Everyday Ethics

It now appears that Sonia Sotomayor is going to be confirmed as the next Supreme Court Justice.  Two significant criticisms of Sotomayor’s performance during the confirmation hearings have emerged, both of which reflect opposing ideologies.  One criticism, from the political right, is that Sotomayor is a judicial activist who played the political game properly, but [...]

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A close friend of mine recently had a sudden and unexpected death occur in his family.  He was not close to his brother, whose drug-abusing lifestyle made his death somewhat less shocking than it otherwise might have been.  In spite of all this, my friend instantly recognized an obligation to help with funeral arrangements, attend [...]

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Last week, an FDA advisory panel recommended a number of significant changes regarding the sale and marketing of products that contain acetaminophen, which is the active ingredient in the popular over-the-counter painkiller Tylenol.  Three of their recommendations are especially significant.
First, they advised that Vicodin and Percocet be discontinued as prescription pain-relieving drugs.  They also suggested [...]

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Another boisterous 4th of July has come and gone, filled with the booms and bangs of fireworks being shot off, as well as the inevitable horrific fireworks injury that always seems to accompany this holiday.  This time, it was an exploding fireworks truck in North Carolina killing three people.  These dangerous results, as well as [...]

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The recent film Blood Diamond is a harrowing story of struggle, loss, and redemption set against the backdrop of civil war in Sierra Leone.  Rebel fighters, determined to bring their nation to prosperity by controlling its recently emergent diamond industry, terrorize the population of Sierra Leone through excessive violence and heartless bloodletting.  The film is [...]

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Editor’s Note:  Several individuals have commented, rightly, on the dubiousness of the claim that Jackson is most likely a child molester.  There is evidence on both sides of this question, and it is open whether Jackson is guilty of such acts. Everyday-ethics.org officially intends this example to be a vehicle for philosophical discussion, rather [...]

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