All ethics articles

The media have no morals

SJECThink17 — Thu, 03 May 2012 05:32:56 +0000

A version of this article was first published: www.ethics.org.au - 3 May 2012

In early October Sydney’s Festival of Dangerous Ideas and Intelligence Squared was fortunate hosted a debate on the proposition ‘The media have no morals’. On the positive team were Steven Mayne, Mona Eltahawy and Senator Bob Brown. Against the proposition were Kate Adie, Hamish Macdonald and Julian Burnside QC.

If You Want Fidelity, Get a Dog

SJECThink17 — Thu, 03 May 2012 05:22:28 +0000

A version of this article was first published: www.ethics.org.au - 3 May 2012

We’re animals. Let’s get that clear straight up. And our closest relative is the bonobo, a type of great ape. At the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, while watching a short clip of bonobos after they’d been fed apples, I wondered if in fact I was witnessing animal porn. Christopher Ryan, a psychologist and co-author of the best seller, Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality, certainly entertained us, if in a slightly uncomfortable way.

Sleeping With the Enemy

SJECThink17 — Thu, 03 May 2012 05:14:09 +0000

A version of this article was first published: www.ethics.org.au - 3 May 2012

Mike Daisey, described by the New York Times as a master storyteller, gave a powerful and unscripted monologue about Apple entitled ‘Sleeping with the enemy: collaborating with corporations sells out the human race’ at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2011.

Bored to Tears: Annual Happiness Conference

SJECThink17 — Thu, 03 May 2012 05:10:38 +0000

A version of this article was first published: Living Ethics, issue 76, winter 2009 - 3 May 2012

At Sydney’s annual happiness conference, Jackie Randles couldn’t help but notice an elephant in the room.

At the recent Happiness and its Causes conference in Sydney, I was struck by the simplicity of the recipe: get your mental flow happening by doing things that lead to a state of engagement. Enhance your good feelings by being altruistic and make a real effort to belong to a community. Find a way of expressing your spirituality. Remember that optimism is a skill that can be learned. Could it be that attaining true happiness is really that simple?

Review: Fritz Allhoff’s Terrorism, Ticking Time-Bombs, and Torture

SJECThink17 — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 04:43:10 +0000

A version of this article was first published: www.ethics.org.au - 26 April 2012

by David Allinson

Seamus Miller, philosopher at the Australian National University, gives the following definition of torture:

“Torture is: (a) the intentional infliction of extreme physical pain or suffering on some non-consenting, defenceless person; (b) the intentional curtailment of the exercise of the person’s autonomy, achieved by means of (a); (c) in general, undertaken for the purpose of breaking the victim’s will”.

Privacy is about individual choice, online and off

SJECThink2 — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 04:40:03 +0000

A version of this article was first published: www.nationaltimes.com.au - January 2012

The New York Time's Nick Bilton announced recently that ‘privacy is on its deathbed’. This prediction was prompted by the ‘creepy’ ease with which he hunted down the identity of a girl with not much more than his internet connection, the girl's first name, a few photos, and a Facebook friend list.

Freedom of speech is over-rated

SJECThink2 — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 06:15:34 +0000

A version of this article was first published: ethics.org.au - April 2012

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” - Evelyn Beatrice Hall (pinched by Voltaire).

‘Freedom of speech is overrated’ is the topic of an IQ2 debate to be held at Melbourne Town Hall on 8 May 2012.

Violence and The Origins of Legislative Authority

SJECThink17 — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 06:01:07 +0000

A version of this article was first published: Emergent Australian Philosophers, 2009 - April 2012

This paper reflects a two-fold attempt. Firstly, to give an account of the works of Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt and Slavoz Zizek on Violence. Secondly, it aims to illuminate a uniform trend in their work. This trend identifies the necessity of a certain amount violence in order to create the pre-conditions of a lawful society. Benjamin’s critique shows that the authority of law, when seen naked, is based on a myth. However, what is being advocated here is not childish anarchism.

Adolescent suicide

SJECThink16 — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Dr. Paul Friend

This article was published in Living Ethics: issue 87 autumn 2012

The suicide of a child is a tragic event for parents and other relatives. Increasingly we hear of adolescents suiciding in the context of pressure to perform, usually in the academic arena. Aspirational parents, aware of the competitive nature of education and the benefits of academic success, commonly encourage their children to greater academic dedication and effort. Often this is done in a supportive manner, sometimes not.

Dr Paul Friend is Clinical Director at Black Dog Institute blackdog.org.au

Big Brother is coming to a school near you

SJECThink16 — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Dr Emmeline Taylor

This article was published in Living Ethics: issue 87 autumn 2012

It’s Monday morning and a child in Newcastle arrives at school, places her finger on the scanner until she hears an electronic voice crackle into life to acknowledge her. In Sydney, a wall-mounted CCTV camera records a 12-year old boy entering a classroom and taking his seat. Whilst this might sound like an Orwellian prophecy, it is becoming the reality of an increasing number of schools across Australia as surveillance technologies become more common. But why are CCTV cameras and biometrics being used in schools and what are the issues that we should be aware of?

Dr Emmeline Taylor is a lecturer in sociology at the at the Australian National University.