Subscribe:
RSS feed
A group of bloggers discussing philosophical ideas as well as the profession of philosophy
Browsing All Posts filed under »Bioethics«
CFA: The 2018 Postgraduate Bioethics Conference (PGBC)
Great opportunity for MA and PHD students to share their work. See the CFA below (deadline is May 1st!): The 2018 Postgraduate Bioethics Conference (PGBC) is hosted by the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at King’s College London. The event will be held on the 23rd and 24th of July, 2018, at King’s College London’s Strand and Waterloo Campuses (situated in central London). The PGBC is […]
On the Concept of Cheating
April 12, 2018 by Justin Caouette
A while back I blogged over at PhilPercs about the concept of cheating. That blog post was the seed that grew into a forthcoming co-authored publication aptly titled “Cheating and Enhancement: Implications for Policy in Sport” (and who says blogging is a waste of time?!). Below is a summary of that initial post where I posed […]
Powerful Medicine; a dimension of the Nassar case
January 27, 2018 by Joshua Stein
I want to start this post with a really clear content notice; if you’re uncomfortable with or likely to be triggered by descriptions of sexual assault, you may want to gird yourself or take a pass on this post entirely. I experienced nausea myself in reading the accounts, but I don’t think it is really […]
On the So Called “Grey Areas” of Sexual Consent
May 20, 2017 by Ray Aldred
Sexual consent has been the foundation of sexual ethics for many modern thinkers of sexuality. The notion itself stretches back to at least Immanuel Kant, who presented some arguments for why we should generally respect an individual’s autonomy. Respect for autonomy is the idea that we should respect a person’s capacity to make self-governing decisions […]
On Breed Specific Legislation, Public Safety, and Why The Research Matters
July 16, 2016 by Alison K McConwell
There is recent nation-wide attention to animal control issues concerning dogs in Canada. The target is “pit bulls” or dogs with traits that resemble particular characteristics of breeds included in this generic term. One common response to serious dog bites and maulings is to lobby for a ban of particular breeds by enacting Breed Specific […]
Assisted Suicide and Personal Autonomy: Freedom of Choice …But Only for the Sick
September 22, 2015 by Gordon Hawkes
On Friday of last week, the state legislature of California passed a bill to allow assisted suicide. If Governor Jerry Brown signs the bill into law, California will become the fifth state in the Union to make assisted suicide legal. How do advocates of assisted suicide justify allowing doctors to assist people in killing themselves? […]
Neuroethics Symposium On Focquaert & Schermer’s, “Moral Enhancement: Do Means Matter Morally?”
August 28, 2015 by Justin Caouette
Comments Off on Neuroethics Symposium On Focquaert & Schermer’s, “Moral Enhancement: Do Means Matter Morally?”
There is a great symposium taking place over at the Brains Blog on Focquaert & Shermer’s paper in Neuroethics titled “Moral Enhancement: Do MeansMatter Morally” (See here). Disclaimer: I am one of the commentators on the piece. My commentary can be found here. The symposium is a bit different than most in that there is a […]
On Sustaining Life.
June 15, 2015 by Aaron Thomas-Bolduc
Comments Off on On Sustaining Life.
This past weekend, the philosophy department here at the University of Calgary hosted a conference on Sustainability with a focus on intergenerational justice. A topic of much debate was what exactly should be sustained/left for future generations. Now, I am very much an outsider to this debate, but one candidate of a necessary (but insufficient) […]
She knows the sound of my motorbike…
April 10, 2015 by Justin Caouette
Comments Off on She knows the sound of my motorbike…
Originally posted on Laurel Braitman:
…even when I’m still really far away,” said Jon. “She will start calling out for me before I’ve turned down the road.” Jon has been Mosha’s mahout since she was two years old (now she is five). When she was seven months old, and walking with her mother in the…
Luck, Choice, and Rationing Health Care
January 12, 2015 by Ray Aldred
According to some philosophers, a feature that matters for assessing inequalities is how the inequality comes about. One theory that assesses inequalities in this way is presented by Ronald Dworkin in a position called “luck egalitarianism.” According to the luck egalitarian, a factor that matters when assessing inequalities in a given situation –and whether these […]
Should Athletes Be Allowed To Enhance Their Abilities?
August 26, 2013 by Justin Caouette
Why are performance enhancement drugs illegal in sport? In this short post I will grossly generalize three main arguments given in favor of banning substances and practices that allow one to enhance their abilities: (i) arguments from harm, (ii) arguments from integrity of the sport, and (iii) arguments from justice and fairness. The latest suspensions […]
Parental Obligation, Abortion, and Choice
June 19, 2012 by Justin Caouette
Many of those that believe a woman should have a right to choose (whether to abort or keep her baby) also believe that men should have to pay child support, but, is holding both of these statements consistent? Fairly recently, feminist philosopher Elizabeth Brake (2005) has argued that it’s inconsistent and unfair to hold that […]
Organ Procurement: Are Changes Needed to Ensure Fairness?
June 12, 2012 by Justin Caouette
In this short post I’ll be asking two important and related questions regarding organ procurement as it is currently practiced: (1) Are the currently policies surrounding organ transplantation fair? And, (2) Is it practical to make changes to the current policies? Here I’ll deal mostly with question (1) and offer only some brief remarks with […]
Vegetarianism, Food Selection, and the Trolley Problem (Part 2)
June 2, 2012 by Justin Caouette
Do stereo typical meat eaters value the lives of animals more than plants? As stated in an earlier post, I think that they do. If this is the case, then it seems that when making food selections it would be inconsistent for the meat-eater to choose animal meat over the vegetarian option assuming that they […]
Vegetarianism, Food Selection, and the Trolley Problem (Part 1)
June 1, 2012 by Justin Caouette
Comments Off on Vegetarianism, Food Selection, and the Trolley Problem (Part 1)
We all must eat to survive, this statement is uncontroversial. With that said, we are all forced to answer a question; (a) what should we eat? When trying to answer (a) should certain foods be off-limits? In other words, should our choices be limited by ethical concerns? I think so, and I’m sure that almost […]
Are Meat Eaters Committed to the Moral Permissibility of Cannibalism?
May 29, 2012 by Justin Caouette
Since becoming a vegetarian two years ago I’ve come across various justifications for why I should see eating meat as morally permissible. I have yet to be convinced that any of these proposals are morally acceptable. Here, I focus on three main justifications for eating meat and offer some responses as to why I do […]
Abortion and Virtue Ethics
May 22, 2012 by Justin Caouette
According to Rosalind Hursthouse, an action is right (from a Virtue Ethical perspective) if and only if it is what the virtuous agent would do in the same circumstances. Now, let us consider the case of pregnancy. When considering if one should abort or keep their child, and, under the guise of the above mentioned […]
Books by Contributors
A Philosopher's Take 
April 13, 2018 by Justin Caouette
Comments Off on CFA: The 2018 Postgraduate Bioethics Conference (PGBC)