Ethics

There's been alot of talk over the last few years about "what is a woman?" and whether someone can just declare themselves to be another sex. "It's not that I don't empathise with transgenders" says mega-feminist Julie Bindel "but they can't use the term woman. That word is taken." But what does she mean by taken? My ethical question is... who owns words? Who decides what they mean? With personal names, other than certain specific legal contexts (eg passport, obtaining benefits) anyone is free to call themselves anything they like. I can call myself Queen Boadicea if I feel like it. There are dictionaries, and scientific terms, but neither is enforceable by…

In the U.S. they are known as First Amendment Audits. Here is the definition from Wikipedia. First Amendment Audits Below is what Police Scotland have to say. PoliceScotland To provide an example I will link to a random YouTube video that you can watch. I will use an example from Fettes Police Station in Scotland for no other reason than I am from Edinburgh, so this video is of most interest to me. Also, considering the UK only has a handful of Auditors, many of those Auditors appear to have criminal records ranging from Child Abuse, Stalking and Harassment, to Drug Dealing. Therefore as this is a Science forum, perhaps we may also…

I was about 8 when my mum and dad told me about the Shoah. My first critical thought was something like Even if everything the National Socialists said about those of the Jewish Faith was true, it would not in any way justify the Holocaust. How does that strike people here as an approach? We're Catholic btw

Anyone who can separate themselves from personal opinions about the world today and assume a perspective that is all inclusive can see that the world is controlled by the wealthy elite who belong to Zionist groups based in Israel. The USA has become a sword in the hands of the Zionists who hide behind the Jewish culture and exert their will by proxy and believe this keeps their hands clean from the blood that has been spilled in the name of an illegal state spliced on top of Palestine and called Israel. These people state that Israel is the only legal state ever founded because the founding members have law degrees. Most of these peoples degrees were awarded as "Honorary"…

Imagine someone knocks on your door. What you know is that 2 hours ago, a higher being that knows about the future told you that in two up to four hours, a person will knock at your door and try to kill you. You have a gun in your hands and can shoot through the peephole. But you do not know if this is the person who will kill you or not. So, there are a few possibilities. Number one, you do not shoot, and they do not try to kill you. Number two, you do shoot but they are innocent, and you go to jail. Number three, you shoot, and they were trying to murder you, because as you shoot them you see a gun fall out of their pocket. Number four, you let them in, and they shoot y…

One may safely assume that many human traits are shared by every culture regardless of the state of that culture in the world today. Pride, Insecurity, Fear of Loss, Ego and the dependency that forms when we become accustomed to our individual reality and related goals. I grew up in a middle class environment but my parents owned our home, car and had only bills and property/income tax to pay while each earned between $3000/month (70's) and $4500/month (80's). I had everything within a type of reason that allowed me to get over $1500 worth of stuff at Christmas. I became used to this to the point of taking it for granted and found it hard and uncomfortable after I grew up…

It over-outweighed the damage he caused. And that is just a taste of the sacrifices Jesus made in just 33 years. Jesus never once did anything that was not a selfless act. Imagine that. We'll never see Loki again, and some people will still call him a loser. The truth remains he was a nobler God than Thor, in the end. And it's not where you start.

Is it possible that homophobia - fear of homosexuality - is something that is inborn? If so via natural selection? Among our remote ancestors, did homophobes survive better?

I'm talking motivations for instigation of the war on drugs, the effects and long term consequences of the war on drugs, and what values, virtues and principles guide people into supporting it to this day? How can it end and what would happen if it did end?

If you live in some parts of the USA, including Utah, you will know that gambling is illegal. Now suddenly you visit another state, and you find the lottery everywhere. Now one thing I have noticed is that arcade machines are everywhere. I have even seen ones with money. So, If there is an arcade machine with money in it, wouldn't that make it gambling? and in my opinion, claw machines are worse than gambling. Even if you do win, you got nothing of value. What is your opinion on this.

Most people evade that thought of death because it can make you feel horrible, but we only have one life so we should talk about death while we still can. There are many questions to ask about death like, what's beyond death? These questions make us think about death in different ways, but one thing stays the same when talking about death you most likely will say that death has already taken a person you love. Death is the end of our life, all of our organs stop working, our hearts stop, and we die. What is beyond that point, that is something that all humans can't answer with 100% acracy, death is beyond our comprehension, but we can still think. So, I ask you what is be…

Hi, I would love to see a discussion of this article? https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-quarterly-of-healthcare-ethics/article/imposing-a-lifestyle-a-new-argument-for-antinatalism/D31CFBA4E8BB207D7C24A68E415A8AB0#article By Matti Häyry & Amanda Sukenick Abstract Antinatalism is an emerging philosophy and practice that challenges pronatalism, the prevailing philosophy and practice in reproductive matters. We explore justifications of antinatalism—the arguments from the quality of life, the risk of an intolerable life, the lack of consent, and the asymmetry of good and bad—and argue that none of them supports a concrete, u…

I have autism and ADHD. But I don't think it is necessarily "bad" to research these behaviors. If we want to have a better understanding of human behavior and neurodivergent behavior and how the human brain differs. I think we should research. Here is another question. What if instead of researching behavior, we research the organs of organ donors? Is that ethical? It would be good for innovation. But idk if it is ethical or not. What do you think?

As someone who has dabbled and at times admittedly abused recreational drugs, I have a few thoughts and observations to share. Clearly, the abuse of recreational drugs, including relatively safe ones like marijuana can lead to a variety of issues. At one point in my not so distant past, I was abusing medical marijuana to the point of having my brain essentially being deactivated on a 24/7 basis. Obviously this is not a positive outcome. At the same time, I can appreciate the effects of moderated use. The THC had the effect of making me artificially happy, and capable of enjoying things I would ordinarily write off as being idiotic. I gained an appreciation …

What i mean by this question; What positively beneficial policies could be enacted to organically lower abortion rates, by improving the quality of womens choices, without making abortions illegal or unjustifiably restricted? What sort of changes to social attitudes would need to happen in order for policies like these to be popular?

Can anyone suggest an initial design/algorithm of an ethically benign marketplace? I think the closest example is within shariah law, as it relates to phiscal policy; clearly capitalism won't or can't work within a moral structure.

I think that almost everyone cares about what happens to humanity in the next several months. OTOH, almost nobody cares what happens to humanity in several million years. Many people care about several decades. What is a reasonable time horizon that we do or should care about? And why?

Other than creating a standalone 3rd category for all 6 transgendered athletes out there, and while maintaining maximum fairness to cis-gendered young athletes already competing at the secondary school levels, what would be the best way to avoid excluding trans children who wish to compete? One proposal is to eliminate assigned sex from the selection process and set divisions based on skill and ability (similar to how junior varsity is split from varsity, or division 1 from division 2), but that is also an imperfect approach. So, what might be the best approach assuming inclusion of trans kids in sports is the desired outcome?

One of the reasons why drugs are illegal and in my opinion the main reason is that they are a threat to society and cause unethical behavior of addicts or people using drugs occasionally, such as car accidents, home abuse, theft for drug funding, for drugs like meth, you may be bolder to rape or kill someone, upbringing disorders of children when parents are addicted, giving birth to handicapped children while the mother is pregnant and taking drugs or taking drugs before pregnancy etc. maybe I'm stupid but I really can't understand what makes alcohol less harmful to society than the rest of drugs, here in Poland it is very common alcohol using, its like culture if …

Do the chemists here know about this researcher? What do professional scientists here think about this story? etc. One of the world’s most cited scientists, Rafael Luque, suspended without pay for 13 years | Science & Tech | EL PAÍS English (elpais.com)

In reference to another ongoing thread in this forum, I don't have any feelings about homosexuals and their activities. But I have feelings about religious people. I dislike their religious activities and I feel uncomfortable socializing with them. I'm quite sure that being religious is learned. But what about being an atheist?

How can be self absorbed/egotistical hinder a persons ability to view the world better. Does it corrupt knowledge? Is critical thinking to you the perfect way for a person to think? I don't know what that is exactly but I hear it thrown around on the internet, yes I know google exists and I will search it up later. What are the negatives and positives of being egotistical or self absorbed?

Not a political thing about if there is sexism or not. Just curious if you guys think there are differences between men and women that are simply unavoidably there.

Pretty straightforward. Should killing yourself be morally acceptable as a right to choose?

The concept may not be new, but I recently heard this argument phrased in a way that really resonated with me. Many people, including many religious people, view morality as a vertical scale, with their deity or moral mentor at the top, those they disagree with below them, and themselves and everyone else ranked somewhere between. It's a hierarchy from which they can strive to do better, and recognize when they do worse. But it's also a perspective of subjective judgement, and I think it's responsible for much of the inequality in our societies. Horizontal morality asks us to look around at each other from a side-by-side perspective, and recognize that nobody is inhe…