Recent Responses
Is there a particular reason that Socrates chose to present his work in the form of dialogues (as opposed to, say, essays)?
Douglas Burnham
June 25, 2007
(changed June 25, 2007)
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The dialogues we read today were written by Socrates' student, Plato. Socrates was a teacher who believed that debate and discussion were the only ways to arrive at knowledge or, at least, to recognise ignorance. So, Socrates didn't write books of any kind. Plato's dialogues are a kind of compr... Read more
I am having an affair with a married man who is my coworker. I did not begin the affair, he pursued me. His wife does not know. I feel guilty about it but I am in love with him. He says that he loves me but that he also loves his wife because although she is abusive and he feels no attraction to her she was there for him when he was very ill two years ago. Are my actions unethical? If she doesn't know and I am truly in love with him is it okay? Are his actions more unethical than mine?
Thomas Pogge
June 24, 2007
(changed June 24, 2007)
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Even if the question suggests rationalization and some self-deception, there is still the more philosophical question of why this affair is wrong (if it is wrong).
Contrary to what you suggest, the fact that the wife does not know is probably sufficient to make the affair wrong. She stuck to this... Read more
I am having an affair with a married man who is my coworker. I did not begin the affair, he pursued me. His wife does not know. I feel guilty about it but I am in love with him. He says that he loves me but that he also loves his wife because although she is abusive and he feels no attraction to her she was there for him when he was very ill two years ago. Are my actions unethical? If she doesn't know and I am truly in love with him is it okay? Are his actions more unethical than mine?
Thomas Pogge
June 24, 2007
(changed June 24, 2007)
Permalink
Even if the question suggests rationalization and some self-deception, there is still the more philosophical question of why this affair is wrong (if it is wrong).
Contrary to what you suggest, the fact that the wife does not know is probably sufficient to make the affair wrong. She stuck to this... Read more
Recently an English reviewer of Richard Dawkins' book <em>The God Delusion</em> took Dawkins to task for writing outside his field, suggesting he stick to science. Is this a legitimate criticism? And are there any anti-religious theologians?
Richard Heck
June 22, 2007
(changed June 22, 2007)
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I'm guessing the review to which you refer is Terry Eagleton's in the London Review of Books. I sympathize with Eagleton's frustration, though I don't think he quite plays his cards right. Surely it is true that Dawkins would barbecue any theologian who decided to write a book on evolutionary biol... Read more
Hi! I think this is a philosophical question concerning language. I just read this in a newspaper: "They share neither an underlying raison d'être nor a modus operandi." And the question is: what is the language of this sentence?
Richard Heck
June 22, 2007
(changed June 22, 2007)
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There are other sorts of examples that pose a more interesting question. There is a phenomenon known as "code switching" in which a bilingual speaker will begin a sentence in one language and end it in another. A simple example would be something like "The man in the funny hat tiene un perro loco"... Read more
Is it ethical for surgeons to use economic considerations when setting their fees? For example, is it ethical for a surgeon who is known to have better results for a certain operation to charge more than a surgeon who has worse results? Likewise is it ethical for a surgeon who has a scarce skill in a region to charge exorbitant fees for that skill simply because it would be unaffordable for most patients to travel to another region to attend another surgeon?
Thomas Pogge
June 22, 2007
(changed June 22, 2007)
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It may also matter what sort of operation we are talking about. If this is cosmetic surgery (beautifying belly buttons, say), then the service does seem quite similar to other commodities (face cream), and the reasons against the surgeon's charging what she will seem quite weak.
As we move to the... Read more
Hi, I'm a poet, I've published a few poetry books in French. I've been told that my poems are beautiful. I know that they are beautiful but I don't understand why. I also know that I can create beauty but I can't understand where this ability comes from. Is it a god-given ability or is it about technique? Any answers? Umar ( Mauritius )
Pascal Engel
July 13, 2007
(changed July 13, 2007)
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The classics ( up to the XVIIIth century) believed that beauty is an objective matter, and that there are rules to attain it, based mostly on the imitation of nature, the depiction of human nature, and a certain aspiration for truth. At the same time many philosophers doubted that there is real be... Read more
Is it ethical for surgeons to use economic considerations when setting their fees? For example, is it ethical for a surgeon who is known to have better results for a certain operation to charge more than a surgeon who has worse results? Likewise is it ethical for a surgeon who has a scarce skill in a region to charge exorbitant fees for that skill simply because it would be unaffordable for most patients to travel to another region to attend another surgeon?
Thomas Pogge
June 22, 2007
(changed June 22, 2007)
Permalink
It may also matter what sort of operation we are talking about. If this is cosmetic surgery (beautifying belly buttons, say), then the service does seem quite similar to other commodities (face cream), and the reasons against the surgeon's charging what she will seem quite weak.
As we move to the... Read more
Hi! I think this is a philosophical question concerning language. I just read this in a newspaper: "They share neither an underlying raison d'être nor a modus operandi." And the question is: what is the language of this sentence?
Richard Heck
June 22, 2007
(changed June 22, 2007)
Permalink
There are other sorts of examples that pose a more interesting question. There is a phenomenon known as "code switching" in which a bilingual speaker will begin a sentence in one language and end it in another. A simple example would be something like "The man in the funny hat tiene un perro loco"... Read more
Is it ethical for a surgeon to perform an operation on his own mother? Especially when it may involve the finding of a cancer?
Thomas Pogge
June 19, 2007
(changed June 19, 2007)
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Doctors try to avoid such situations, and, I think, for good reason. They add extra stress to what is already a difficult task -- stress for the surgeon and also stress for the patient. Such extra stress, in turn, is likely to diminish the prospects for success. And a surgeon who performs a major... Read more