Ethics

Yesterday I was watching the sad state of affairs our nations highest court is trying to unravel for us. During the telecast a bit of humor came up. Seems that powerful New York school moguls have decided that some words in their present day curriculum are not conducive to good learning for some students, so they are going about changing the leapords spots for everyone. I'll not try convincing you as to how I feel about it, and while the following is a bit of a read, it's well worth the time. I would certainly like your input. http://open.salon.com/blog/annie_keeghan/2012/03/26/news_flash_new_york_educators_reject_dinosaurs

This country is not in the best or worst condition it has ever been in, but it in a struggle to maintain a good standing. The links are a good indication of where we came from, and it's up to the people of this nation to maintain that integrity, or hand it off to the winner. Two different sittings, but the same version and message are in each. Some may need to hear them more than once before it sinks in, so give them a little time. http://thecountryclassics.com/jukebox/music/americana-by-moe-bandy-revisited

We all use electricity to turn on our lights in the evening, to read by, watch TV or to play video games with on the computer. When you live in impoverished conditions, and have none of these luxuries; this is what must be considered true "Entrepreneurship". You make do with what you have and improve on your conditions. Here in the 21 century many people throughout the world do not have the goodies most of us are blessed with. Saw this and thought, not much different than how things were back in the thirties and early forties. But we did have windows with glass panes. Have any of you ever witnessed or experienced such conditions, unless self inflicted? http://www.wimp.co…

Are the people living in the land of the free aware that they are not as free as they were but 15 years ago? From the network news I hear that approximately 7 new laws and regulations are piled upon Americans each week. I learned the nature of purpose of these laws. Yeah, I'm just a wee bit young but smarter than my years attest. It's to the point the news program went on that just about every single American likely breaks some sort of law each day without even knowing it. Yep. They could even face jail time for it; for perhaps something they had no idea about. Oh, which makes me need tell,lest Oshie breaks some obscure law of some sort. I may be looking like I'm …

Just a thought here. By evil, I mean are there people who are born with a complete lack of empathy towards other individuals and therefore are completely selfish and self-serving? If so, the concern is that can we blame these people for their subsequent actions or do we contextualise their evil with their particular genomic profile? In short if you are born with the genetic profile of a murderer and then go on to murder people. can you claim that your genetic predisposition can provide suitable extenuating circumstances?

How do you feel about possible increases in internet regulation thanks to the Anti-Counterfeiting-Trade-Agreement?

Have you seen the movie 'gandhi' ? It says about gaining independance of india from english rule. What i think is that m.k.gandhi was a gujarati who was not fighting for any peace and justice, but a riotist instigator. The movie infact is a portrayal of bringing out the animosity of riot in indians.

By my heritage freedom has high value.. I am Roma, a people second only to the Jews buried in mass un-named graves. Adolf Hitler took it upon himself to decide which group of people deserved to walk upon the earth and breathe its air. Through cunning and good fortune my great grandparents narrowly escaped the atrocities of Hitler's Holocaust. They were warmly welcomed by a loving land; a land symbolizing hope,of freedom. Well,soon upon arriving, my great grandma found work as a house-cleaner; her husband left to join forces to defeat his oppressor. Two long years later and looking 20 years older he returned→mission complete. Being poor but always working hard, they…

Sort of scary. But! will such a rationale of interaction ever exist in this world, other than incidents like this? http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=69c_1324490734

"The Cosmologists" 1985 Andrea Rossi and Defkalion, claiming as much as 20 units of energy created for every one unit of input. Indeed, a possibly unlikely - but a very interesting subject, worthy of scrutiny if only for the potential impact such a phenomenon might have on our society. While in process writing about this, one for my blog commentary, the other for the DailyKos.com, I came to realize that this subject needed desperately to segue into a much larger, darker and more insidious story. During my attempts to collect information on the subject of energy catalyzers, I was somewhat surprised at the distinct lack of interest in scientific quarters, and it …

If at some future date we found a giant star with one or maybe even several planets in it's life zone, large stars have a very broad life zone, would it be ethical to terraform these planets and colonize them knowing the star will blow up in a couple million years?

My question here is whether the Western and Eastern way of thinking really so much different? Do we hold different opinions and ideology on ethical matters such as death, war, disease, population control, the use of natural resourses, and consequences of preventing such things? Are our societies ultimately evolving to include eachothers ways of thought and feelings on these matters? And is it right to have a certain amount of prejudice towards another society if our thoughts are different because of a general difference in the experiences of a society? I know that generally everyone has a certain amount of prejudice towards one thing or another. But are we as world coming…

i belive that nor good nor evil exists , its just a thing that we invented so every1 would feel ''good'' my definition ofgood is- something that is best for the man ( that is wondering what is good) in that moment of time the evil also for instance - u hit a man , is that good or evil? well u hit him because u were mad so to u that is good, but for him its bad ( because he is hurt ) and who r u to tell them that they r good or bad its all relatyve

For the purposes of this discussion a designer drug will be defined as any chemical composition be it a blend of over the counter pharmaceuticals or a cooked up concoction in a lab that does not contain any illegal substance but is developed for the sole purpose of creating a mind altering experience. Would you consider it morally wrong to profit from such a drug since you are not breaking any laws? Is it ethically wrong to create a legal high , a drug with a sole purpose of promoting an altered state ? Do you think it is wrong to produce a legal drug that closely mimics the effects of a narcotic such as heroin or cocaine and to profit from it? What's your thought…

I think it is insane that in today's over populated world that there are people still trying to ban abortion. Abortion should be a woman's choice along with extensive education to prevent further unwanted pregnancies by using birth control. Abortion should not used as a birth control method and woman should be educated on the important of birth control and the emotional consequences that accompanies the decision of getting an abortion. For most woman it is one of the hardest decisions that they might have to make in their lifetime. There will always be a small percentage of women who think nothing of it by using abortion as a birth control method and if there was s…

I have been musing over the legitamacy of "human rights" after running into the term on several occasions throughout different conversations. Questions always come to mind such as ; What are human rights? Who decides what rights to give? And if they are legitimate or not? Can human rights only be given by those who hold the greatest power over those to whom the rights are given? If human rights are given with the intent of good intentions can and will it disperrage others who feel differently, thereby conflicting with their want of certain rights? In the constitution of the United States it speaks of God given rights. These rights can also be infringed upon by a power…

If africa is not over populated then why does the continent suffer from perpetual famines, war, genocide and political instability etc? Racist slurs are not a substitute for reasoned arguments. And you are wrong anyway. To coin a phrase my brother once jokingly used "I am not racist, I just hate everyone" If westerners were advocating the use of DDT in the west to control malaria and prevent deaths I would be saying EXACTLY the same thing.......that their interests in not dieing from malaria do not trump the interests of future generations in not having their environment and bodies tainted with a toxin. I don't need to provide evidence as it has al…

Medical research and the medical profession have fairly strict ethical oversight in the form of ethics committees and the Australian Medical Council (and similar organisations in other countries). These system are quite strict and put the onus on the researchers to show that their research, and the resulting technology, will do no harm to individuals or at least that the benefits far out weigh the risks. Generally it is successful resulting in high medical standards in the west. Why should such a system not be broadened across the globe to all scientific disciplines? I.E. As well a purely human and animal ethics perspective, it should also have a wider ecolo…

The defense bill that Congress had a majority of their members approve it will give our military the right to arrest, or detain anyone here in the U.S. that they view as a terroist. What this really means is stop the protestors and punish us for free speech which is no longer "free" in this country. Anyone complaining about our government betrayal of its citizens will be held in our prisons for as long as they want without even charging them with a crime. Why is this insanity being allowed to continue?

Hello, I would like to share my concerns regarding artificial womb. Many scientists have been developing this technique of extracorporeal pregnancy. Within a society of control, scientists have been researching a method to eliminate any motherly presence in the unborn baby's environment. From in vitro fertilization to his incubator birth, the baby did not have any human contact. Only the one from needles, tubes and gloves. I am wondering what could be the consequences of this separation between the mother and the foetus on a human being? I am also questioning the possible and unthinkable excesses of this invention : cloning, merchandizing, child's selection accord…

Sam Harris, The Moral Landscape. Beginning on page 104, "The Illusion of Free Will." Video version (1 of 3). I don't think that a theory of free will -- in the sense of an inscrutable metaphysical locus of personhood that endows a faculty which somehow transcends ordinary causality -- is necessary for the validity of the concepts such as self-determination, virtue, culpability, and the like. I have not read Harris' book beyond this small selection and my remarks here are very willy nilly; I'm only trying to start a conversation. Sure, perhaps free will, as a metaphysical concept, is an "of the gaps" pseudo-explanation; I don't have a problem wit…

Yesterday, the media said that science has perfected an airborne virus that would be very effective in spreading on a wide scale globally in a short period of time. This is similar to the HIN1 in 2009 that originated in Mexico. I wonder, if that epidemic was the first test run to see how quickly it would spread and to what amount of variation it would produce by the very same people that now claim to have a perfect bioweapon. I don't mean to sound paranoid but really can we trust anyone that has the power to destroy the masses in such a short period of time?

What are the benefits for a society which emraces gambling in comparison to one which does not? And generally speaking, is gambling healthy for a society?

Hey all I'm sure you guys would be really awesome an answer this quick survey for me, right? It's for my university dissertation... Just give the best answer you can! And I apologise if I've posted this in the wrong thread. It's sort of an ethical dilemma... Thanks. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z2MS6N9

Sorry i couldn't do this in a poll, I have one too many questions lol I need to conduct a survey as part of my graduation project at my high school. The more people that can answer and help me out the better! Simple yes or no answers will suffice (except for the last question, obviously, a simple guess is all that's needed). 1. Do you support the government funding of animal tests in the United States? 2. Within the last decade, do you feel animal testing has benefited the United States? 3. Do you support cosmetic animal testing in the United States? 4. What percentage of animal tests conducted in the United States do you think are carried out by cosmetic companies?…