Ethics

I have come up with a hypothesis around which I was going to write my thesis as a student. At this time, I am unable to continue school due to financial restraints. I recently read about another, very well established scientist testing hypotheses in the same field as mine and how he is running into problem after problem. I would like to contact him and share my ideas and possibly look for collaboration in testing my ideas but am unsure of how to do so whilst protecting my intellectual property from potentially being stolen. Any advice on how to do so would be very much welcomed. Thank you for your time and I look forward to reading your suggestions.

For sake of argument, everyone has gone vegan, and has done so faster than we could eat all of the meat. What is a vegan to do with all of the livestock? It's obviously unethical for a vegan (for the purposes of this thread, the vegans are so because of ethics based on animal suffering) to kill them. Do they send them off to the wild to die? How about restricting their mating into extinction?

On occasion I do run across something worth knowing and sharing, Sewell is that topic! How does a black man of such absolute integrity and who had the lowest of beginnings, ferret out the ineptness that is destroying our nation. Why? When so many white people have their heads planted so firmly in their own behinds that they can't see the trees for the forest? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sowell Thomas Sowell July 25, 2012 Random thoughts on the passing scene: Even squirrels know enough to store nuts, so that they will have something to eat when food gets scarce. But the welfare state has spawned a whole class of people who spend everything they get …

or so says the alarmist headline over at Forbes. Curious to hear others' thoughts on this. Should dispensing out nutritional advice be under the protected domain of those licensed to do so or is this a violation of free speech? My take: nutritional advice given by a "registered" dietitian is probably no better than picking out a nutrition blog at random: ie - mostly bunk and not research-based.

GWC. One of natures greatest gift to mankind. If we could only follow his philosophy, how great this world might be? http://www.biography.com/people/george-washington-carver-9240299

How much normal people think about these things? I think not enough, even though there are people who really think and care about this kind of things. What can we do to help people, animals or nature when they need our help? What kind of acts has already been done and what kind of acts are planned to be done? For example how do we treat animals from which we get food to eat. What could we do better? One thing about the well-being of humans is that could we build society where is no punishment. Is it possible or is there any sense?

A lifeguard in Hallandale Beach (Florida) was fired because he rescued someone outside the protected area. The city of Hallandale Beach has outsourced its lifeguards to a company since 2003 to save money. The full story can be found here or here. I think we can all agree that in this case, that the boss of that guy behaves like a complete douche... But where to draw the line between what is good for the company, and what's good for humanity?

I bolded the statement I am directly responding to. This makes things interesting. If faith in god's existence falls into the category of "Evidence Does Not Apply," then faith in god is in the same category as faith in moral codes. I don't think anybody here is going to argue that faith in moral codes makes a person broken.

This is a combination of ethics and social science. Why do people discriminate on the basis of religious beliefs? Why does relative religious affiliation have an affect on social evaluation? Do you think it's ever okay to discriminate on this basis? If you would discriminate in some instances, then you obviously think it's okay to discriminate in some instances. The following is my summary of part of a Social Psychology textbook. It describes some evidence for Terror Management Theory and relates it to self-esteem. I at least have prejudice against religious people and in favor of agnostic atheists. Too uncritically, I assume that agnostic atheists are gene…

I wanted to bring this up in another thread, but out of possible rebuke for not being on topic, I thought I had better just start a new one. There are some who think the current war on terror and the recent war in Iraq were wrong. Along with that, there are those who think enhanced interrogation to be wrong. But why? Is it not in a human's nature to be violent? Was it not the norm throughout history for humans to be cruel? What is so different between then and now that makes these types of acts so undesirable? I ran into this: http://www.livescience.com/2231-humans-crave-violence-sex.html while browsing around a bit. I've also seen how justice was done to those that …

This is an interesting project to bring us out of denial about the torture done during the Bush administration and to make it clear that this torturing was directed from the top. As responsible citizens, I think we should take action. http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/torture/

I found an interesting article about eugenics: http://alexdracon.blogspot.com/2011/08/eugenics-throwing-out-baby-with-baths.html What do you think about the ideas expressed in this article?

This is something may have popped up in the mind of Star Wars fans who were captivated by the sight of scantily clad Twileks, and Ahsoka Tano's navel. Sorry for coming off as a pervert or creep, but what would your stance be on humans having sex with non-human sentient aliens? No, I'm not talking about sleeping with a Xenomorph because on their world they're considered animals anyway. I'm speaking of course of the possibility that whenever we run into a race of non-human sapients (like the Vulcans or Twileks), and somehow love or lust develops between us and them, what should we do if either party wants to have sex with the other? There are some social and moral f…

It has been said that I accuse of moderators doing things they do not do, and from my point of view, moderators have accused others of doing things they might not be doing. For example trolling, and preaching. Isn't that really a personal judgement depending on ones point of view? I know I preach, and I question authority, yet it was argued I have not violated the rule, and should not be concerned about being banned. In another forum I was accused of trolling and was really offended by that. The point of a public trail is assuring justice and it gives the established power legitimacy. Like discussing our constitution and freedom of religion and freedom of speec…

I think the moderation rules we have currently are enough. I would be loathe to add some sort of public trial for any offenses. I've seen heavy-handedness at other forums and I'm convinced it stifles discussion. For every person like you who wants a spotlight placed on their alleged transgressions, there are probably twenty people who would rather move on to more interesting things. Athena, many replies to your posts are like zapatos' above. You seem to have so much to say to us that it all comes bubbling up at once and many of your sentences have little relationship to each other. You jump from passionate rants to out-of-context anecdotes to defense of concepts that …

Would you say Obama has won more voters than he lost, by being in favor of homosexual marriages? This is coming from the thread about what effects our judgment, and a comment about family values being destroyed by industrialization, economic collapse and war. Working parents have to put their jobs before their children, or they loose their jobs. I grew up in a day care center, and for me, this was like being an orphan. My parents had divorced and we didn't have a family life as family was pictured in text books and demonstrated on TV. We are moving further and further away from family values and TV shows that demonstrate good family values. Yesterday my grandd…

Haven't fully fleshed out this idea, but here goes -- help, as well as arguments against Hank being capable of something we'd recognise as morality are welcome. Assume there is a sentient entity that values rationality above all else. Ie. it will not act unless it believes its actions are either trivial in consequence, or rationally justified; call it Hank. Hank has some other values, things that he wants to do, or likes and dislikes. He also observes other entities that claim to have a sense of self, much like his. They also communicate that they have values and desires. These claims seem credible, or at least as credible as his own claims of consciousness an…

Occasionally dealing with mods, leads to me becoming very aware of things that effect our judgment, especially because over many years and in several different forums, the mods always insist they are being impersonal and only following rules. Rules that regulate them and rules they must enforce. Whenever this explanation is given, I remember this quote from a seer in India. I got the quote from a 1917 National Education Association Conference book, where it was used to describe our enemy. "Whatever their efficiency, such great organizations are so impersonal that they bear down on the individual lives of the people like a hydraulic press whose action is complet…

This topic asks an interesting ethical question http://www.sciencefo...765#entry674765 Assuming we can wipe out mosquitoes and have no consequences, should we do it?

And if not why not? Most people agree that actions which harm others are wrong, but many actions are illegal which do not harm anyone and are known as victimless crimes. How can society justify criminalizing having sex with kids if it doesn't hurt anyone? Many assume that a child will be 'traumatized' by having sex with an adult, however this is not true. Firstly ages of consent vary across the world (from 13 in Spain to 18 in California) - proof that there is no consensus on what the minimally acceptable age at which a person can engage in sex is. Secondly much of the 'trauma' (guilt, shame, victimization) felt by 'victims' is in fact caused by society, s…

Two of my roommates recently enrolled in an online degree program to grant them a BS in Special Education. They're both computer illiterate, so I was asked to help guide and teach them in the technological aspect of attaining their degrees. The two students are engaged. I believe the first, Mike, to be of near-average intelligence, and with enough motivation, capable of absorbing and applying the course material. I also believe, however, that Mike is only committing to this endeavor for the sake of aiding his fiancée while feigning a common interest (to strengthen their relationship). My second student, Holly, is at least moderately mentally challenged. She cannot r…

I believe that our human sense of what is "right" and "wrong" is nothing more than a human creation, totally derived from our feelings and largely influenced by the feelings of the majority. Do you agree? So all that repulses us and would be considered "wrong", for example murder, is only wrong because we feel it should be not because it truly is "wrong". Likewise for feelings of what is "right."

In Richard Dawkins's book "The selfish gene" it seems like Dawkins is adhering to some form of biological determinism. The book attracted great criticism. Many people critizied his book and said that Dawkins' book reflects profound ignorance of how human culture works. They say that reductionist determinism of any kind, whether cultural or biological, is simply unethical and wrong. The critics also say that human culture is not biological. They say that biological determinism is scientifically incorrect in human social relations. They also say that biological determinism leads to racism and eugenics. They further claim that attempts to import biological theories…

Looking at ten minutes of what these kids are capable of and do best at this point in their lives, makes me proud to be an American. They, along with the other tactical carrier groups in our Navy are capable of totally destroying half the world before breakfast, and Lord only knows the mayhem that could be generated between that time and brunch? But that will never happen! These kids are in the Navy being trained in a process that will continue for the rest of their lives. "Morals/Ethics", and how to handle a situation while under adverse conditions. Here is a reminder of just how lucky we are to have them serve our nation. OUTSTANDING.....AND THE IRANIANS WANT THIS V…

I didn't know where to post these thoughts, but I have been pondering on this for a while. If we believe that women have equal rights to men, then why are they in separate competitive sports, locally, nationally or internationally (e.g. Olympic Games). Are we acknowledging that they are not as physically strong as men and making the choice for them to separate them, which is a gender apartheid; or are we being condescending in being 'gentle' with them? For example, should women be able to compete with men in track and field events on an equal basis? In addition, would large team sports like football or baseball not be more interesting when women and men compete …