Everyday Ethics

In a recent article, we discussed the role of philosophical rhetoric in moral deliberation, and the way in which both of this election’s presidential candidates demonstrate some positive and negative attributes in their rhetorical styles.  But we haven’t said much about why the very nature of rhetoric is so frustrating, and can sometimes play a [...]

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After watching the last presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain, I think its only appropriate to say something about rhetoric, and how it applies to our everyday ethical practices.  Luckily, these two candidates offer a great starting point for conversation, as they both do certain things very well, and other things very poorly.  [...]

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Not long ago I participated in a fundraiser to support the development of cancer treatments, with the stated end goal of finding a cure for cancer.  These sorts of events are quite common, and one tends to be motivated to participate by a sense of doing what is right.  However, after some philosophical reflections, I [...]

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At the risk of alienating most of my family, I want to share a recent conflict between my sister and my father regarding the status of her cat.  This is interesting not because of its controversial and tendentious nature, but because it demonstrates the way in which definitional disputes are relevant to everyday ethical concerns.  [...]

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We have already discussed the fact that striving to be ethical people is a process of training ourselves to make certain types of decisions.  It would be nice if being a more ethical and upstanding person was simply a matter of making the decision to do so.  But most of our ethical failures are rooted [...]

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Here, as promised, is the third and final installment in our analysis of the ethical obligations of the San Diego Chargers to their injured star, Shawne Merriman.  Thus far, we have discovered that looking at consequences did little in helping us to resolve this question, while considerations regarding contractual obligation were helpful, but still unclear.  [...]

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Our previous article examined ethical questions regarding the current injury situation of San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman.  Specifically, we asked whether an evaluation of potential consequences could tell us whether the Chargers should allow Merriman to play, and if there are any ethical concerns with doing so.  We found that there are some significant [...]

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Most people strive toward some measure of personal success.  This can be quantified in a variety of ways, depending upon what sorts of goals are most important to you.  A lesser number of people also strive to live ethical lives, and this too can be variously defined.  Finally, a select few wish to be both [...]

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Health care is a popular area in applied ethics.  There are all sorts of “sexy” ethical questions, such as whether physician-assisted suicide is acceptable, whether people with minimal brain functioning have rights, whether a fetus is a person, and many more.  The real question, one that few people have the nerve to write about, is [...]

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