicians, spooky people like George Soros, and Evil villains influence the funding and research of these institutions? What's stopping scientists from cooking the books just to keep their jobs...? Is it possible to cover up the facts I learned about global warming recently here? I'm just curious because my friends thinks this, and personally how are you going to argue that... Anyway it really got me thinking what the integrity of the scientific method used today, and…

I supposed that most of you are well aware that I did quite well in my studies. However, there are some incidents and cases where I might make a mistake. Yet, somehow, a case happened last year was deeply etched in my mind. I would like you to help comment on this issue. Here is the story. Last year, I studied a lot of physics articles and books. I felt like my knowledge had increased a lot. All language subjects require you to write essays, either in the exam or daily practise. Usually, students have to choose the materials needed or maybe conduct some researches before entering the test venue. Most of the time, I will choose the materials that I know a lot- Physics,…

We used to say shut up and calculate as it is one of the famous quotes in Quantum Mechanics. My question is should we say so? Why shut up? Science shouldn't stop our inquisitive mind from solving science problems, should it?

I was out grocery shopping last night to a suburb I don't usually travel to. I took public transport and missed the last bus back home. Fortunately, I found a stranger and while I was waiting for the bus I asked them whether any buses are still running. They told me no after they went to their house to check and called the public transport authorities (that's how I found out). They also offered to give me a lift after and I graciously accepted their offer. When they dropped me off to my home however I had no idea how to thank them or show my gratitude for what they did. I asked for their mobile number (to stay in touch) but they didn't have theirs at the time. I had a men…

I grew up without such games and I’m very aware of the difference between fantasy world violence and real world violence. After reading this story: I began to wonder if I would be quite so sure of the difference, had I grown up immersed in such games; rather than playing war games with my friends in the real world where the consequences are obvious such as throwing stones or hitting others with my stick gun. I wonder if the switch that’s turned off in socio-paths is being turned off in children who play these games, at what age is this switch set, if it’s settable?

is altruism possible? can we do welfare of all people? if we do welfare of industrialists, the labor class will suffer. if we do welfare of rich, the poor will suffer and vice versa.

Should science teachers and college professors who knowingly teach and or promote these lies be reprimanded by their superiors with threats to have their credentials removed if they continue to support theories which go against scientific evidence? What do you think?

Where I can find a good account of pragmatic ethics? I've been reading the Stanford Encyclopedia entry about John Dewey's ethical system, but there seems to be very little ethical pragmatism. My understanding is that pragmatic ethics places moral value on inquiry under the assumption that society has progressed morally and will continue to progress morally through continued inquiry. I know that this could translate into a consequentialist theory with the ultimate end of making a freely inquiring society, but I have found shockingly little written on this aspect of it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragmatic_ethics This is my formulation so far. If evalua…

My buddy and I were discussing this issue. He thinks that it is cruel to the cow and there should be less invasive methods. My response was; "If I were a cow and I could rid the world of some greenhouse gasses, and give fuel to people who need it, which would ultimately be helping to save the planet, I'd take a probing". Of course I wouldn't enjoy it, but I'd find it more acceptable than our current alternatives. What do you all think?

I've seen a troll roaming about For a definition see http://www.peorian.com/technology/technology-news/trolls-cyberbullies/1079-how-to-identify-and-defeat-an-internet-troll

Feel free to comment on a comment by Phil Corlett 8 july 2013 Quote: "Researchers across our field (even those relatively less interested in the brain) are deeply concerned with causalityfrom those geneticists or epidemiologists assessing the relationships between genes or cannabis exposure and illness onset to those phenomenologists concerned with how patients describe their thoughts and actions as lacking causal agency. For the most part, all of our observations are correlational. Anything more causal, with a few exceptions (Corlett et al., 2009), would entail ethical concerns. Causality is particularly problematic for those of us concerned with the neuronal mech…